The head of the IT department of Russian Railways, Kirill Semion, said at the Digital Transport forum that Russian Railways has not yet been able to completely remove the driver from the cabin of an unmanned train. He noted that the company’s main goal is the safety of passengers, and that artificial intelligence technologies do not yet provide a 100% guarantee. Errors and mistakes are still possible, so the presence of the driver is necessary to ensure complete traffic safety.
Semion added that some technological processes in the operation of trains require the intervention of the engineer and his assistant. However, he is confident that in the future it will be possible to completely robotize these processes. “We can imagine a locomotive in which a robot moves at the right moment, performs the necessary actions and returns,” Semion thinks, emphasizing that this will allow rail transport to approach unmanned traffic.
Earlier, the head of Russian Railways Oleg Belozerov said that the first unmanned long-distance train is planned to be put into service by 2030. However, the driver will still remain in the cabin for control. In August, Russian Railways put into service the Lastochka electric train with the third level of automation, where the driver can take control at any time. This train runs along the Moscow Central Ring, and in domestic systems, it is planned to put fully driverless trains into service by 2026.
Source: Ferra
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