Switzerland: The operator Appenzeller Bahnen started testing the NOVA Smartsense system on a 66-year-old car, which runs on a two km rack-and-pinion narrow-gauge Rheineck–Walzenhausen line, an open system in free-field conditions with a level crossing.
The almost next two years will be used to collect extensive data on obstacles in the track area.
Stadler plans further to integrate the NOVA Smartsense into the automatic train operation system of the highest level (GoA4), which is to be installed on the car ordered by the Appenzeller Bahnen for this route in 2022. The launch is to take place in 2027.
Other countries also develop driverless operation. France, for example, is testing its computer vision system on the Hauts-de-France railway net, while Russia plans to launch a GoA3 train with such system on the Moscow Centre Circle this summer.
