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149-640: Ultra (a term formed from the first letters of the words in the phrase "urban light transit") is a personal rapid transit podcar system developed by the British engineering company Ultra Global PRT (formerly Advanced Transport Systems). The only publicly operating Ultra pod system opened at Heathrow Airport in London in May 2011 and is referred to as the Heathrow pod system. It consists of 21 vehicles operating on

298-524: A white elephant , the Morgantown system has since proven itself both reliable and relatively low cost. In the time since the Morgantown system was installed in 1975, general technological improvements have led to a number of ways to lower the cost of a PRT system. One of the simplest but most profound way was the development of more efficient, reliable and quick-charging battery systems. Older PRT systems used electricity fed from track-side conductors like

447-436: A "virtual train", but control software issues caused cars to bump unacceptably. The project ultimately failed. Between 1970 and 1978, Japan operated a project called "Computer-controlled Vehicle System" (CVS). In a full-scale test facility, 84 vehicles operated at speeds up to 60 kilometres per hour (37.3 mph) on a 4.8 km (3.0 mi) guideway; one-second headways were achieved during tests. Another version of CVS

596-540: A 1/12 operational scale model. This was further developed and became the Modutram system and a full-scale test track was built in Guadalajara , which was operational by 2014. In 2018 it was announced that a PRT system would be installed at the new Chengdu Tianfu International Airport . The system will include 6 miles of guideway, 4 stations, 22 pods and will connect airport parking to two terminal buildings. It

745-641: A 10-vehicle 2getthere system has operated at Masdar City , UAE, and since 2011 a 21-vehicle Ultra PRT system has run at London Heathrow Airport . A 40-vehicle Vectus system with in-line stations officially opened in Suncheon , South Korea, in April 2014. A PRT system connecting the terminals and parking has been built at the new Chengdu Tianfu International Airport , which opened in 2021. Most mass transit systems move people in groups over scheduled routes. This has inherent inefficiencies. For passengers, time

894-415: A 3.9-kilometre (2.4 mi) route connecting Terminal 5 to its business passenger car park, just north of the airport. To reduce construction costs, Ultra largely uses off-the-shelf technologies, such as rubber tyres running on an open guideway. The approach has resulted in a system that Ultra believes to be economical: the company reports that the total cost (vehicles, infrastructure, and control systems)

1043-630: A 400 m (1,312 ft) test track in Uppsala , Sweden. This test system was presented at the 2007 PodCar City conference in Uppsala. A 40-vehicle, 2-station, 4.46 km (2.8 mi) system called "SkyCube" was opened in Suncheon , South Korea, in April 2014. In the 2010s the Mexican Western Institute of Technology and Higher Education began research into project LINT ("Lean Intelligent Network Transportation") and built

1192-575: A PRT system could provide. Several other urban and transit planners also wrote on the topic and some early experimentation followed, but PRT remained relatively unknown. Around the same time, Edward Haltom was studying monorail systems. Haltom noticed that the time to start and stop a conventional large monorail train, like those of the Wuppertal Schwebebahn , meant that a single line could only support between 20 and 40 vehicles an hour. In order to get reasonable passenger movements on such

1341-510: A city transportation planner, began research on PRT and alternative transportation methods. In 1964, Fichter published a book which proposed an automated public transit system for areas of medium to low population density. One of the key points made in the book was Fichter's belief that people would not leave their cars in favor of public transit unless the system offered flexibility and end-to-end transit times that were much better than existing systems – flexibility and performance he felt only

1490-542: A citywide deployment with many lines and closely spaced stations, as envisioned by proponents, has yet to be constructed. Past projects have failed because of financing, cost overruns, regulatory conflicts, political issues, misapplied technology, and flaws in design, engineering or review. However, the theory remains active. For example, from 2002 to 2005, the EDICT project, sponsored by the European Union , conducted

1639-435: A conventional metro, but they can be eliminated in favour of batteries that quickly charge up at stations or small charging strips along the route. Another change is the moving of the guidance logic from centralised computers to on-board systems of dramatically improved performance, allowing the vehicles to steer and switch themselves between routes on their own. That eliminates the need for a track-mounted guiderail able to steer

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1788-497: A factory in India . The total value of the project is US$ 881 million with the system cost, supplied by Ultra-Fairwood worth US$ 723 million. In March 2010, the government of Haryana said that it was looking into a proposal to deploy Ultra for rapid commuter transport in the city of Gurugram . The city is looking at over 10 to 12 individual routes to cover a total distance of approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi). In July 2012, it

1937-465: A freight version. It has the same external appearance as the passenger version, but its entire internal space is adapted to host a cargo capsule. They can be valuable in airport environments, where the network can be used to haul small freight. According to Ultra, its control system has three separate levels of operation, with the following features: The 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) test track in Cardiff

2086-433: A given time. Smaller vehicles in turn would require simpler "tracks" and smaller stations, which lowered capital costs. Smaller towns and cities that could never hope to fund a conventional mass transit system could afford PRT, and the concept generated intense interest. Numerous PRT systems were designed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, many as a result of the publication of the highly-influential HUD reports . In general,

2235-409: A gross weight of 1300kg, the electric-powered vehicles have four seats, can carry a 500 kg (78.74 stone) payload and are designed to travel at 40 kilometers per hour (25 mph) at gradients of up to 20%, but the company has suggested limiting operating routes to 10% gradients to improve passenger comfort. The vehicles can accommodate wheelchairs, shopping trolleys and other luggage, in addition to

2384-507: A group which advocates the use of technological solutions to transit problems, compiled a definition in 1988 that can be seen here. Currently, five advanced transit networks (ATN) systems are operational, and several more are in the planning stage. [REDACTED] Morgantown, West Virginia , US (1975) The following list summarizes several well-known automated transit networks (ATN) suppliers as of 2014, with subsequent amendments. Modern PRT concepts began around 1953 when Donn Fichter,

2533-431: A junction, for example. Several types of guideways have been proposed or implemented, including beams similar to monorails, bridge-like trusses supporting internal tracks, and cables embedded in a roadway. Most designs put the vehicle on top of the track, which reduces visual intrusion and cost, as well as easing ground-level installation. An overhead track is necessarily higher, but may also be narrower. Most designs use

2682-528: A major employer in the town. Brewing ceased in Staines in the 1950s, but bottling continued at the plant until the 1970s. Staines became a centre for linoleum manufacture in 1864, when Frederick Walton , the inventor, opened the first factory to produce the floor covering on the Hale Mill site, to the north of the town centre. At its height in the 1920s, the Staines plant covered 20 ha (49 acres) and

2831-464: A market is from 1218, but one may have taken place near St Mary's Church in the Anglo-Saxon period . The industrialisation of Staines began in the mid-17th century when Thomas Ashby established a brewery in the town. Improvements to the local transport network in the mid-19th century also stimulated an expansion of the local population. The current Staines Bridge , designed by George Rennie ,

