guideway
Quick Summary
A guideway is a channel or track designed to control the direction of movement for something. In the context of transportation, guideways are essential infrastructure for systems like automated trains, personal rapid transit (PRT), and automated guideway transit (AGT). These systems often operate on separate, dedicated tracks, which can be elevated or at ground level, allowing for controlled and efficient movement of vehicles.12
Traffic control systems rely heavily on guideways to provide operators with timely and accurate information, ensuring safe and efficient travel. The design and associated infrastructure of a guideway, including signs and markings, are crucial for guiding drivers and influencing their decisions. This infrastructure helps manage traffic flow and prevent accidents by providing consistent information about hazards, right-of-way, and directions.3
Ask Britannica AI about this topic
Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.
mass transitGrowth in the 19th century…limited to operations on fixed guideways (rails), and extending the service required installing more rails, a large and semipermanent investment. This inflexibility of a rail-based system was balanced by its low rolling resistance, which permitted the connection of several vehicles into trains where the demand for travel in the corridor…
Read More…limited to operations on fixed guideways (rails), and extending the service required installing more rails, a large and semipermanent investment. This inflexibility of a rail-based system was balanced by its low rolling resistance, which permitted the connection of several vehicles into trains where the demand for travel in the corridor…
Read More- mass transitNew technology
…(15–25-passenger) vehicles, the term automated guideway transit (AGT) is sometimes applied. AGT systems have been built to provide circulation in downtown areas (e.g., Detroit, Michigan, and Miami, Florida, both in the United States) and on a dispersed American college campus (West Virginia University, at Morgantown). The vehicles commonly have rubber…
Read More…(15–25-passenger) vehicles, the term automated guideway transit (AGT) is sometimes applied. AGT systems have been built to provide circulation in downtown areas (e.g., Detroit, Michigan, and Miami, Florida, both in the United States) and on a dispersed American college campus (West Virginia University, at Morgantown). The vehicles commonly have rubber…
Read More
traffic control…that can be called a guideway. It may be a physical guideway, as in the case of a railroad, or it may be an agreed-upon or designated route, marked either electronically (as in aviation) or geographically (as in the maritime industry). Movement—excepting pedestrian movement, which only requires human power—involves a…
Read More…that can be called a guideway. It may be a physical guideway, as in the case of a railroad, or it may be an agreed-upon or designated route, marked either electronically (as in aviation) or geographically (as in the maritime industry). Movement—excepting pedestrian movement, which only requires human power—involves a…
Read More- traffic controlTraffic elements
Guideway-related information is important, but its effect is limited. Vessel characteristics, as described earlier, also are extremely important in marine traffic control.
Read MoreGuideway-related information is important, but its effect is limited. Vessel characteristics, as described earlier, also are extremely important in marine traffic control.
Read More