The success of the conference PRT@LHR (April 21 – 23, 2009) was amplified by fascinating tours of the ULTra PRT system at London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR). The dynamic three-day conference drew over a hundred people comprising approximately 24% owners/potential owners, 50% consultants and 20% PRT suppliers with a large portion of the remainder being made up of academics. Session attendance was slightly depleted by small groups leaving for frequent tours of the PRT system. Presentation topics were varied and interesting, making it a challenge to decide when to schedule a PRT tour. The only negative comments heard about the conference related to the hardness of the seating, while the only negative comments heard about the PRT system related to the ugly guideway fencing. The fencing was constructed for worker safety during erection and, it is hoped, will be replaced by more elegant safety railing.
T-Pod emerging from station
Vectus and 2getthere impressed the audience with their system advancements – Vectus with an impressive video of their winter weather capabilities and 2getthere announcing that they intend to commence carrying the public at their Masdar, UAE, installation later this year. The Masdar system is expected to ultimately have about a hundred stations and thousands of T-Pods.
The second day was focused on PRT plans in Holland, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Italy and the United States. Nick Ford explained that a recent Frost & Sullivan study estimates €30b will have been spent on PRT worldwide by 2020. Gőran Tégner, of WSP, said that Swedish studies show total transit mode share rising 15 percentage points on average when PRT is introduced. Nathan Koren of ATS, Ltd., said that land value uplift can dwarf PRT capital costs. The author indicated their studies of PRT for a US Army Post found capital costs per passenger to be 11% and 22% respectively of those of recent rail and light rail projects.
The final day of the conference was focused on the CityMobil program. Michel Parent of INRIA stated that it is not possible to mix manual and automated cars at high speeds. He said that automated platooning at 0.3 second headways has been demonstrated at any speeds.
While attendees were not given rides on the PRT system, the author was privileged to ride it after the conference. Videos taken during the ride and during the conference tour may be viewed at
