On July 4, two autonomous rail rapid transit trains (ART) developed by CRRC and “made in Yibin“ officially started trial operation with passengers onboard in Chengdu, which will last till July 12. The trial operation is conducted between the sections of Chengdu’s Line K6, covering a full length of about 12km, with a speed of about 29km/h.
“Shudu” and “Tianfu” ART that are currently conducting the trial run feature the integration of Bushu civilization and green, low-carbon elements in the train body design. The train adopts the “virtual rail following control” technology, precisely keeping the train on the pre-defined virtual trajectory by using the sensor onboard to identify the virtual trail on the ground and giving command via the central control unit, thus realizing unmanned driving. For ART, steel wheels are replaced with plastic wheels, there is no need to build physical tracks, and the minimum turning radius is 15m, working very well for cities.
ART has the characteristics of strong transportation capability, low-carbon and environmental friendliness, and high speed, therefore it can alleviate road congestion, reduce environment pollution, and make it convenient for residents to travel. Compared with the traditional low and medium capacity rail system, ART has the unique advantages of low investment cost, short construction cycle and flexible operation.
