In just two years, autonomous trains should be driving along the railways in Lower Saxony.
From the year 2024, according to the plan of the pilot project “ARTE”, two autonomous trains are to be used in regional traffic in the federal state Lower Saxony be used. ARTE is an abbreviation and stands for ‘Automated Regional Trains in Lower Saxony’.
The trains are vehicles of the Lint41 series. They were made in cooperation with Alstom, the Technical University of Berlin and the DLR (German Aerospace Center) on the rail brought. The regional transport company Lower Saxony (LNVG) provides the two trains for the tests. The State Ministry of Transport is funding the project with 5.5 million euros.
The automation of the trains should increase efficiency. In this way, the trains would be more punctual, which would allow an increase in frequency. The efficiency rate is estimated at up to 30 percent. The trains should be compatible with the ETCS (European Train Control System). The signal detection succeeds with camera sensors and local beacons allow a location determination. Autonomous trains still have to do that trust of the passengers acquire and would change the work at the railway.