Rail automation news
News about railway and urban transport automation projects and technology.
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NewsAutomated wagon inspection to make rail freight more competitive
GERMANY: The Digital Inspection by Machine Intelligence project has been launched to automate and accelerate the manual wagon inspection process which need to be undertaken before an intermodal train can leave a terminal. The aim is to use sensors, cameras and AI to make wagon and ...
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Metro Report InternationalMadrid metro Line 6 to go driverless
SPAIN: Metro de Madrid has announced more details of its plans for the automation of the 23·5 km, 28-station circular Line 6, which is the busiest on the network with an average of 618 000 passengers on weekdays. Work on the €129m project is scheduled to ...
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Metro Report InternationalDriverless tram operation demonstrated in depot
FINLAND: The driverless movement of a tram around the Tampere tramway’s depot has been demonstrated, with Škoda Group saying its ’marks a significant step towards full autonomy’. The Škoda ForCity Smart Artic X34 tram was set tasks remotely. It then moved around the depot ...
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Metro Report InternationalDriverless tram scheduled to carry first passengers in September
RUSSIA: Moskva’s first driverless tram is to begin carrying passengers in September, the city’s Department of Transport has announced. On July 15 operator Moskva Metro reported that the tram was currently on test without passengers on Route 10, adding that it had already covered 400 km ...
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Metro Report InternationalHamburger Hochbahn signs €2·8bn deal for CBTC and trains offering a ‘completely new experience’
GERMANY: Hamburg city transport operator Hamburger Hochbahn has signed a €2·8bn framework agreement for Alstom to supply up to 374 metro trainsets and communications-based train control equipment. The deal announced on July 10 covers up to 120 DT6-A driverless trainsets for GoA4 unattended automatic operation on ...
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NewsHumanoid robot to maintain Japanese railway infrastructure
JAPAN: A giant humanoid robot capable of undertaking tasks such as painting lineside structures, cutting back vegetation, lifting heavy objects and performing simple maintenance of overhead electrification equipment has been unveiled by developer Jinki Ittai Corp and West Japan Railway. The robot has two 12·2 m ...
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Metro Report InternationalSiemens Mobility awarded Berlin U-Bahn CBTC contract
GERMANY: Berlin transport operator BVG has awarded Siemens Mobility a contract to supply communications-based train control to support Grade of Automation 2 attended semi-automated operation on metro lines U5 and U8.
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NewsTraction innovations on show in Ostrava
CZECH REPUBLIC: One of the 18 Flirt electric multiple-units being supplied to Serbia formed the centrepiece of the Stadler presentation for the Rail Business Days 2024 trade fair at Ostrava’s Trojhalí Karolina centre.
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NewsSensors selected for train automation trial
GERMANY: The AutomatedTrain project to test the driverless operation of multiple-units as part of the Digitale Schiene Deutschland initiative is to use Aeva’s frequency modulated continuous wave 4D LiDAR sensors. A Siemens Mobility Mireo trainset is to be equipped for GoA4 unattended movement from stabling sidings ...
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Metro Report InternationalParis metro Line 14 extended north and south
FRANCE: The length of Paris’ driverless metro Line 14 was more than doubled on June 24, when President Emmanuel Macron joined transport authority Ile-de-France-Mobilités and operator RATP to inaugurate northern and southern extensions
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Metro Report InternationalBengaluru metro CBTC and platform screen door contract awarded
INDIA: Bengaluru Metro Rail Corp has awarded Alstom a contract to supply Urbalis communications-based train control and platform screen doors to support Grade of Automation 4 driverless operation on the next stage of the Namma Metro network. The €96·2m contract announced on June 12 covers various ...
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Metro Report InternationalCentre for Electric Transport & Driverless Technologies opened
RUSSIA: Moskva Mayor Sergey Sobyanin has inaugurated a Centre for Electric Transport & Driverless Technologies which aims to bring developers together in one place to foster innovation. Projects being worked on include a driverless tram, a virtual Troika card enabling a smart phone to be used ...
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Metro Report InternationalSiemens to upgrade København S-bane for driverless operation
DENMARK: Siemens Mobility has been awarded a €270m contract to equip the 170 km S-bane network in København for GoA4 unattended operations. In 2017, the government decided in principle that the standalone suburban network electrified at 1·5 kV DC should transition to unattended driverless operation at ...
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NewsTwo prequalify for København automation Supporting Systems contract
DENMARK: Two suppliers have prequalified for the contract to provide Supporting Systems for the automation of København’s S-tog suburban rail services. They are Siemens Mobility and Thales company Ground Transportation Systems Denmark. The Supporting Systems contract will cover the supply of a wide range of technical ...
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NewsSBB tests automated shunting without possessions
SWITZERLAND: SBB and Alstom have carried out a series of trials using a remotely controlled shunting locomotive on tracks that remained open for normal operations. As part of the research trials, 24 locomotive drivers operated a shunter in the marshalling yard at Zürich-Mülligen from a control ...
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Metro Report InternationalMoskva Mayor plans driverless trams
RUSSIA: Moskva Mayor Sergey Sobyanin has announced ambitions to deploy smart technologies by 2030 to make the public transport network more reliable and the preferred option for mobility within the city. This could included driverless trams in 2024-26, driverless metro trains by around 2030, a smart ...
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Metro Report InternationalMadrid metro automation planned
SPAIN: The automation of Madrid metro lines 6 and 8 is planned, President of the Community of Madrid Isabel Natividad Díaz Ayuso has announced. Visiting construction works for the Line 3 extension from Villaverde Alto to El Casar on February 20, Díaz Ayuso said automation would ...
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Metro Report InternationalPraha metro Line C to be automated
CZECH REPUBLIC: Praha city council has approved plans to automate the existing metro Line C. This would enable orders for trainsets, platform screen doors and CBTC to be combined with those for the future Line D which is currently being built for automatic operation. Deputy Mayor ...
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Metro Report InternationalSecond busiest Paris metro line goes fully automatic
FRANCE: Paris metro Line 4 has been fully converted to Grade of Automation 4 unattended operation
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In depthAutomation: Robel embraces robots
Robotics and automation are driving the development of the next generation of Robel’s track maintenance and measuring technology. Nick Kingsley reports from Freilassing.