Russia: At the end of March, a train operator controlled two Lastochka EMUs one-by-one and via 4G from the traffic control centre of the Moscow Central Circle (MCC) urban rail system.
The first train, ES2G-113 is automated up to GoA3 level, and the second, ES2G-136, up to GoA3+. The operator used a special board to control the trains remotely. The board has a control panel with brake and traction joysticks and three monitors to display the picture of a dozen cameras. The tested trains moved together with other MCC trains that carried passengers but did not open the doors at stations.
Tests of the unmanned Lastochka EMUs operation on MCC. Source: Russian Railways
The test procedure included several emergencies scenarios, tasks for different objects recognition, etc. At the final stage, both trains proceeded to a storage yard near Andronovka station: ES2G-113 in a remote control mode, and ES2G-136 in an automatic one.
Russian Railways have been preparing for the launch of unmanned operation on MCC for several years. The project partners are NIIAS, its subsidiary R&D institute, and Ural Locomotives, the train producer of Sinara Transport Machines. Last November, Pavel Popov, Deputy CEO of NIIAS and the technical head for unmanned train projects, reported GoA4 solutions for MCC’s EMUs were expected to be ready by the end of 2023. For the simultaneous control over four GoA4 trains, only one operator will be needed, according to Russian Railways.
