China: CRRC’s electric locomotive is reported to automatically haul 108 gondola cars, totally weighing 10,800 t, for 2.5 h. During the tests late in September, all the stations on the Shuozhou–Xuanhua line operated in unattended mode under the supervision of the control centre.
The CCTV channel showed that the driver’s cab was empty, which meets the highest grade of automation GoA4. As reported, once this technology is widely adopted towards CHN Energy’s fleet, the average operating speed will increase by 1.7 km/h, while the average traction energy consumption will decrease by 2.9%.
Testing of unmanned freight train on the mainline in China. Source: CCTV
There is only one GoA4 grade project implemented on an open system in free-field conditions in the world, the Rio Tinto freight line in Australia. In the passenger segment under the same conditions, the highest automation grade reached is GoA3, and that is the Russian project launched this summer.
