All Automation articles
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NewsInstallation robot to accelerate ETCS roll-out
NETHERLANDS: Strukton Rail is to work with Trackbot robot developers AMT Group and No Man Trackwork to produce a prototype autonomous machine for the fast and accurate installation of balises and axle counters as part of the national ERTMS deployment programme. The partners hope that a prototype ...
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News
Autonomous shunting locomotive on test
FINLAND: A shunting locomotive retrofitted for unattended operation to Grade of Automation 4 is being tested at the Voikkaa Business Area as part of a project to develop an autonomous shunter for use at freight terminals, industrial sites and ports. Steelwheel has modified the Otso 4 ...
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News
Driverless regional train research gets underway
GERMANY: Work has started on a project to develop and test technology for the driverless operation of regional passenger trains, and to identify the regulatory changes which would be needed to permit future use. The project is being undertaken by Alstom, the DLR aerospace research centre ...
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Rail Business UK
‘Unique in Europe’ Welsh test centre to push technological boundaries
UK: The Global Centre of Rail Excellence at Onllwyn in south Wales will be ‘unique in Europe’ when it opens in 2025, GCRE Chief Technology Officer Andy Doherty told the Railway Industry Association Innovation Conference on April 27.
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In depth
Cybersecurity: Intrusion detection to protect the digital railway
Increasing reliance on digital technologies has made railways more vulnerable to cyber attacks. Intrusion Detection Systems can help to protect new and existing infrastructure and ensure availability.
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News
Autonomous freight project awarded US government funding
USA: The Department of Energy has awarded $4·4m from its Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy initiative to support the testing of Parallel Systems’ prototype autonomous battery-electric vehicles for transporting containers by rail. The tests are intended to look at vehicle stability, contact-based platooning and energy efficiency. Stability ...
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Metro Report International
Moscow plans driverless tram test
RUSSIA: Driverless trams could be tested in Moscow by the end of this year, according to Deputy Mayor for Transport Maksim Liksutov. The city is currently working with technology company Yandex on a driverless tram project, Liksutov told delegates at a conference on Robots in the ...
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News
Space engineers rethink rail freight with autonomous battery-electric vehicles
Prototype autonomous battery-powered container wagons are being developed by engineers at California start up Parallel Systems. Co-founder, CEO and former SpaceX engineer Matt Soule explains how the company aims to bring new thinking to rail freight.
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Metro Report International
Paris Line 4 reaches Bagneux as driverless conversion moves forward
FRANCE: Paris transport authority Île-de-France Mobilités and operator RATP opened the southern extension of metro Line 4 to Bagneux-Lucie Aubrac on January 13.
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Metro Report International
Glasgow Subway train testing gets underway
UK: Preliminary testing of the new Stadler trains for the Glasgow Subway has begun, in what Strathclyde Partnership for Transport said marks a ‘major milestone’ for the modernisation of the 10·5 km circular underground line. In March 2016 SPT awarded a consortium of Stadler and Ansaldo ...
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News
ATACS to support ATO on Tokyo suburban routes
JAPAN: East Japan Railway has confirmed plans to install its ATACS radio-based train control on Tokyo suburban lines over the next decade, in order to support an expansion of driver-only and automatic train operation.
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Metro Report International
Delhi Metro’s Pink Line goes automatic
INDIA: Automated operation of Delhi Metro’s 59 km Pink Line between Majlis Park and Shiv Vihar was launched on November 25. A train operator will initially be retained onboard ‘to instil a sense of confidence and assistance’, Delhi Metro Rail Corp said. Delhi’s first driverless line ...
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News
JR East demonstrates automatic operation of high speed train
JAPAN: East Japan Railway demonstrated autonomous operation of a Series E7 high speed trainset to invited guests on November 17. Although a driver was present, his instructions were to keep his hands off the controls unless anything unexpected happened.
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News
Prototype autonomous battery-powered wagon aims to help rail compete with trucks
USA: Technology company Intramotev is developing a prototype self-powered autonomous wagon, which it hopes can make rail freight more competitive over distances of up to 1 500 km.
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Metro Report International
Metro turnback time cut during testing
CHINA: The average time taken to turn back trains on Shanghai’s automated metro Line 5 has been cut by 26 sec to 86 sec during testing, paving the way for the operation of more frequent services. The line is equipped for attended driverless operation to Grade ...
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In depth
Comment: Automated reality
Automation of main line trains is slowly becoming a commercial reality, having been long established in the urban rail sector. However, mass adoption of driverless technology on mixed traffic railways still seems a long way off, with interim technology such as C-DAS offering many benefits in the meantime.
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News
DB Cargo awards automated shunting loco contract
GERMANY: Driverless shunting locomotives are expected to be operating in commercial service at DB Cargo’s München-Nord marshalling yard by the end of 2024, following the award of contracts for the development of onboard systems for both train positioning and ATO. DB Cargo has appointed Augsburg-based Railergy ...
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Metro Report International
Driverless train demonstrated on the Hamburg S-Bahn
GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn and Siemens Mobility unveiled the first S-Bahn train in Hamburg equipped for automatic train operation at the city’s Dammtor station on October 11.
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News
Five-train platoons to operate with virtual coupling
RUSSIA: Russian Railways is planning to use platooning technology to operate flights of up to five freight trains next year using radio data exchange between locomotives to create a virtual coupling. The aims to reduce headways from 12 to 6 to 8 min, increasing capacity on ...
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Rail Business UK
London Underground driverless train study seeks platform edge door alternatives
UK: As part of a study into the feasibility of introducing driverless trains on the London Underground, Transport for London is seeking information about technologies that could mitigate platform-train interface risks in the absence of platform edge doors. TfL’s participation in a Department for Transport-led study ...
