Brainport drives at smart transport system
The province of North Brabant, the municipality of Eindhoven and Brainport Development, supported by local companies and knowledge institutions, want to develop a new innovative transport system. Dubbed the Brainport Line, it is to connect all campuses around Eindhoven with each other and regional work locations, and via Eindhoven Central Station with national and international economic centers. The project has been submitted to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management to be eligible for a contribution of over 1 billion euros from the National Growth Fund.
The Brainport Line is a new smart and emission-free public transport system in which ‘pods’ of various sizes drive over free lanes, along interchanges at arterial roads and around existing public transport nodes. The system uses sensor technology, autonomous driving and proven technology, such as platooning. It can be introduced step by step in the period up to 2030. Not tied to a route using rails, it’s easy to scale up and thus deployable in smaller cities but also larger metropolises, all over the world, offering great economic opportunities for the Brainport business community developing the line.
“We’ve already done our homework and launched this bid, which we believe is perfectly in line with the goals of the National Growth Fund,” says Christophe van der Maat, mobility commissioner of the province of North Brabant. “With the Brainport Line, we not only improve accessibility to and between economic top locations in the economic engine of the South, but the system also boosts the mobility transition in Brabant, as well as generating money. According to the social cost-benefit analysis, it yields around 150 million euros after deducting costs.”