2980-636: A network topology, with all stations located on sidings , and with frequent merge/diverge points. This allows for nonstop, point-to-point travel, bypassing all intermediate stations. The point-to-point service has been compared to a taxi or a horizontal lift (elevator). Numerous PRT systems have been proposed but most have not been implemented. As of November 2016 , only a handful of PRT systems are operational: Morgantown Personal Rapid Transit (the oldest and most extensive), in Morgantown, West Virginia , has been in continuous operation since 1975. Since 2010

3129-476: A new bridge. The first, designed by Thomas Sandby , was opened in 1796, but was closed two years later after cracks started to form in the stonework. A cast-iron replacement, designed by James Wilson in consultation with George Rennie was opened in 1803, but cracked within two months. A third bridge was authorised by Act of Parliament in 1804. It was designed by Rennie and was constructed of timber, strengthened with cast iron plates. Although it did not suffer from

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3278-584: A plan to build an 8-kilometre (5.0 mi) elevated guideway in a Y-shaped network in Amritsar , India , serving seven stations, with over 200 pods. The network would connect the railway station, the bus station and the Golden Temple . Initial projections were for up to 100,000 passengers per day from 4:00 a.m. to midnight that would carry 35% of the visitors to the Golden Temple. The system

3427-452: A pod immediately upon arriving at a station, and can – with a sufficiently extensive network of tracks – take relatively direct routes to their destination without stops. The low weight of PRT's small vehicles allows smaller guideways and support structures than mass transit systems like light rail. The smaller structures translate into lower construction costs, smaller easements , and less visually obtrusive infrastructure. As it stands,

3576-424: A point-to-point fashion, instead of running like an automated people mover from one end of the line to the other. During periods of low usage all cars make a full circuit stopping at every station in both directions. Morgantown PRT is still in continuous operation at West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia , with about 15,000 riders per day (as of 2003 ). The steam-heated track has proven expensive and

3725-487: A probable main entrance at the southeastern side. Pottery sherds and worked flints were found on the site, as well as fragments of human bone. Other Neolithic artefacts from the local area include fragments of a jadeite axe, discovered on Staines Moor in the early 1980s, tentatively dated to c.  3500  – c.  1700 BCE. Deverel–Rimbury pottery from the Church Lammas lands indicates that

3874-501: A scheme to use the PRT system to connect terminal 2 and terminal 3 to their respective business car parks. The proposal was not included in the final plan due to spending priority given to other capital projects and has been deferred. If a third runway is constructed at Heathrow will destroy the existing system, which will be built over, will be replaced by another PRT. In June 2006, a Korean/Swedish consortium, Vectus Ltd, started constructing

4023-462: A single passenger per vehicle is optimum. Other designs use a car for a model, and choose larger vehicles, making it possible to accommodate families with small children, riders with bicycles, disabled passengers with wheelchairs, or a pallet or two of freight. All current designs (except for the human-powered Shweeb ) are powered by electricity . In order to reduce vehicle weight, power is generally transmitted via lineside conductors although two of

4172-427: A small on-board battery to reach the next stop after a power failure. CabinTaxi uses a LIM and was able to demonstrate 0.5 second headways on its test track. The Vectus prototype system used continuous track mounted LIMs with the reaction plate on the vehicle, eliminating the active propulsion system (and power required) on the vehicle. ULTra and 2getthere use on-board batteries, recharged at stations. This increases

4321-532: A special de-icing vehicle. Masdar's system has been limited because the exclusive right-of-way for the PRT was gained by running the vehicles in an undercroft at ground-level while building an elevated "street level" between all the buildings. This led to unrealistically expensive buildings and roads. Proposals usually have stations close together, and located on side tracks so that through traffic can bypass vehicles picking up or dropping off passengers. Each station might have multiple berths, with perhaps one-third of

4470-437: A study on the feasibility of PRT in four European cities. The study involved 12 research organizations, and concluded that PRT: The report also concluded that, despite these advantages, public authorities will not commit to building PRT because of the risks associated with being the first public implementation. The PRT acronym was introduced formally in 1978 by J. Edward Anderson . The Advanced Transit Association (ATRA),

4619-401: A system, the trains had to be large enough to carry hundreds of passengers (see headway for a general discussion). This, in turn, demanded large guideways that could support the weight of these large vehicles, driving up capital costs to the point where he considered them unattractive. Haltom turned his attention to developing a system that could operate with shorter timings, thereby allowing

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4768-474: A test track evaluate PRT technology for potential deployment in Gurugram and Bengaluru . The companies will need to fund the construction themselves. As of August 2017, Metrino has withdrawn from the competition and construction has not commenced, but the trial is still set to proceed. In May 2013, Heathrow Airport Limited announced, as part of its draft five-year (2014–2019) master plan that it intended to use

4917-521: A total route length of 76 kilometres (47 mi), covering 115 stations. These will be served by a fleet of 1,745 vehicles, offering an expected system capacity of 1.64 million passenger trips per day. The system will comprise two overlapping networks. The first of which is a PRT system with six seat vehicles running on elevated guideways with elevated stations. The second is a Group Rapid Transit (GRT) with thirty seat vehicles running mainly at grade with ground level stations. The vehicles will be produced at

5066-439: A track spiraling up to the summit of Big Spotters Hill. The track was approximately 600-metre (1,969 ft) long (one-way) and featured only two stations. The six-month operation was intended to research the public acceptance of PRT-like systems. In 2010 a 10-vehicle (four seats each), two station 2getthere system was opened to connect a parking lot to the main area at Masdar City , UAE. The systems runs in an undercroft beneath

5215-564: Is at ground level. It is stated that in a commercial application, 90% or more of the guideway might have to be elevated. The elevated guideway is about 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) wide. According to a study of a hypothetical city-based installation, consisting of 19.8 kilometres (12.3 mi) of guideway (89% elevated), the total cost of track and associated civil engineering works is estimated to be £2.9 million per kilometre ($ 8.7 million/mi). Per-station costs were estimated to be £0.48 million ($ 0.89 million). Vehicle costs were not considered in

5364-514: Is based in the town. The modern settlement of Staines appears to have originated in the late 12th century, when the area around the High Street was developed as a planned town, possibly in response to rebuilding the bridge over the Thames. The medieval street plan was not altered until the re-siting of the bridge in the 1830s, at which point the urban area began to spread beyond the confines of

5513-509: Is between £3 million and £5 million per kilometre (0.62 miles) of guideway. By contrast, the Heathrow deployment cost £30 million for 3.8 kilometres (2.4 mi) of guideway. The system was originally designed by Martin Lowson and his design team; Lowson had put £10 million into the project. He formed Advanced Transport Systems (ATS) in Cardiff to develop the system, and the site was later

