Automated freight train testing planned

Automated freight trains will be tested in the Netherlands this year, in one of the first such trials for rail freight.

The automated train prototype can travel for about 100km without driver intervention, Alstom Transport says.

Automation allows the train driver to focus on supervision tasks, it says.

The tests should optimise railway operation, reduce energy consumption and increase ride comfort, providing added value and railway modernisation, the company says.

Alstom signed an agreement with Dutch infrastructure operator ProRail and Rotterdam Rail Feeding (RRF) to do the tests along the Betuweroute – a 150km double track freight line between Rotterdam Harbour to CUP Valberg in the eastern Netherlands.

“Automated trains are on the innovation agenda of several countries and Alstom is leading the development of ATO (Automatic Train Operation) for rail,”Alstom’s senior vice president in Europe Gian-Luca Erbacci says.

“Alstom’s close collaboration with ProRail and RRF will contribute to support the progress of new technology and create a more attractive, more competitive and more sustainable rail system.”

The Betuweroute was equipped by Alstom with the European standard signalling system ERTMS 10 years ago, the system providing better support for automatic operation, Alstom says. Automatic shunting on the CUP Valburg yard will also be tested.

The trial will operate at level 2 Grades of Automation (GoA), where starting and stopping is automated but a driver usually operates the doors, drives the train if needed and handles emergencies.

Some metro and speciality passenger trains around the world already use various forms of automation.

GoA level 3, where a train attendant drives if necessary and deals with emergencies, is used on the Docklands Light Rail in England.

GoA 4, a completely unattended train operation, features on a Sao Paulo Metro line in South America.