Automated guideway transit

Automated guideway transit (AGT) is a fully automated, grade-separated transit system in which vehicles (usually rubber-tired) are guided (usually by horizontally running guide wheels) on a guideway.

AGT is normally used to implement either limited people mover systems, or more complex mass transit systems.

The VAL ("Véhicule Automatique Léger") system in Lille, France, opened in 1983, is often cited as the world's first mass transit AGT, but the title is disputed by Kobe's Port Liner, which opened two years earlier in 1981. Lille's VAL is, however, acknowledged to be the first AGT installed to serve an existing urban area.

A US AGT can be found in the city of Los Angeles, as a means to get from a street-level parking facility off Interstate 405 to the Getty Center, which sits atop a hill in Brentwood. It saves power by having the motors sit stationary outside the vehicle pulling it up and down the hillside by means of a cable, rather than inside the vehicle having to lift their own weight repeatedly; furthermore, the trams create air cushions between themselves and the guideway. [Portland Cement Association. [http://www.cement.org/transit/tr_cs_gettycenter.asp Getty Center tram guideway.] Retrieved August 27, 2008.] Built by Otis Elevator Company, the system was reported to cost about $12 million. [Simon, Richard. The art of getting to the Getty will have visitors floating on air. "Los Angeles Times", August 11, 1995.]

See also

* VAL
* People mover
* Guided bus
* Rubber-tyred metro
* Rubber-tyred trams

References