It may be intereting to know that the 28-km rail link between Beijing Capital International Airport and the Dongzhimen subway features driverless operation using the Advanced Rapid Transit technology from Canada's Bombardier. ART is already in use on the Vancouver Sky Train, the longest driverless system in the world, and on the AirTrain linking New York City with JFK Airport. Other ART systems operate in Toronto, Detroit and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Bombardier was contracted to provide 40 trains, but some observers think only about 28 will be ready by the start of the Olympics on Aug. 8. Bombardier trains can run at 100 km/hour (62.5 mph), making the entire journey from the airport to downtown Beijing just 16 minutes long. Alstom, a French company, is providing signaling systems. The ART trains can carry 4,500 passengers an hour during peak periods. Bombardier uses a linear induction motor that makes the trains light and quiet. Onboard computers receive signals from trackside transponders, and a control room oversees all train movements. In the Beijing project, the trains link into the city's subway system downtown and feed into the Automated People Mover at the Olympic venues. |
Beijing Airport Express Train in Depth