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CRRC eyes Kai Tak test bed for electric autonomous transit buses
CRRC says it plans to use trackless, electric autonomous rapid transit buses to connect Kai Tak with Hong Kong, aiming for lower costs than metro or tram systems.
Nearly 30 years after the closure of Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Airport, China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation, a state-owned railway vehicle manufacturer, is seeking to turn the former airport site into a demonstration area for electric autonomous transit in the city. Executives said CRRC wants to use the location as a test bed for an autonomous bus system and as a potential platform for overseas expansion, according to the South China Morning Post.
CRRC said it intends to deploy trackless, electric autonomous rapid transit buses to link Kai Tak to the wider city. The company’s executives framed the approach as a lower-cost alternative to building a metro or tram system.
The SCMP Economy story also notes that a successful project in Hong Kong could help CRRC win additional transport work in major global metropolises beyond China. Observers cited in the article warned that geopolitics and concerns about data and privacy could slow or derail the plans, arguing CRRC would need to compete on more than price to earn trust and orders.
Earlier this week, the South China Morning Post joined a site trip to CRRC’s production base in Yibin, in southwestern Sichuan province, where several ART lines have been operating since 2018. The trip included a ride on an autonomous vehicle used in the local system operated by CRRC subsidiary Zhixing.