Building on his comments in this week’s editorial column, Jonathan Welch takes a closer look at the ‘trackless tram’ on trial in Stirling, Australia. Is it a bus? It’s not not a bus…
In this week’s editorial comment, I asked the question ‘what is a bus?’ after seeing the trial of a ‘trackless tram’ in the City of Stirling, which lies in the northern suburbs of Perth, Australia. It runs on rubber tyres and has a steering wheel at each end, so it’s not not a bus, but it seems that whatever it might be defined as, it’s worth a closer look as some of the technology might well be relevant to the ‘traditional’ bus sector.
The vehicle itself is produced by China’s CRRC, which has been pushing the system for a few years now and demonstrated it in a number of places. According to one study I found online, the trackless tram combines the ‘best’ of bus and tram, whilst costing a tenth of the price to install. Interestingly, the same paper mentions that software is used to prevent the kind of sway which causes rutting of the road surface; I’m not entirely convinced how effective that might be in the long term, though.
The paper also mentions some of the obvious benefits – being guided the ‘tram’ can achieve accurate platform docking, for example, although so can a conventional, guided trolleybus.
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Another source suggests a cost of around one third to one half of the cost of a light rail system per kilometre for the CRRC trackless tram, and a tenth of the cost of a metro. That same source suggests a swept path of just 3.83m for the CRRC trackless tram, versus 5.74m for a standard bus.
It seems that one key advantage cited is the tram-style bogies, which proponents say will improve the ride compared to a bus, though unless the tarmac is maintained to a higher standard than currently, which would improve the ride for any vehicle, it’s again hard to know whether the reality will live up to the hype.
There must be something in it, though, if cities are spending money, and considerable sums of it, investigating the technology. Could it solve some of the design flaws of the Alstom/Bombardier TVR, or is it exaggerating them?
The Stirling project
The scope of the project in Stirling was laid out back in 2021, a ‘big bold vision’ which led to the appointment of consultants Arup to conduct a feasibility study as part of the first stage of the project, funded by Au$2 million from the Australian Government’s Urban Congestion Fund to develop a business case to support the implementation of a route from Glendalough railway station to Scarborough Beach. $135,000 of those funds were authorised to be used to support the Australian-first trial. It forms part of a major urban regeneration project to revitalise the city centre to become ‘Perth’s second CBD [central business district]’ and ‘transform it into a vibrant, urban area with increased jobs and housing.’
A 7km route is proposed, and is described as offering ‘contemporary, sustainable transport that’s less disruptive and more cost effective to build while retaining the benefits of light rail.’ The city’s Mayor Mark Irwin said that while there were many considerations that must be addressed to determine the viability of trackless trams, the development of the business case was a critical step in the process. “Ultimately what this business case will allow us to do is de-risk a project that has the potential to deliver fantastic economic, business, transport, innovation and sustainability outcomes,” he said.
Described as a ‘mid-tier’ transit system, the 30-metre three-section vehicle arrived at the city in September ready to undergo a range of tests to help local experts and stakeholders understand how the vehicle operates, the impacts on the road surface and what the ride quality for passengers is like.
The local community also had the chance to try out the vehicle for themselves and provide feedback at an event held at the city’s Administration Centre on 26 November.
“It is really important for us to understand what our community think about the trackless tram as part of this trial,” Mayor Irwin said. “They will be the future users of this public transport system and we want to know whether this is going to encourage them to make the switch out of their cars and onto the tram to get from the city to the beach.”
Funded by the Commonwealth Government, the trial ran until the end of November. “A permanent tram route in the city would enable us to achieve a range of positive economic, business, transport and sustainability outcomes – reducing congestion and improving access to employment and tourist destinations,” the Mayor added.
“During peak hours the current road network in Stirling city centre, including parts of Scarborough Beach Road, is at capacity, and congestion and parking around the Scarborough precinct is a challenge. The tram offers a real possibility of getting people to leave their cars at home and use public transport, reducing emissions and making it easier for people to get around.
The project is being delivered with partners Curtin University, CRRC, Shanghai Electric and Infrastructure Technology Solutions.
‘Many advantages’
The trams are guided by a digital rail using sensors built into the road surface, and can be powered by batteries or hydrogen fuel cells. Among the publicity is a section giving a list of ‘many advantages over a bus’ which include:
- It is a net zero emission vehicle, with electric charged batteries;
- It can travel at a speed of 70km/h and carry up to 150 passengers;
- It is guided by magnetic studs that are embedded in the road, enabling a smooth ride similar to that of light rail;
- It has a dedicated lane, with priority at traffic lights making it more efficient than current public transport options;
- It is bi-directional, which means it has a driver at both ends and doesn’t need to turn around ‘making access into Scarborough Beach trouble-free’;
- The tram has a flat wide floor, with easy access from station platforms.
Although all of those are correct descriptions of the vehicle, it’s hard to justify the statement that any of them are significant advantages over a zero-emission guided articulated bus.
It is expected that any future system would be powered by a hydrogen fuel cell rather than batteries to provide a longer range without the need for frequent en-route charging. Rolling stock manufacturer CRRC is no stranger to the Australian market, where it has had a presence for around 20 years.
Curtin University’s Sustainability Policy Institute, headed up by Professor Peter Newman, conducted the trial in partnership with the State Government, and transport engineering experts Keolis Downer and ARUP were involved in the trial. “We all want to have a transport system that doesn’t depend on oil. Never has this been more evident than now,” Professor Newman said. “The trackless tram trial will be a major step forward in creating a future based on local electricity, which helps create a net zero future city. Curtin is really pleased that the Federal Government has enabled us to participate in this great project.”
Whilst there is always scope for the guided buses-cum-trackless trams to challenge perceptions on what a bus is or can be, and give what some might see as a glorified bus the cool cachet of a tram, another lesson learned from guided bus-type tram systems in France was the risk of being tied into a proprietary technology; unless it achieves a rapid and broad uptake, once the manufacturer stops receiving orders and starts to phase out support, always a possibility with new and unusual technology, the vehicles start to become obsolete quickly.
A number of similar systems are already in use in China, in Zhuzhou, Yibin and Shanghai, where they operate as bus rapid transit corridors; CRRC brands it as ART, Autonomous Rapid Transit, though the name is somewhat of a misnomer as in reality the cars are optically guided and feature a driver on board. It’s hard to be certain how successful the existing systems really are compared to a tram or trolleybus alternative.
Although the vehicle is styled as a tram, double-ended and with the extra complications and weight entailed in producing road-going steered bogies, it’s hard to see what benefit the trackless tram offers over Brisbane’s Metro, which uses three-section, 24-metre Hess lighTram vehicles, other than possibly the lack of need for a turning circle at each end. And whilst it’s always easy to decry new technology or even find fault with wanting to improve and refine the existing technologies at our disposal, I’m still not convinced that the system will ever be more than a footnote in the history of transport, with maybe a few successful use cases in particular, very specific situations.
That said, if the cost can be justified, and it gets people back on public transport, maybe it’s worth the gamble…