5662-729: Is in the Borough of Spelthorne , at the confluence of the River Thames and Colne . Historically part of Middlesex , the town was transferred to Surrey in 1965. Staines is close to Heathrow Airport and is linked to the national motorway network by the M25 and M3 . The town is part of the Greater London Built-up Area . The earliest evidence of human activity in the area is from the Paleolithic and, during

5811-462: Is lucky enough to find a seat. The bus will be caught up in street congestion and move slowly, and it will make many stops completely unrelated to his trip objective. The bus may then let him off at a terminal to a suburban train. Again he must wait, and, after boarding the train, again experience a number of stops on the way to the CBD, and possibly again he may have to stand in the aisle. He will get off at

5960-707: Is supplied by Ultra MTS. The airport is due to open in 2021. Among the handful of prototype systems (and the larger number that exist on paper) there is a substantial diversity of design approaches, some of which are controversial. Vehicle weight influences the size and cost of a system's guideways, which are in turn a major part of the capital cost of the system. Larger vehicles are more expensive to produce, require larger and more expensive guideways, and use more energy to start and stop. If vehicles are too large, point-to-point routing also becomes more expensive. Against this, smaller vehicles have more surface area per passenger (thus have higher total air resistance which dominates

6109-552: Is the Antonine Itinerary , thought to have been written in the early 3rd century AD, in which the location appears as Pontibus , meaning "at the bridges". The first surviving records of Staines from the post-Roman period are from 1066, when the settlement appears in two separate charters as Stana and Stane . In Domesday Book of 1086, the settlement is referred to as Stanes . It later appears as Stanis (1167), Stanys (1428), Steynys and Staynys (1535), before

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6258-481: Is wasted by waiting for the next vehicle to arrive, indirect routes to their destination, stopping for passengers with other destinations, and often confusing or inconsistent schedules. Slowing and accelerating large weights can undermine public transport's benefit to the environment while slowing other traffic. Personal rapid transit systems attempt to eliminate these wastes by moving small groups nonstop in automated vehicles on fixed tracks. Passengers can ideally board

6407-641: The Lord Lieutenant of Surrey , Dame Sarah Goad , took place on 20 May 2012. The Royal Mail adopted the new name in mid-2013. Staines-upon-Thames is in northwest Surrey , around 17 + 1 ⁄ 4 miles (28 kilometres) from central London. It is close to the borders of Berkshire and Greater London . The town is linked to junction 13 of the M25 by the A30 and to the M3 by the A308 . The area surrounding

6556-493: The Morgantown Personal Rapid Transit project was completed. It has five off-line stations that enable non-stop, individually programmed trips along an 8.7-mile (14.0 km) track serviced by a fleet of 71 cars. This is a crucial characteristic of PRT. However, it is not considered a PRT system because its vehicles are too heavy and carry too many people. When it carries many people, it operates in

6705-579: The Neolithic , there was a causewayed enclosure on Staines Moor . The first bridge across the Thames at Staines is thought to have been built by the Romans and there was a settlement in the area around the modern High Street by the end of the 1st century CE . Throughout the Middle Ages, Staines was primarily an agricultural settlement and was held by Westminster Abbey . The first surviving record of

6854-605: The University of Minnesota . Raytheon failed to install a contracted system in Rosemont, Illinois , near Chicago , when estimated costs escalated to US$ 50 million per mile, allegedly due to design changes that increased the weight and cost of the system relative to Anderson's original design. In 2000, rights to the technology reverted to the University of Minnesota, and were subsequently purchased by Taxi2000. In 1999

7003-657: The Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964 into law, thereby forming the Urban Mass Transportation Administration . UMTA was set up to fund mass transit developments in the same fashion that the earlier Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 had helped create the Interstate Highways. That is, UMTA would help cover the capital costs of building out new infrastructure. However, planners who were aware of

7152-600: The Wraysbury River , an anabranch of the River Colne, is thought to have been the location of a late-medieval dye works and part of the mill was used for fulling in the 14th century. First recorded in 1682, Pound Mill was also on the Wraysbury River. It was bought by John Finch in 1747 and was a flour mill until the early 19th century, when it was used to grind mustard . The mill is immortalised in

7301-646: The 2010s and there are plans to replace the vehicles. From 1969 to 1980, Mannesmann Demag and MBB cooperated to build the Cabinentaxi urban transportation system in Germany . Together the firms formed the Cabintaxi Joint Venture. They created an extensive PRT technology, including a test track, that was considered fully developed by the German government and its safety authorities. The system

7450-486: The 20th century, there were large-scale improvements to the road network around Staines. The A30 bypass was constructed in the early 1960s and included the building of Runnymede Bridge over the Thames. A second bridge, alongside the first, was required for the construction of the M25 . The route of the motorway north of Staines was constrained by the Wraysbury Reservoir to the west and Staines Moor to

7599-497: The 21 pods carry upwards of 1,000 travellers per day. In 2018, it was announced that a PRT system would be installed at the new Chengdu Tianfu International Airport in Chengdu . The system will include 6 miles (9.7 km) of guideway, 4 stations, 22 pods and will connect a remote parking area to the two terminal buildings. It is supplied by Ultra-MTS . The airport opened on 27 June 2021. As of August 2021 there are no reports

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7748-604: The 2getthere designed ParkShuttle system was opened in the Kralingen neighbourhood of eastern Rotterdam using 12-seater driverless buses. The system was extended in 2005 and new second-generation vehicles introduced to serve five stations over 1.8 kilometres (1.1 mi) with five grade crossings over ordinary roads. Operation is scheduled in peak periods and on demand at other times. In 2002, 2getthere operated twenty five 4-passenger "CyberCabs" at Holland's 2002 Floriade horticultural exhibition. These transported passengers along

7897-554: The British Parking Awards. It connects Heathrow Terminal 5 to its business passenger car park, just north of the airport, by a 3.9-kilometre (2.4 mi) line built on behalf of Heathrow Airport Holdings , the airport's owner and operator. The system cost £30 million to develop. Construction of the guideway was completed in October 2008. The line is largely elevated, but it includes a ground-level section, where

8046-601: The PRT concept were worried that building more systems based on existing technologies would not help the problem, as Fitcher had earlier noted. Proponents suggested that systems would have to offer the flexibility of a car: The reason for the sad state of public transit is a very basic one – the transit systems just do not offer a service which will attract people away from their automobiles . Consequently, their patronage comes very largely from those who cannot drive, either because they are too young, too old, or because they are too poor to own and operate an automobile. Look at it from

8195-676: The PRT has commenced operation. In March 2021, it was announced that a PRT system will be installed from the proposed film city in Noida to the upcoming Jewar International Airport in Jewar . In July 2017 Ultra-Fairwood (a joint venture) announced that it had signed a contract with the Government of Ajman for the construction of a system in Ajman City . The proposed network will include 120 kilometres (75 mi) of track overall, including

