Skip to main content

Skytrains being planned for major cities in China

City planners in China are conducting feasibility studies and initial planning to develop skytrain, an elevated transportation system, in order to ease deteriorating traffic congestion in the urban areas of major cities. The benefits of skytrain include shorter construction period, quiet operation and cheaper construction cost – about one tenth of the cost of metro systems. In addition, since the skytrain runs on elevated viaducts and stations are built above ground, there will be less disruption to the sur
March 27, 2012 Read time: 1 min
City planners in China are conducting feasibility studies and initial planning to develop skytrain, an elevated transportation system, in order to ease deteriorating traffic congestion in the urban areas of major cities. The benefits of skytrain include shorter construction period, quiet operation and cheaper construction cost – about one tenth of the cost of metro systems. In addition, since the skytrain runs on elevated viaducts and stations are built above ground, there will be less disruption to the surface landscape. The operation and maintenance costs will be also much lower than a metro system.

The system is being studied and proposed in more than seven cities in China, including Shanghai, Tianjin and Wenzhou.

Related Content

  • Deloitte Research releases smart mobility report
    May 20, 2015
    Deloitte's Public Sector Research organisation has released a report titled, Smart Mobility: Reducing congestion and fostering faster, greener, and cheaper transportation options, which indicates that the expansion of alternative modes of transportation could lead to reduced congestion and other benefits, and identified the types of transportation suited to a city or suburb. The study uses geospatial analytics, such as coupling location data with existing government data, to examine the potential conges
  • Smoothing out city freight movements
    May 28, 2014
    David Crawford welcomes a national first. Urban freight movements, while commercially and socially vital, are a growing logistical headache for planners and people alike. Figures from France’s Lyon Laboratory of Transport Economics indicate that goods transport in major urban areas accounts for: 20% of traffic; 35% of CO2 emissions made by all urban trips; and 50% of the diesel used; while final km delivery runs account for 20% of the total cost of the transport chain.
  • Chile launches ambitious transport plan
    November 7, 2014
    In an effort to boost a weakening economy, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet has announced a nearly US$4.2 billion transport infrastructure plan, including one new metro line in Santiago, cable car systems in three other cities and rail projects. The plan includes US$1.9 billion in new concessions, with the expansion of public-private partnerships (PPPs) to the metro system and US$2.2 billion in works directly funded by the government. In Santiago, the program involves developing feasibility studie
  • Wireless traffic data in real time
    January 31, 2012
    The effect of moving objects on the electromagnetic landscape set up by cellular telephony networks can be detected and interpreted to give real-time traffic data across large geographical areas at low cost. Here, we revisit the Celldar concept. Global economic downturn has pushed public-sector agencies, transport administrations among them, to push even harder for cost efficiencies. Unfortunately, when it comes to transport safety and efficiency the public sector often has to work up to a cost rather than