Shanghai's Lin-gang Special Area starts testing its new T1 line on Jan 1. [Photo/IC]

The Lin-gang Special Area of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone – in the East China megacity of Shanghai – began testing its new T1 tram line on Jan 1, which uses revolutionary Digital-rail Rapid Transit or DRT technology, according to officials.

They said it the world's first digital rail-guided rubber-tired tram, or DRT system, designed and manufactured by Chinese group CRRC. Sensors on the tram collect information from magnetic markers on the road surface, which help guide the vehicle's position in real time and control the direction of the rubber tires.

The new generation clean energy transport project broke ground on Aug 18 last year and will be completed in June 2021.

The maximum operating speed of the tram is 70 kilometers per hour and the maximum passenger capacity is 302.

Officials said the new T1 line will link the main area of the Lin-gang Special Area, the university zone, the Luchao Port Community, the international logistic park, the industrial zone and Nicheng Community.

A new DRT tram rolls out of Dishuihu station on Jan 1. [Photo/IC]

The cutting-edge tram stops at the Dishuihu station on the T1 line on Jan 1. [Photo/IC]