8344-399: The PRT system to connect Terminal 2 and Terminal 3 to their respective business car parks. The proposal was not included in the final plan because of spending priority being given to other capital projects, and has been deferred. There were also plans to extend the PRT throughout the airport, and to nearby hotels by using 400 pods. In December 2011, Ultra-Fairwood (a joint venture) announced

8493-697: The River Thames. Construction of the sewerage system began in 1899. The works closed in 1936, when the town sewers were connected to Mogden Sewage Works in Isleworth . The Staines and Egham Gas Light and Coke Company was formed in 1834. It began to supply gas from its works in Bedfont Lane in Egham Hythe to the streetlamps on Staines Bridge in February of that year and the gas main to Staines

8642-563: The Sherriff of Middlesex was ordered to change the day on which it was held from Sunday to Friday. It had been discontinued by 1862, but re-established ten years later when the Town Hall was built. In 2022, the market is held in the High Street on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. An annual fair to be held in the settlement was granted to Westminster Abbey by Henry III in 1228. Initially it took place over four days at Ascensiontide , but

8791-631: The Staines South and Ashford West electoral division. Staines is divided between three wards, each of which elects three councillors to Spelthorne Borough Council . The wards are Staines, Staines South, and Riverside and Laleham. The Borough of Spelthorne has been twinned with Melun , France since 1990 and with Grand Port , Mauritius since 2009. Across the South East Region , 28% of homes were detached houses and 22.6% were apartments. The first drinking water supply to Staines

8940-583: The Staines area was settled in the Bronze Age and a roundhouse from the same period has been identified at Laleham . Two round barrow ring ditches , one of which had a cremation burial at the centre, were found at Knowle Green in 2021. A further ring ditch, around 21 m (69 ft) in diameter, was found during excavations of the Majestic House site, close to the eastern end of the High Street. A Bronze Age field system at Hengrove Farm

9089-555: The Two Rivers Shopping Centre, on the site of the old linoleum works, was opened in 2002. In the 21st century, proximity to London, Heathrow Airport and the M25 motorway has attracted large company branch offices, including: Bupa (healthcare) and Wood plc (oil & gas). Siemens Building Automation Division and British Gas (part of Centrica ) have their national headquarters here. Samsung R&D Institute UK (SRUK), Samsung's UK R&D division,

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9238-538: The air, and in a manner that will contribute to sound city planning." The resulting report was published in 1968 and proposed the development of PRT, as well as other systems such as dial-a-bus and high-speed interurban links. In the late 1960s, the Aerospace Corporation , an independent non-profit corporation set up by the US Congress, spent substantial time and money on PRT, and performed much of

9387-536: The aircraft, including the six crew members, were killed. Two memorials to all the victims were dedicated on 18 June 2004 in Staines. The first is a stained-glass window in St Mary's Church where an annual memorial service is held on 18 June. The second is a garden near the end of Waters Drive in the Moormede Estate, close to the accident site. The first record of a market at Staines is from 1218, when

9536-402: The archaeological evidence of pre-Roman human activity in the town centre. The Roman road from London to Silchester crossed the Thames in the Staines area. Both the Thames and Colne are thought to have had multiple channels during this period, which may have necessitated the building of more than one bridge. There was a settlement in the area surrounding the modern High Street and, although

9685-658: The banks of the Thames, crossing the river at Staines. Between 1042 and 1052, Edward the Confessor rebuilt Westminster Abbey as a royal burial church and endowed it with around 60 estates in the south east of England. Staines was one of the properties granted to the Abbey and remained in its possession until the Reformation . In 1086, the manor appears in the Middlesex section of Domesday Book as Stanes . In 1086,

9834-403: The barriers passively. No "switching" is required on the track, as the vehicles can make their own turns between routes based on an internal map. Since the vehicles are battery-powered, there is no need for electrification along the track: the vehicles recharge when they are parked at the stations. As a result, the trackway is similar in complexity to a conventional road surface, a light-duty one as

9983-480: The borough council offices and the magistrates' courts, to the southeast of the town centre, is known as Knowle Green. Egham Hythe , also in Surrey, is on the south side of the Thames and is linked to Staines by Staines Bridge . Staines town centre is close to the confluence of the rivers Colne and Thames . A former millstream , known as Sweeps Ditch, ran to the east of the High Street, but much of its course

10132-402: The city and was supposed to be a pilot project for a much larger network, which would also have included transport of freight. Expansion of the system was cancelled just after the pilot scheme opened due to the cost of constructing the undercroft and since then other electric vehicles have been proposed. In January 2003, the prototype ULTra ("Urban Light Transport") system in Cardiff , Wales,

10281-492: The city cores, and people moved out of the downtown areas. Lacking pollution control systems, the rapid rise in car ownership and the longer trips to and from work were causing significant air quality problems. Additionally, movement to the suburbs led to a flight of capital from the downtown areas, one cause of the rapid urban decay seen in the US. Mass transit systems were one way to combat these problems. Yet during this period,

10430-521: The date of its foundation is uncertain, the earliest archaeological evidence is from 54–96 AD, corresponding to the reign of Nero and the period of the Flavian Dynasty . By the mid-2nd century, Staines had increased in size and prosperity and the early Romano-British roundhouses had been replaced by stone buildings with flint and rag-stone foundations. Fragments of painted, plastered wall and floors of opus signinum have been uncovered, and

10579-644: The dates were changed to 7–10 September in 1241. By 1792, there were two one-day fairs each year, the first on 11 May for horses and cattle and the second on 19 September, known as the Onion Fair, for produce and trinkets . The fairs were abolished in 1896 by the Home Secretary at the request of the Staines UDC. Domesday Book records six mills in Staines in 1086, one of which is thought to have been at Yeoveney on Staines Moor. The site, close to

10728-517: The development of a short, one-half to one-second headway, high-capacity PRT (HCPRT) system will be initiated in fiscal year 1974." According to PRT supporter J. Edward Anderson , this was "because of heavy lobbying from interests fearful of becoming irrelevant if a genuine PRT program became visible." From that time forward people interested in HCPRT were unable to obtain UMTA research funding. In 1975,

10877-460: The early 19th century and many areas of gravel are covered by muddy silts and sands. There are brickearth deposits to the east of the town, along the A30, and outcrops of alluvium to the north and south. The earliest evidence of human activity in Staines is from the Paleolithic . Flint blades , along with reindeer and horse bone fragments, have been found during excavations at Church Lammas, to

11026-577: The early 4th century, although the town appears to have been smaller and less important than it had been in the first half of the Roman period. Following the end of Roman rule in Britain , the main settlement at Staines appears to have shifted from the High Street area to the Binbury area surrounding St Mary's Church. Archaeological evidence, including pits, ditches and pottery sherds suggests that there

