The Solar Tram

For the City the Earth Needs, the early planners looked to innovative projects that were developed in the 1950s. Disneyland in California caught their attention. The large circular and elevated monorail used for public transport seemed worthy of Auroville. This monorail appeared in some of the first brochures as a proposal to encircle the centre of Auroville along what has become known as the Crown Way. Years later, the Disneyland engineers came to Auroville for inspiration to plan Epcot, a futuristic theme park, in Florida. They took the Matrimandir structural plan for their building design and the International Zone concept to build pavilions of different countries. 

The solar tram solution for public transport came through Auroville International Germany. Although railway tracks on a site were built as a prototype, the project failed to get the permission to build the complete track system. The project called for a pilot scheme to go from the Visitors' Center to the Matrimandir to test and develop the tram by replacing the buses that currently take visitors to Matrimandir. The Matrimandir Access Team and TDC have walked through the bushes more than once but the route of the tram is still under discussion. 

Auroville International USA encouraged the project, and Julian Lines, when he was a member of the International Advisory Council, managed to bring the needed high tech rail wheels for the tram (in suitcases). The motor and technical parts were sourced from the Rewa electric car. When the pandemic struck and Aurovelo had to shut down temporarily, the team had the opportunity to work on the solar tram and get the current prototype running on the test rails. The current model can go either forward or backward. It's an open carriage with seating on both sides and the passengers face outward at the view. Their belongings can be placed behind and under the seating. Eventually there could be several trams circulating continuously around the four kilometres of the Crown at a speed of 15 km per hour so no one would have to wait more than a few minutes for a ride. 

There's much more to be done, but on August 15, 2022, a solar tram pilot was rolling on the tracks. One more move in the right direction for clean, quiet, efficient and friendly public transport needed for Auroville and the Earth.