Auckland electric ‘trackless trams’ trial planned

“Trackless trams” will be trialled on Auckland’s Northern Busway between Akoranga and Albany on Sundays later this year.

Auckland Transport (AT) will trial the autonomous digital rapid transit vehicles (aka “trackless trams”) following a deal with China Rail and TransitNEXT.

A tram on tyres can carry 150 passengers and travel at a 70kmh top speed, using magnetic points rather than rails for guidance.

Auckland Council’s Transport and Infrastructure Committee received a China Rail presentation on trackless trams in May this year.

The Sunday busway trial is expected to avoid any major infrastructure changes and interference with buses.

Trackless trams run in three Chinese cities and are used in some other countries.

New platforms and magnetic points in the road are about all that’s needed for the trackless trams, says TransitNEXT, adding they are bidirectional so don’t need to turn around, can come in sets of two to five carriages, have large doors on both sides and have level boarding which is suitable for e-bikes and e-scooters along with last mile delivery robots.

The electric trackless trams don’t need a driver and can be recharged at stations or at the end of each route.