11175-479: The early Saxon period, the Thames through Staines marked the border between Middlesex (to the north) and Surrey (to the south). In the 9th century, the river was used by Danish Viking raiders to travel into the heart of England. In 993, the Norwegian King, Olaf Tryggvason , sailed up the Thames to Staines with a fleet of 93 ships. In 1009, a large army of Vikings attacked Oxford and retreated back along

11324-487: The early theoretical and systems analysis. However, this corporation is not allowed to sell to non-federal government customers. In 1969, members of the study team published the first widely publicized description of PRT in Scientific American . In 1978 the team also published a book. These publications sparked off a sort of "transit race" in the same sort of fashion as the space race , with countries around

11473-525: The energy cost of keeping vehicles moving at speed), and larger motors are generally more efficient than smaller ones. The number of riders who will share a vehicle is a key unknown. In the U.S., the average car carries 1.16 persons, and most industrialized countries commonly average below two people; not having to share a vehicle with strangers is a key advantage of private transport . Based on these figures, some have suggested that two passengers per vehicle (such as with skyTran , EcoPRT and Glydways), or even

11622-501: The federal government was feeding the problems by funding the development of the Interstate Highway System , while at the same time funding for mass transit was being rapidly scaled back. Public transit ridership in most cities plummeted. In 1962, President John F. Kennedy charged Congress with the task of addressing these problems. These plans came to fruition in 1964, when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed

11771-467: The fire authority for the local area in 1965. The first surviving record of a town gaol in Staines is from 1274 and the erection of a new pillory and ducking stool is described in 1335. There were stocks in the Market Square through the 16th century until at least 1790. The vestry appointed the town Constable from the early 15th century until 1840, when responsibility for law enforcement

11920-418: The flow of the river and increased its depth to facilitate navigation, whilst maintaining an adequate head of water to power mills . With the exception of the construction of the causeway at Egham Hythe in the mid-13th century, there were few improvements in the local road network in the millennium following the end of the Roman period . In 1727, the turnpike road from Hounslow to Bagshot , which crossed

12069-463: The gravel islands. The population of Staines grew from 1,750 in 1801 to 2,487 in 1841 and 4,638 in 1881. The increase in the second half of the 19th century was stimulated in part by the arrival of the railway in 1848. Cottages for artisans and semi-skilled workers began to spread along the London and Kingston Roads from the mid-19th century onwards. The residential roads to the south and southeast of

12218-431: The guideway to distribute power and data communications, including to the vehicles. The Morgantown PRT failed its cost targets because of the steam-heated track required to keep the large channel guideway free of frequent snow and ice. Heating uses up to four times as much as energy as that used to propel the vehicles. Most proposals plan to resist snow and ice in ways that should be less expensive. The Heathrow system has

12367-532: The individual cars to be smaller while preserving the same overall route capacity. Smaller cars would mean less weight at any given point, which meant smaller and less expensive guideways. To eliminate the backup at stations, the system used "offline" stations that allowed the mainline traffic to bypass the stopped vehicles. He designed the Monocab system using six-passenger cars suspended on wheels from an overhead guideway. Like most suspended systems, it suffered from

12516-453: The intention had been to create a junction with the line from Datchet and for trains to serve the main Staines station, but inter-company rivalry meant that a separate facility was built instead. The freight yard closed in the 1950s and passenger services ceased in March 1965. Trains continued to run to the Staines fuel yard , at Staines West, until the early 1990s. During the second half of

12665-434: The junctions) or conventional steering. Advocates say that vehicle-switching permits faster routing so vehicles can run closer together which increases capacity. It also simplifies the guideway, makes junctions less visually obtrusive and reduces the impact of malfunctions, because a failed switch on one vehicle is less likely to affect other vehicles. Track switching greatly increases headway distance. A vehicle must wait for

12814-477: The local authorities took place in the second half of the 20th century. Under the London Government Act 1963 , Middlesex County Council was disbanded and the Staines UDC area was moved into Surrey. The Local Government Act 1972 , which came into force on 1 April 1974, merged the Staines and Sunbury-on-Thames UDCs to form the Borough of Spelthorne . The first surviving mention of a bridge from

12963-440: The local authority and, in 1800, a new manual fire engine was purchased by the Staines force. The Staines UDC purchased the first diesel engine for the brigade in 1926, which was replaced by a Leyland terrier pump escape engine in 1935. Middlesex County Council took over responsibility for local fire services on 1 April 1948, building a new fire station at Stanwell and closing the Staines station in 1962. Surrey County Council became

13112-649: The location of its test track. Ultra has twice been awarded funding from the UK National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts ( NESTA ). Much of the original research on Ultra was done by the Aerospace Engineering department at the University of Bristol in the 1990s. Recently, the company renamed itself to "Ultra PRT Limited" because of its primary business, and it moved its corporate headquarters to Bristol . Personal rapid transit

13261-476: The manor had land for 24 ploughs , six mills and woodland for 30 pigs. It provided an annual income of £35 for the Abbey. Since it was relatively close to Westminster, Staines acted as a home farm , providing for the abbot's personal household. 13th-century abbey records indicate that a market was taking place by 1218 and, in 1225, there were 46 burgesses living in the settlement, suggesting that Staines had become an important local centre. Westminster Abbey

13410-422: The manufacture of munitions and the linoleum factory was dedicated to making military supplies. Much of the civil defence effort was focused on the defence of Staines Bridge and tank traps were installed at each end. At the start of the war, a Bailey bridge was constructed across the Thames, in case the main bridge was damaged by bombing. The Bailey bridge remained in use for pedestrians until 1959, when it

13559-429: The medieval period is a document from 1222, that authorises repairs using wood cut from Windsor Forest. In around 1250, a causeway was constructed at Egham Hythe to improve the southern approach to the crossing. Also during the 13th century, there were renewals of the grant of pontage and, in 1376, tolls were levied on boat traffic to provide additional funds for maintenance. Local people left bequests for not only

13708-415: The minimum distances between consecutive junctions. A mechanically switching vehicle, maneuvering between two adjacent junctions with different switch settings, cannot proceed from one junction to the next. The vehicle must adopt a new switch position, and then wait for the in-vehicle switch's locking mechanism to be verified. If the vehicle switching is faulty, that vehicle must be able to stop before reaching

13857-652: The modern spelling "Staines" is first used in 1578. The name derives from the Old English stān , meaning "stone", and may refer to a Roman milestone on the London to Silchester road that survived into the early Anglo-Saxon period . In order to promote the town's "riverside image" and to distance it from its association with the fictional character, Ali G , Spelthorne Borough Council voted in December 2011 to change its name from "Staines" to "Staines-upon-Thames". The formal renaming ceremony, conducted by

