Germany’s Deutsche Bahn, Siemens team up for driverless train
03 Nov 2021
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German rail road operator Deutsche Bahn, has teamed up with Siemens to launch, what the two claims, the world’s first automated, driverless train, in the city of Hamburg.
This automated and driverless train is expected to be more punctual and energy efficient than traditional trains, as per Deutsche Bahn and Siemens. Four similar trains are expected to join the northern city’s S-Bahn rapid urban rail network and will also begin to transport passengers from December.
The train is controlled by digital technology and is fully automated. The driver remains on the train to supervise the journey with passengers on board. Shunting, such as turning the train around, is done without on-board personnel. Passengers benefit from expanded rail services and greater punctuality.
"We are making rail transport more intelligent. Trains drive the perfect timetable automatically, accurate to the second and energy-optimised," says Roland Busch, CEO of Siemens AG. "This way, we are supporting our partner Deutsche Bahn in its goal of making train travel more attractive and protecting the climate. With our technology, our customers can transport up to 30 per cent more passengers, significantly improve punctuality and save more than 30 per cent energy. The digital S-Bahn Hamburg marks a world premiere.”
The new technology has already been officially approved and, since it features open interfaces, can immediately be used by operators worldwide for all types of trains, says a joint press release.
The project partners DB, Siemens Mobility, and the City of Hamburg have invested a total of €60 million in the digital S-Bahn Hamburg, which is part of DB’s Digital Rail Germany project.
They will use the existing rail infrastructure.
This project is a part of a 60 million euro ($70 million) modernisation of Hamburg’s rapid urban rail system, and is termed a world’s first by Siemens and Deutsche Bahn.
“Today we’re experiencing the true turn of an era: The railroad has arrived in the digital future and Digital Rail Germany has become a reality. With automated rail operations, we can offer our passengers a significantly expanded, more reliable and therefore improved service – without having to lay a single kilometer of new track. It is our goal to make rail transport attractive to ever-larger numbers of people, which is the only way we can achieve the mobility transition,” Richard Lutz, CEO of DB, said.
"Digitisation holds a lot of potential for the entire Hamburg S-Bahn network. We are creating greater capacities on the existing tracks and improve reliability and punctuality of rail travel. The premiere of the digital S-Bahn at the ITS World Congress is a strong signal for efficient and climate-friendly mobility of the future," Peter Tschentscher, First Mayor of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, said.
The digital S-Bahn had its premiere run at the opening of the Intelligent Transport Systems World Congress (ITS) in Hamburg. During the congress, four digital S-Bahn trains will operate automatically along the 23-kilometer section of S-Bahn Line 21 between the Berliner Tor and Bergedorf/Aumühle stations.
The technical basis for digital rail operations is the future European Automatic Train Operation (ATO) standard, combined with the European Train Control System (ETCS). The trains receive their control signals via radio. The four digital S-Bahn trains in Hamburg will provide regular scheduled passenger service beginning in December.
Plans to digitalise Hamburg’s S-Bahn entire system by the end of the decade are already under way, and investments in trains and infrastructure are being made. The technology is projected to be used nationwide for regional and mainline rail systems.
India already has its fully automated driverless train, which travels on Delhi Metro’s 37-kilometre-long Magenta Line. This line connects Janakpuri West in Delhi to Botanical Garden in Noida, Uttar Pradesh.
This driverless train service was to be gifted by the DMRC to the residents of Delhi only three days after it completes 18 years of operations on December 25, 2020.
Scientists, researchers and engineers of IISc and Wipro have also put their heads together for developing a driverless car and have assured that everything about this car has been developed ‘from scratch’.
