Autonomous Network Transit (ANT) company Dromos Technologies, design company PriestmanGoode, engineering and economics consulting firm Buro Happold and construction, property and management consultancy Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB) have won a tender for the Cambridgeshire Autonomous Metro (CAM), a new public transport network serving Cambridge and its wider region.
The four companies joined forces to develop a pioneering concept design for the delivery of a new autonomous public transport network led by the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA). The groundbreaking project includes a new autonomous vehicle, physical and digital infrastructure, and cutting-edge control systems. The customer experience of the new end-to-end transport system will be world-leading, while protecting the environment and contributing to economic growth across Cambridgeshire.
Lars Herold, CEO of Dromos Technologies, said: “We are excited to develop designs for the Cambridgeshire autonomous transport system, it will become a lighthouse project showcasing how to solve passenger transport with 21st century technology.
Dromos provides customers with an on demand and safe transport solution using autonomous vehicles, which can provide disabled access and accommodate large items like luggage or bikes. Dromos operates on small, lightweight and dedicated infrastructure. Heralding the next generation of medium and high-capacity transport, the Dromos ANT system delivers rail system levels of capacity at half the cost, space requirements and construction time compared with legacy metro, light rail, trackless tram and bus rapid transit technology.
Kirsty Dias, Managing Director of PriestmanGoode says: “We’re delighted to be shortlisted for this seminal project alongside our partners Dromos Technologies, Buro Happold and RLB. Our combined expertise across human-centred design, public transport, infrastructure and engineering means we’re in an ideal place to deliver a sustainable end-to-end solution that has the potential to shape the future of mobility in the UK.
To be selected for this is testament to the progressive vision of the Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and the Combined Authority, whose ambitions for CAM are to be an innovative, world-leading example for future mobility.”
Justin Phillips, Partner and Global Head of Rail and Transit at Buro Happold, said “We are delighted to be supporting the CPCA realise the potential for a first of a kind step change in mobility, sustainability and technology for the City of Cambridge, and its surrounding growth corridors.
Technology and transit are moving at pace and it’s critical for CAM to avoid expensive, time consuming and potentially redundant outcomes. New approaches and innovations with autonomous vehicles inevitably keep evolving. Buro Happold will help the AG Dromos led team develop an initial design concept that will bring about a truly adaptive, realistically scalable and cost-effective solution. The concept will also bring the ability for early delivery and best aligns to the pressing growth ambition for this critical region to the UK economy. And of equal importance the team will provide practical outcomes that gives critical consideration to the environmental impact, and minimise disruption during construction and operation.”
Matthew Brooker, National Head of Sectors comments, “The Cambridgeshire Autonomous Metro is far more than just an innovative transportation system. CAM will offer a shift in connectivity across the entire region, bringing greater opportunity and spreading growth and prosperity to more people and places. We are proud, and excited to be an integral part of this project.”
Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, James Palmer, said: “The CAM will bring the world-leading, innovative and transformational public transport network that this region needs to continue to thrive.”
The consortium is one of three suppliers selected for the project. All suppliers will present their conceptual ideas for the new transport system to the CPCA and the Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough in March 2021.
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