14006-540: The necessary land was subject to compulsory purchase. The foundation stones were laid on each side of the river in September 1829 and William IV opened the bridge in April 1832. Tolls for crossing the bridge were abolished in 1871. The earliest locks on the upper Thames were built in the 17th century, following the establishment of the Oxford-Burcot Commission . However, efforts to improve

14155-652: The newly formed poor law union in 1836. In 1885 a local school board was established and three years later, the Local Government Act 1888 created the Middlesex County Council . An Urban District Council (UDC) and a Rural District Council (RDC) for the area were established in 1895 under the Local Government Act 1894 , but the RDC was merged into the UDC in 1930. Further reorganisation of

14304-417: The next switch, and all vehicles approaching the failed vehicle would be affected. Conventional steering allows a simpler 'track' consisting only of a road surface with some form of reference for the vehicle's steering sensors. Switching would be accomplished by the vehicle following the appropriate reference line – maintaining a set distance from the left roadway edge would cause the vehicle to diverge left at

14453-434: The operating systems use on-board batteries. According to the designer of Skyweb/Taxi2000, J. Edward Anderson , the lightest system uses linear induction motor (LIM) on the vehicle for both propulsion and braking, which also makes manoeuvres consistent regardless of the weather, especially rain or snow. LIMs are used in a small number of rapid transit applications, but most designs use rotary motors . Most such systems retain

14602-417: The owner of the airport, BAA Airports Ltd, purchased 25% of the company. Following its successful launch, there are now plans to extend it to the rest of the airport and even to the nearest town of Staines-upon-Thames , which is home to many of the airport's staff. With a Length of 3.7 m (12 ft 2 in), a Width of 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in), a Height of 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) and

14751-453: The passengers. Each pod is powered by four car batteries, giving an average 2 kW and adding 8% to the gross weight of the vehicle. Other specifications include a 5 metres (16 ft) turning radius, an energy requirement of 0.55 MJ per passenger-kilometre, and running noise levels of 35 dBA at 21.6 kilometres per hour (13.4 mph), as measured at a distance of 10 metres (33 ft). The company has also developed designs for

14900-541: The poor and took charge of the repair of local roads. From the 17th century, the roles of Justices of the Peace were expanded to take greater responsibility for law and order in Staines. The modern system of local government began to emerge during the 19th century. The Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 transferred responsibility for poor relief to the Poor Law Commission , whose local powers were delegated to

15049-457: The presence of tesserae indicates that at least one building had a mosaic floor. A collyrium stamp , found during an excavation of 73–75 High Street, suggests that there was a healer living in the town, who could have administered to the wider local population. Staines declined towards the end of the 2nd century, possibly as a result of an increased incidence of winter flooding. Nevertheless, Romano-British settlement activity continued until

15198-473: The previous vehicle to clear the junction, for the track to switch and for the switch to be verified. Communication between the vehicle and wayside controllers adds both delays and more points of failure. If the track switching is faulty, vehicles must be able to stop before reaching the switch, and all vehicles approaching the failed junction would be affected. Mechanical vehicle switching minimizes inter-vehicle spacing or headway distance, but it also increases

15347-471: The problem of difficult switching arrangements. Since the car rode on a rail, switching from one path to another required the rail to be moved, a slow process that limited the possible headways. By the late 1950s the problems with urban sprawl were becoming evident in the United States. When cities improved roads and the transit times were lowered, suburbs developed at ever increasing distances from

15496-535: The problems of the previous two bridges, it was costly to maintain (£11,000 in 1827) and restricted the width of boats passing beneath it. A further Act of Parliament in 1828, authorised the borrowing of up to £60,000 for the construction of a fourth bridge. The granite structure was designed by George Rennie and was based on Waterloo Bridge . Rennie insisted that the site of the crossing be moved upstream, where deeper foundations could be constructed. The repositioning required new approach roads to be constructed and

15645-646: The public in May 2011 as a passenger trial. Subsequently, it was made fully operational, and the bus service between the business car park and Terminal 5 was discontinued. The pods use 50% less energy than a bus and run 22 h a day. Unlike nearly all UK road and rail traffic, which drives on the left, the PRT system drives on the right. As of May 2013, the system passed the 600,000th-passenger milestone. The developers expected that users will wait an average of around 12 seconds, with 95% of passengers waiting for less than 1 minute for their private pod, which will travel at up to 40 kilometres per hour (25 mph). As of May 2018

15794-783: The railway station and the temple. In March 2013, the government of Punjab announced that it would open the project to competitive tendering with the Swiss challenge method. Ultra-Fairwood was one of three suppliers that was expected to be bidding. Reports indicate the government is due to finalise the bid by the end of June 2013. In June 2014, it was scrapped to be replaced by a cheaper rapid bus transit system. 51°28′45″N 0°29′16″W  /  51.479287°N 0.487687°W  / 51.479287; -0.487687 Personal rapid transit PRT vehicles are sized for individual or small group travel, typically carrying no more than three to six passengers per vehicle . Guideways are arranged in

15943-522: The repair of the bridge, but also the upkeep of the roads leading to it on each side of the river. The bridge was destroyed in the Civil War and was not rebuilt until the 1680s. In 1734, an Act of Parliament noted that the structure was "in a ruinous and dangerous condition" and that the money raised from tolls and local taxes was insufficient to fund adequate maintenance. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, there were four attempts to construct

16092-521: The river via Staines Bridge, was opened. A second turnpike, from Staines to Kingston opened in 1773. The re-siting of the bridge by George Rennie in the early 1830s necessitated changes in the road network at the western end of the High Street: The Market Square became a no through road and Clarence Street was constructed to direct traffic to the new crossing. The railway line through Staines between Richmond and Datchet

16241-486: The road name, "Mustard Mill Road". Hale Mill, on the main channel of the Colne, is thought to have its origins in the 13th century, but it was rebuilt in 1388 and became a fulling mill in the 15th century. Many of the mills in the local area were purchased in the second half of the 18th century by Thomas Ashby, a miller originally from Maidenhead . Ashby founded a brewery , subsequently taken over by his sons, which became

16390-406: The route passes under the approach to the airport's northern runway. The three stations, with two pod stations and one station within the car park at Terminal 5, were designed by Gebler Tooth Architects, along with the touchscreen interface for passengers to select their destination on their journey. Following various trials, including some that used airport staff as test passengers, the line opened to

16539-582: The safety, and reduces the complexity, cost and maintenance of the guideway. As a result, the ULTRa guideway resembles a sidewalk with curbs and is inexpensive to construct. ULTRa and 2getthere vehicles resembles small automated electric cars, and use similar components. (The ULTRa POD chassis and cabin have been used as the basis of a shared autonomous vehicle for running in mixed traffic. ) Almost all designs avoid track switching , instead advocating vehicle-mounted switches (which engage with special guiderails at

