Trackless Trams: An Alternative to Light Rail

Peter Newman, Professor of Sustainability at Curtin University in Western Australia talks about trackless trams that are being used in China.  According to him, trackless trams have the potential to replace light rails.  According to Professor Newman, “Trackless trams are neither a tram nor a bus, though they have rubber wheels and run on streets. The high-speed rail innovations have transformed a bus into something with all the best features of light rail and none of its worst features.It replaces the noise and emissions of buses with electric traction from batteries recharged at stations in 30 seconds or at the end of the line in 10 minutes. That could just be an electric bus, but the ART is much more than that. It has all the speed (70 kph), capacity and ride quality of light rail with its autonomous optical guidance system, train-like bogies with double axles and special hydraulics and tires.”

http://theconversation.com/why-trackless-trams-are-ready-to-replace-light-rail-103690

http://theconversation.com/why-trackless-trams-are-ready-to-replace-light-rail-103690