German
rail operator DB Cargo wants to run a driverless train on the
Dutch Betuweroute. This is a trial in which the driver will still
still be present in the cab. The test is being organised by rail network manager
ProRail, according to the NRC Handelsblad.
According to
the system that DB Cargo is set to use, the company says it can be compared
to an aeroplane’s autopilot. The locomotives currently
deployed are already operating on the Betuweroute. DB Cargo has specifically chosen
this route because it is equipped with an ERTMS safety system.
As for
ProRail and DB Cargo are not yet able to give an exact date. ProRail
refers to ‘sometime after the summer’. “But ‘sometime in 2017’ is also ‘after the summer’. We are
currently looking into the conditions under which the test can take place. No such test has ever been carried out before on a
a closed section of track – with other traffic – a test of this kind has never been carried out before”,
a spokesperson told NRC.
Autonomous rail transport
Autonomous rail transport is not entirely new. A few railway lines in the
United States already operate without drivers. These are mostly lines
to or from airport terminals. In the metro systems in Copenhagen, London, Barcelona and
Paris, a few metro trains already run without a driver.
LogistiekProfs Editorial Team
