Automated guideway transit

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Osaka New-Tram
Osaka New-Tram

Automated guideway transit (AGT) is a fully automated, grade-separated transit system in which rubber-tired vehicles 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 the 405 to the Getty Museum, which sits atop Topanga Canyon. It saves power by having the motors sit stationary outside the vehicle pulling it up and down the hillside, rather than inside the vehicle having to lift their own weight repeatedly.