16688-437: The standpoint of a commuter who lives in a suburb and is trying to get to work in the central business district (CBD). If he is going to go by transit, a typical scenario might be the following: he must first walk to the closest bus stop, let us say a five or ten minute walk, and then he may have to wait up to another ten minutes, possibly in inclement weather, for the bus to arrive. When it arrives, he may have to stand unless he

16837-539: The station most convenient to his destination and possibly have to transfer again onto a distribution system. It is no wonder that in those cities where ample inexpensive parking is available, most of those who can drive do drive. In 1966, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development was asked to "undertake a project to study ... new systems of urban transportation that will carry people and goods ... speedily, safely, without polluting

16986-404: The stretch of the river through Staines did not start until the 19th century. The pound lock at Penton Hook , a tight meander downstream of Staines, was constructed in 1815, but the weirs were not added until 1846. Bell Weir Lock , upstream of the town, opened in 1818, but was rebuilt in 1867-8 after the chamber walls had collapsed the previous year. The construction of the locks regulated

17135-477: The study. The first system began passenger trials at Heathrow Terminal 5 , in October 2010, and it opened for full passenger service 22 hours a day, 7 days a week, in May 2011. Operational statistics in May 2012 demonstrate more than 99% reliability and an average passenger wait time over the year of 10 seconds. Ultra has achieved a number of awards from the London Transport Awards and

17284-475: The surrounding floodplain. Staines High Street, oriented northeast to southwest, runs across one of these islands to the site of the medieval bridge and was the nucleus of the Roman town. St Mary's Church , on "Binbury island" to the northwest of the centre, is thought to have been the focus of settlement activity in the late-Saxon period. Elevations below 13.5 m (44 ft) AOD were liable to flooding until

17433-408: The system requires an operation and maintenance budget of $ 5 million annually. Although it successfully demonstrated automated control and it is still operating it was not sold to other sites. A 2010 report concluded replacing the system with buses on roads would provide unsatisfactory service and create congestion. Subsequently, the forty year old computer and vehicle control systems were replaced in

17582-401: The systems intended to use small four-to-six-passenger vehicles, but most evolved to larger designs over time (see Alden staRRcar ). As they did so, vehicles and tracks grew heavier, capital costs rose, and interest dropped. In the end, only one production PRT system was built, the Morgantown, W.Va PRT in 1975, a government-funded demonstration system to prove the concept. Originally derided as

17731-422: The three station Duke University Medical Center Patient Rapid Transit system was commissioned. Uniquely, the cars could move sideways, as well as backwards and forwards and it was described as a "horizontal elevator". The system was closed in 2009 to allow for expansion of the hospital. In the 1990s, Raytheon invested heavily in a system called PRT 2000, based on technology developed by J. Edward Anderson at

17880-466: The town centre were created in the early 1930s. Following the Second World War, there were new housing developments on Commercial Road and between Kingston Road and Elizabeth Avenue, primarily to provide accommodation for workers at the rapidly expanding Heathrow Airport. Despite its proximity to London and the fact that Staines Bridge and the local factories presented obvious enemy targets,

18029-521: The town sustained relatively little bomb damage during the Second World War. There was a severe bombing raid on Staines on the night of 24–25 August 1940 and a V-1 flying bomb landed at the junction of Stanish Crescent and Kingston Road on 19 June 1944, killing four people and injuring a further 17. Within the Staines Urban District, a total 71 civilians died as result of enemy action. The Lagonda works at Egham Hythe were converted to

18178-420: The town's reputation was suffering through its association with the character, Sacha Baron Cohen , the creator of Ali G, praised Staines for being a "lovely, leafy, middle-class suburb... where swans swim under the beautiful bridge". Partly in response to the reaction to the character, Spelthorne Borough Council voted in 2011 to add the suffix "upon-Thames" to the name. The earliest document to refer to Staines

18327-486: The track needed to decelerate to and accelerate from stations. In at least one system, Aramis, this nearly doubled the width and cost of the required right-of-way and caused the nonstop passenger delivery concept to be abandoned. Other designs have schemes to reduce this cost, for example merging vertically to reduce the footprint. Staines Staines-upon-Thames is a market town in northwest Surrey , England, around 17 miles (28 kilometres) west of central London. It

18476-503: The vehicle (see, for instance, the Ford ACT ). Together, the changes mean the vehicle no longer needs strong mechanical contact with the guideway, which can be dramatically reduced in complexity. In the case of Ultra, the guideway can consist of as little as two parallel rows of concrete barriers, similar to the bumpers found in a car park . The vehicle uses them for fine guidance only; it is able to steer itself around curves by following

18625-469: The vehicles in a system being stored at stations waiting for passengers. Stations are envisioned to be minimalistic, without facilities such as rest rooms. For elevated stations, an elevator may be required for accessibility. At least one system, Metrino, provides wheelchair and freight access by using a cogway in the track, so that the vehicle itself can go from a street-level stop to an overhead track. Some designs have included substantial extra expense for

18774-453: The vehicles will not vary in weight to the extent of a tractor-trailer. Even the stations are greatly simplified; in the case of ground-level tracks, the lack of any substantial infrastructure means that the vehicles can stop at any kerb. Stations at Heathrow resemble a car park with diagonal slots, with a rain shield similar to the awnings at a petrol station. As part of the development of the first commercial system at Heathrow Airport, in 2005

18923-505: The west of the town centre. During the Mesolithic , the area around Staines is thought to have been covered with a dense pine and birch forest. A Neolithic causewayed enclosure , about 800 metres ( 1 ⁄ 2 mile) west of St Mary's Church, was identified by aerial photography in 1959. The site, on a gravel island in the Colne river delta, 16 m (52 ft) AOD, consisted of two concentric , subcircular ditches, with

19072-649: The west. The Chertsey to Staines stretch of the M25 was opened in November 1981 with three lanes in each direction, but with a wide central reservation , allowing the road to be widened easily later. Four lanes in each direction were provided from outset between the A30 and the M4 . The Staines air disaster occurred on 18 June 1972, when a Hawker Siddeley Trident , operated by British European Airways , crashed shortly after takeoff from Heathrow Airport . All 118 people aboard

19221-555: The world rushing to join what appeared to be a future market of immense size. The oil crisis of 1973 made vehicle fuels more expensive, which naturally interested people in alternative transportation. In 1967, aerospace giant Matra started the Aramis project in Paris . After spending about 500 million francs , the project was canceled when it failed its qualification trials in November 1987. The designers tried to make Aramis work like

19370-632: Was dissolved in 1540 and Staines then became a possession of the Crown, allowing Henry VIII to extend his Windsor hunting grounds further to the east. In 1613, James I granted the manor to Thomas Knyvet , who had arrested Guy Fawkes at the Palace of Westminster eight years earlier. Following Knyvet's death, Staines passed to Sir Francis Leigh and, following the Restoration of the Monarchy , it

