RUSSIA: Automatic operation could be introduced on the 54 km Moscow Central Ring line next year, Russian Railways CEO Oleg Belozerov said following tests with an Lastochka electric multiple-unit.
Trains would run under Grade of Automation 2, with a driver in the cab to monitor operations.
Trials were carried out at Cherkizovo station during August, and included testing the train’s response to emergency situations such as the presence of an obstacles on the track.
RZD launched its ATO project in 2017, with three shunting locomotives being equipped with sensors, cameras, radars and Lidar. After successful tests, it decided to equip a passenger train with the technology, and the first self-driving trip with a Sinara/Siemens ES2G Lastochka trainset fitted with a machine vision system was undertaken at RZD’s Shcherbinka test site in August 2019.
