The Open Leading Electric Vehicle & System, which debuted in March 2010, will begin running in earnest, after the completion of a test operation, at Seoul Grand Park.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government will deploy three eco-friendly electric trams, which feature enhanced system stability and efficiency, on the conventional tram path in Seoul Grand Park, and begin regular operation of the new trams on July 19.
The seven conventional elephant trams and three new electric elephant trams will now run on the 2.2 km-long route in the park. The new trams, which can carry up to 97 people each and run at 20~40 km per hour, will link the circular path of the General Information Center of Seoul Grand Park, the main gate to Seoul Zoo, and Seoul Land in the park.
The Electric Elephant Tram is an eco-friendly electric vehicle that wirelessly recharges its batteries using the magnetic fields generated by special electric wires buried 5 cm under the path, and converts magnetic power into electricity for power.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government expects that as the park continues to replace its conventional diesel-powered elephant trams with the new eco-friendly Elephant trams, it will significantly ease the inconvenience of citizens caused by emission and bad smell of the conventional tram.
After introducing the electric elephant trams, the City Government plans to phase out all other vehicles operating at Seoul Grand Park and gradually replace them with electric passenger cars and electric motorbikes in a bid to upgrade the park into a hub for green cars, the future means of transportation.
