Three conceptual designs which could help shape and transform how the £2bn Cambridgeshire Autonomous Metro (CAM) project is delivered have been revealed.

The three consortiums of leading experts selected for the process have put forward three very different designs for an in-the-round solution to CAM’s delivery. This includes the vehicle, the infrastructure, and how the system would operate.

While the design challenge was not intended to find an ultimate delivery solution, aspects of the submissions from Dromos Technologies, Egis and Mott MacDonald could be adopted as part of the next business case phase, which begins in April.

CAM will offer in the region of 90 miles of public transport, connecting towns, villages and major employment sites to Cambridge. It will also link in with East West Rail, Cambridge South station and Mildenhall, St Neots, Alconbury and Haverhill

Mayor James Palmer said: “We have challenged some of the brightest and best minds in infrastructure to show us the art of the possible. The resulting designs show the vast potential for CAM to deliver something truly groundbreaking, transforming our economy and people’s lives, through a system which is world leading.

“To bring world class public transport to a region of our size and population, we have to be bold and apply new thinking. These designs give us a powerful insight into what can be achieved when you are prepared to challenge convention.”

“High quality infrastructure is expensive. The welcome upgrade of 21 miles of the A14 between Huntingdon and Cambridge cost £1.5bn. By comparison CAM will offer about 90 miles of high quality, regionwide public transport, and at a potential cost of nearer £2 billion, according to some of these designs. That, alongside the cost to the economy of failing to act on putting in the right infrastructure, is another reason why the case for CAM is compelling.”

The Dromos solution allows passengers to travel non-stop in their own Dromos vehicle without having to share with other passengers. The system would run on-demand all-year round. For longer journeys the its solution delivers rail system levels of capacity for CAM with space requirements and construction time compared with traditional mass transit systems.  Their solution also includes options for tunnels, underpasses, elevated lanes or segregated surface alignment, making it easy to implement to suit the demands of the urban or rural landscape.

The Egis’s driveless option focuses on creating innovations across the entire scope of the infrastructure, vehicle and operational concepts and enhanced connectivity by incorporating improvements for walking, cycling and modal interchange as well as integrated first/last mile services, achieving improved coverage and accessibility to the system.

Mott MacDonald envisage basing the system around a battery powered, two-car vehicle, accessible to all. The bidirectional all-wheel design makes it highly suitable for the towns, cities and the tunnels of Cambridgeshire.

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The proposed integrated Cambridgeshire Autonomous Metro system