China to build a new trackless train-bus hybrid

China has unveiled the world’s first ‘rail-less’ train as part of its attempt to develop “intelligent rail express system” to ease traffic and emissions in urban centers

Sangeeta Bose

China has unveiled the world’s first ‘rail-less’ train as part of its attempt to develop “intelligent rail express system” to ease traffic and emissions in urban centers.

Developed by CRCC Zhuzhou Institute as part of the Autonomous Rail Rapid Transit (ART), the train runs on its own rubber tyres and can travel upto a maximum speed of 70 kmph.

The company has been testing the ART technology since 2013. Operations are expected to start by 2018.

Spanning 30 meters in length, a single train body has three carriages and uses sensors to run along a white dotted line.

The USD 2.2 million worth train-bus hybrid has the potential of carrying 300 people at a time. Additional carriages can be attached taking the maximum capacity to 500 passengers.

As part of safety measures, the new train is equipped with sensors that allow it to detect the road dimensions and plan its own route accordingly. The train’s twin-head system also eliminates the need for U-turns.

The electrically charged train is not only environment-friendly, but can also travel up to 40 km on single charge of ten minutes.

China plans to build a 6.5 kilometer ART track through downtown Zhuzhou for this train.

This isn’t the first of China’s innovations in the world of transportation. A Transit Elevated Bus, known as Batie or “the straddling bus”, was brought to the attention of the world for the first time in 2010, and then “relaunched” in 2016 to much criticism.

Meanwhile in the US, Tesla and SpaceX owner Elon Musk is developing the Hyperloop, which is proposed to run at at top speed of 760mph using pod-like vehicles in a tube with reduced pressure