The world's first ever driverless rail train debuts in China
China has unveiled a track-less train that runs on virtual rails in a bid to speed up public transportation in major cities.
The new trains were announced on June 2 in Zhuzhou, China's Hunan province and are said to be non-polluting, reports the People's Daily Online.
The Chinese rail corporation began designing the new system in 2013 and it is set to begin operating in 2018.
The transit system uses rubber wheels on a plastic core and has new technology copyrighted by the Chinese rail corporation.
It means that the trains can be automatically guided without rails.
It is set to be launched in the city of Zhuzhou in a bid to help traffic numbers in the area.
According to reports, the new train is set to cost around the fifth of the price of a traditional subway system which usually costs around 400 million yuan to 700 yuan (£45.6 - £79 million).
The track-less train is also said to have a life-span of around 25 years.
The train identifies the pavement and has various sensors to emit travel information to the train.
The first car is just over 100 feet in length with a maximum passenger load of 307 people.
It has a top speed of 70 kilometres an hour and after ten minutes of charging can travel 25 kilometres.
The new system is set to go into operation next year.
According to chief engineer Feng Jianghua, the train identifies the pavement and has various sensors to emit travel information to the train.
This then enables the vehicle to follow guidance from the virtual track, reports Tencent.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/peoplesdaily/article-4565992/China-unveils-track-train-runs-virtual-rails.html