Trackless Trams can rejuvenate city suburbs

Trackless trams have grown out of high-speed rail technology. Trackless trams have been in development for almost 20 years, but in 2017, the China Railway Corporation, CRRC, introduced an autonomously guided tram, a significant advancement of the design and technology known as Autonomous Rapid Transit (ART).

ART has the ride and service quality characteristics of light rail but at a significantly lower cost since it avoids the interruptions caused by the installation of the rail on the track. The vehicles travel on rubber tires, guided autonomously using optical, lidar, radar and GPS technology. They are bi-directional and have multiple carriages, safety features and communication technologies that contribute to fleet management and ride quality.

With improvements in battery and charging technologies, trackless trams operate without overhead wires and receive a boost charge at dedicated stations as passengers board. Since 2018, ART has been functional in China, first in Zhuzhou before expanding to Yibin and Harbin, and planning and construction of new systems is underway in five other cities in China. There is great interest globally in this technology, with proposals for routes in Australia, Malaysia, Israel, Zimbabwe and elsewhere.

In 2020, a competing CRRC affiliate launched the Digital Rapid Transit (DRT) trackless tram. The DRT vehicle is in operation at Lingnan Shanghai on two routes. It is magnetically guided and runs on a hydrogen fuel cell or an electric battery. The vehicle is narrower, slightly lighter than the ART, and has different suspensions. Both vehicles will be tested in Australia later this year, which should provide more information on implementation costs, operational characteristics and requirements for both vehicles.