China’s newest train technology.

This one, the “Autonomous Rail Rapid Transit” in Yibin China:

Similar to self-driving cars, instead of steel tracks, these “tram-bus-hybrids” run over tracks painted on the asphalt in white.

It’s guided by LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) and GPS technologies into moving precisely along these virtual tracks. They can also leave these designated tracks if the driver wants, to find their way around obstacles in case of traffic jams, accidents and other obstructions.

It runs on rubber wheels with the speed of light rails (70kph) and by standard carries 300 people in three carriages.

The construction of a kilometer of trackless rails is half of what traditional tramway would cost to build at about $30 million.

The 2019 launched virtual railway in Yibin runs for 17 km through the city and was built for an estimated $160 million.