The Chinese are aiming for the title of 'first in the world' again, this time with the ART driverless train, which is a bus, tram and train in one. It does not drive on tracks, but on what will be white lines on the road.
ART means Autonomous Rail Rapid Transit, and its maker, the Chinese railway company CRRC, has already named the vehicle 'smart bus'. An autonomous train, i.e. a train without a driver, is 30 meters long and runs entirely on electricity. It can also transport with one charge more than 40 kilometers and, most interestingly, it doesn't run on rails, it does along the white lines on the road. The 'virtual track' thus follows with assistance sensors.
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The first model can be in three wagons accepts 300 passengers (future models are expected to accommodate 500 passengers). It is intended for those cities that, for example, cannot afford extremely expensive subways or trams. Just for comparison: the construction of a kilometer of subway costs up to 102 million US dollars, while the construction of a track for an ART vehicle is estimated to cost around 2 million US dollars.
The first line (6.5 kilometers) will run in the Chinese city Džudžov, and should start operating in 2018.
Gallery - ART: Chinese driverless train running on white lines on the road
More information:
crrcgc.cc
