ULTra PRT test track

Ultra is a personal rapid transit PODCAR system developed by the British engineering company Ultra Global PRT.The only public system opened at Heathrow Airport in London in May 2011. It consists of 21 vehicles operating on a 3.9-kilometre 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 is between £3 million and £5 million per kilometre of guideway. By contrast, the Heathrow deployment cost £30 million for 3.8 kilometres of guideway.