On June 13, Metro Trans 2024 was opened in Nanjing. A real car of ART independently developed by CRRC Qingdao Sifang Co., Ltd. first exhibited at the exhibition. It is called “the ‘metro’ vehicle on the ground”, providing a new solution for urban transportation.
According to Mr. Liu Yuwen, the deputy director of the R&D Center of CRRC Sifang, different from the traditional urban rail transit systems such as metro vehicles and trams, the ART is an electronic-guided rubber-tyred trolley system. For the ART, the steel wheel is replace by rubber wheel. The guide marks are laid on the existing road surface or magnetic nails are pre-embedded. The "optical identification" or "permanent magnetic induction" technology is adopted to intelligently sense and predict the running track for automatic tracking guidance, then to precisely control the movement of the vehicle on the "virtual track".
For the ART,no physical track needs to be laid. Also, the power batteries, hydrogen fuel and super capacitors, etc. are adopted as the power sources, so it is not necessary to erect an overhead catenary for power supply. Therefore, “No Cactenary Overhead, No Track on the Ground”realized. It can effectively use the existing urban road resources, with the advantages of short construction period, low cost, easy relocation, large traffic vaolume, and long service life.
With the total length of 30 meters, the vehicle is of three-module composition, with a maximum passenger capacity of 280 passengers. It can support different composition of 2 to 6 modules to meet different passenger traffic demands.
With a maximum operating speed of 70km/h, equipped with advanced sensing devices such as laser radar and binocular cameras, the ART features high-precision sensing capability, which can be driven manually or automatically in full scenes. The lightweight design of the whole vehicle greatly reduces its tare-load. The application of advanced technologies such as permanent magnet traction, high-efficiency thermal management system, variable frequency air conditioner and time-varying lighting, etc. reduces the operating energy consumption, which is only 3 to 4 kilowatts per kilometer.
The vehicle is spacious, with 100% flat level low floor design, and without any steps for the whole vehicle, much more accessible for passengers. The double wishbone independent suspension, wheel-side motor drive and multi-stage vibration damping technology are adopted to improve the stationarity of the vehicle. The saloon is equipped with charging equipment. Five-hole sockets, USB and Type-C charging interfaces are provided to meet the charging needs of different electronic devices.
According to Mr.Liu Yuwen, as a new type of urban rail transit system with medium and low traffic volume, the ART can be applied in various scenarios, which can be used not only as a connecting line for large cities, a trunk line for small-medium cities, but also as a city tourism route. It provides a new green intelligent solution for urban traffic mode.
