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ULTra at London Heathrow Airport

In summer 2011 the first public ULTra system — which is also the first commercial PRT system anywhere in the world — will open at London’s Heathrow Airport. Commissioned by BAA (formerly the British Airport Authority) the system comprises some 4 kilometers of guideway and will link one station in Terminal 5 to two remote stations in the Business car park.

Phase 1 Network

The first phase of the ULTra network opens in summer 2011. It consists of 21 vehicles, two stations in the N3 Business Car Park and one station at Terminal 5.

An ULTra vehicle at Heathrow.

A single journey in either direction takes about 5-6 minutes and travels along approximately 1.2 miles (1.9km) of one-way guideway. For the majority of the trip to and from Terminal 5, the guideway structure consists of two lanes running in opposite directions separated by a central kerb, as shown on the right. This configuration gives the guideway a very small footprint, allowing ULTra to be installed within the very tight constraints posed by the present airport infrastructure.

BAA on ULTra

"This innovative system forms part of BAA's plan to transform Heathrow, improve the passenger experience and reduce the environmental impact of our operation through the development of cutting edge, green transport solutions. It offers a completely new form of public transport - one that will deliver a fast, efficient service to passengers and bring considerable environmental benefits, saving more than half of the fuel used by existing forms of public or private transport." — David Holdcroft, BAA ULTra Heathrow Terminal 5 Project Manager.

BAA and ULTra PRT

In 2003, BAA (the private sector company that owns Heathrow), undertook a comprehensive two-year study to plan for the long-term future transportation needs of London’s Heathrow Airport, the world’s busiest international airport. BAA’s objectives included:

Low emissions
High level-of-service
Efficient use of space
Good value for money

In addition, BAA had the challenge of keeping the airport operating while pushing “low-value” land uses such as surface parking away from the passenger terminals. In head-to-head competition with bus and APM, PRT won:

BAA conclusion: “PRT is the only practical solution, providing a 60% improvement in travel time and 40% operating cost savings.”

In 2005, following a formal PRT vendor competition under European Union rules, ULTra PRT was selected by BAA as the supplier of an ULTra system for Heathrow. Later in the year BAA purchased equity in ULTra PRT with the proceeds being used for commercialization of the system.

BAA and ULTra PRT then entered into an Agreement on 3rd October 2007 covering the design, construction, operation and maintenance of the ULTra system comprising Phase 1 of the system. On the 15th September 2009, BAA and ULTra PRT agreed upon a 20-year framework contract for use of ULTra for all BAA deployments of PRT.