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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2018-10-17 Daily Xml
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Autonomous Rail Transit

The Hon. F. PANGALLO (15:31): A testament of any thriving, bustling city is its contemporary and efficient public transport system. Think of New York City's subway, Paris's Metro, London's famed Underground and Japan's globally recognised bullet train. What does South Australia have? An over-budget and over-time tram extension on North Terrace that cannot turn right—one this government is seriously considering wasting another $130 million on to achieve. Seriously? There are much better ways to spend that money.

Instead of going back to the future and re-laying tram tracks we dug up decades ago, this state has a real shot at redemption and could make up for errors of the past by embracing one of the most modern and cost-effective public transport systems emerging in the world: trackless trams. Yes, trackless trams, or autonomous rail transit (ART) by another name. They have the potential to do away with conventional trams and give other forms of public transportation a real run for their money.

Typically, a standard ART system is three carriages that can carry 300 people but with the capacity to have five carriages and 500 people. No tracks are required, neither is a driver needed, as the trackless trams' train-like carriages are programmed to be optically guided with GPS and LIDAR (light detection and ranging) technologies. However, a driver is on board to oversee its operation and assume control should anything go haywire, such as a vehicle accident in front. It can simply bypass it.

Trackless trams are growing in popularity in China and in parts of Europe for many reasons, not just because the network does not require tracks. Environmentally, the trams emit less noise and emissions than buses or trains. They are powered by batteries that can be recharged in 30-second bursts at each stop or in 10 minutes at the end of the line. According to the experts, they have a speed of up to 70 km/h per hour and capacity and passenger comfort to match any other mode of public transport. Interestingly, in three years of trials in China, no impact on road surfaces has been found.

One of the greatest and most appealing attractions of trackless tram systems is their cost. As everyone in this place knows only too well, extending a tram network is a costly, time consuming and disruptive process, ripping up roads and utilities and hurting businesses where the work is undertaken. The New South Wales government is currently building a new 12-kilometre light rail network through the CBD to Sydney's inner south-eastern suburbs. At $2.2 billion, or about $120 million a kilometre, it is a disaster.

Similar projects in Canberra and Newcastle have been put at over $80 million per kilometre. Here it is more like $120 million. By comparison, a trackless tram network can be built for—wait for it—$6 million to $8 million per kilometre, and because tracks are not required, construction timeframes are significantly shorter.

According to transport expert Professor Peter Newman from Curtin University, who recently posted a fascinating story on YouTube about the technology, cities across the world are lining up to trial these trackless tram systems. According to Professor Newman, this includes Townsville, Hobart, Melbourne, Sydney and Perth. Here is where I believe our state can take the front running, because we already lead the way with laws for autonomous vehicles.

I am calling on the state government to join with Adelaide Airport Corporation and undertake a feasibility study to build a trackless tram service from Adelaide Airport to the CBD. While a light rail network has been long touted by various sections of the political and business worlds, its exorbitant costs make it uneconomical. Do the maths with a trackless tram system. At a cost of $6 million to $8 million a kilometre, the six to seven-kilometre network from the airport to the city suddenly becomes an attractive and affordable business proposition.

Not surprisingly, the progressive owners of the airport, Adelaide Airport Ltd, revealed in a submission to the Productivity Commission that it has kept land available for a light rail project. It also said it would be willing to fund a station located at the site. I am also told the Downer Group last year lodged a bid with the former government to build, fund and operate the six-kilometre tramline between the two destinations, but Labor did not proceed—one of the smarter things it did.

An airport light rail system has not featured in any Liberal government policy. I recently spoke with the airport CEO, Mark Young, and he was enthusiastic about the concept if it would benefit travellers and consumers. Why must our politicians embrace and entertain the silly romance of century-old transport technology? We must move with the times.

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