19519-445: Was a permanent settlement in this area by the mid-Saxon period and there may have been a marketplace at the northern end of Church Street. Staines may have been a fortified burh and the location of a minster church . A late-Saxon execution cemetery on London Road, containing the incomplete remains of up to thirty skeletons, suggests that the town was also an important local centre for the administration of justice. For much of

19668-492: Was also cultivated during the Iron Age , but fell out of use around the start of the Roman period . There is also evidence of an early Iron Age enclosure on Staines Moor and finds from the site include pottery sherds , flints and animal bones, with evidence of burning having taken place there. Since Staines is located on the low-lying floodplain of the Thames, it is likely that historical flooding events have destroyed much of

19817-641: Was certified to carry passengers by the UK Railway Inspectorate on a 1 km (0.6 mi) test track. ULTra was selected in October 2005 by BAA plc for London's Heathrow Airport . Since May 2011 a three-station system has been open to the public, transporting passengers from a remote parking lot to terminal 5. During the deployment of the system the owners of Heathrow became owners of the UltrPRT design. In May 2013 Heathrow Airport Limited included in its draft five-year (2014–2019) master plan

19966-403: Was dismantled. The town is in the parliamentary constituency of Spelthorne . Until the 2024 general election , it was represented at Westminster by Conservative Kwasi Kwarteng , who was first elected in 2010. Councillors are elected to Surrey County Council every four years. The majority of the town is in the Staines electoral division, but areas to the southeast of the centre are in

20115-408: Was diverted underground in the 20th century. Severe flooding events have taken place in Staines in 1894, 1947, and 2014. Much of the town is built on gravel "islands" that rise above the low-lying floodplains of the Thames and Colne. These gravel deposits have a typical maximum elevation of 14 m (46 ft) above ordnance datum (AOD) and are as little as 0.5 m (1.6 ft) above

20264-464: Was held briefly by Sir William Drake. The manor was then purchased by Richard Taylor, whose descendants lived at Knowle Green until the 19th century. Reforms during the Tudor period reduced the importance of manorial courts and the day-to-day administration of towns such as Staines became the responsibility of the vestry of the parish church. The vestry appointed a constable, distributed funds to

20413-582: Was in public operation for six months from 1975 to 1976. This system had 12 single-mode vehicles and four dual-mode vehicles on a 1.6 km (1.0 mi) track with five stations. This version carried over 800,000 passengers. CVS was cancelled when Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport declared it unsafe under existing rail safety regulations, specifically in respect of braking and headway distances. On March 23, 1973, U.S. Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA) administrator Frank Herringer testified before Congress: "A DOT program leading to

20562-742: Was laid in 1835. At the start of the First World War, the Staines and Egham company was acquired by the Brentford Gas Company, which in 1949, following further mergers and acquisitions, became the North Thames Gas Company. A 177 ft high (54 m) gasometer was constructed in Staines in 1927 and was demolished in 1986. The first electricity generating station serving Staines opened in Egham High Street in 1905. It operated until 1912, when it

20711-528: Was launched in January 2002. The $ 4 million funding for the test track came from various sources in the United Kingdom government . One electric vehicle was demonstrated running at speeds up to 25 miles per hour (40 km/h). Accurate stopping was demonstrated, and the vehicle ascended and descended a steep gradient. A single, rudimentary ground level station was shown. Most of the test track guideway

20860-486: Was one of twenty producers in Great Britain. Following the end of the Second World War, there was a decline in lino sales as vinyl floor coverings became more popular. The Staines lino factory closed in 1973. The Elmsleigh Shopping Centre was opened by Elizabeth II on 22 February 1980, providing 250,000 sq ft (23,000 m ) of retail space. Much of the High Street was pedestrianised in 2002 and

21009-598: Was open between 1884 and 1916. The railway line through Staines to Windsor was electrified in June 1930 and to Virginia Water in 1937. Staines signal box closed in September 1974. A third station in the town was opened on 2 November 1885. Staines West was the terminus of a single-track branch from the Great Western Main Line , constructed by the Staines and West Drayton Railway Company . Originally

21158-577: Was opened by the Windsor, Staines and South Western Railway on 22 August 1848. In 1856, Staines became a junction when the line across the Thames to Ascot was opened. A curve linking the Ascot and Datchet lines was opened in April 1877 and remained in use until March 1965. A second station in the town, Staines High Street station , to the northwest of the junction of this curve and the Datchet line,

21307-417: Was opened in 1832 by William IV and the first railway line through Staines opened in 1848. The town became a centre for linoleum manufacture in 1864, when Frederick Walton established a factory on the site of the 13th-century Hale Mill. At the end of the 20th century, Staines became infamous as the home town of the fictional film and television character, Ali G . Although many local residents felt that

21456-415: Was originally developed in the 1950s as a response to the need to move commuters in areas with densities too low to pay for the construction of a conventional metro system . Using automated guidance allowed headways to be shortened, often to a few seconds or even fractions of a second. That increases the route capacity , allowing the vehicles to become much smaller but still carry the same passenger load in

21605-541: Was projected to be completed by 2014 with private financing on a 'Build, Own, Operate, Transfer' (BOOT) basis. The unsolicited bid was announced by the local government as set to proceed, and a foundation stone was laid. The proposed route received objections from some businesses, particularly in the Hall Bazaar and the route was then changed, with the Katra Jaimal Singh area dropped from the line, between

21754-568: Was provided by the West Surrey Water Company, whose works at Egham were built in 1889. Between 1960 and 1973, the company merged with its neighbours serving Woking and south west London, to form the North Surrey Water Company. Today, Affinity Water is responsible for supplying the town with drinking water. Until the start of the 20th century, wastewater from Staines was discharged directly into

21903-423: Was replaced by at new facility on The Causeway in Egham Hythe. The new works opened with an installed capacity of 188 kW and, by the time of its closure in 1924, it was capable of generating 688 kW. The earliest record of a permanent fire-fighting force in Staines is from 1738, when a hand-operated fire pump was purchased for the brigade. Reforms in 1774 transferred responsibility for fire services to

22052-582: Was reported that the Chief Minister of Haryana had ordered officials to "complete all the necessary formalities in the next three months and begin work on the project". In October 2016, Indian Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said four competing technical proposals had been received, and the system was still subject to approval and financial bidding. In January 2017, ULTra was one of three companies – along with SkyTran and Metrino – approved to build

22201-516: Was to have been installed in Hamburg , but budget cuts stopped the proposed project before the start of construction. With no other potential projects on the horizon, the joint venture disbanded, and the fully developed PRT technology was never installed. Cabintaxi Corporation, a US-based company, obtained the technology in 1985, and remains active in the private-sector market trying to sell the system but so far there have been no installations. In 1979

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