Unmanned trains at Heathrow Airport (UK)

Advanced Transport Systems (ATS) of Bristol University (UK) has signed a contract with BAA managing a majority of UK airports, including Heathrow, to test the ULTRa PRT (Urban) system. Light Transport - Personal Rapid Transit).

The ULTRA PRT system is a collection of unmanned electric vehicles traveling on a rail. Each car can carry 4 passengers. The ULTRa network is equivalent to a highway (1,800 vehicles per hour) but only 25% of the area and 10 times the cost of construction. The system will be used to transport passengers from the parking lot to the airport pickup.

In addition to providing state-of-the-art public transportation, the ULTRa PRT also allows passengers to wait less than a minute, even during peak hours. The system also saves more than half of the fuel consumed by other transportation vehicles, whether public or private. In addition, this system does not cause noise.

ATS claims that the ULTRa PRT system will allow for the reduction of environmental problems at Heathrow and expects this phase to be the basis for future urban development.