More trains, more regularity and less impact on the environment: this is the promise embodied by the autonomous train, promoted by SNCF. With this in mind, the rail operator took another step forward a few weeks ago. The SNCF has just announced that it was running a partially autonomous train between Longwy and Longuyon, in eastern France, at the end of October. This is a first for the French rail industry. In concrete terms, the locomotive's acceleration and braking functions were fully automated, under real operating conditions and under the supervision of a driver.
" Thanks to this work, to which almost a hundred people from all the partner companies contributed, the The timetable announced in 2018 is being adhered to and the 2020 ambition is achieved "says the SNCF. The project managers are now turning their attention to the next stages of the project, with the aim of having a prototype on the road in complete autonomyscheduled for 2023. Between now and then, the engineers will have to work on obstacle detection and environmental monitoring, according to the project managers, who have scheduled 12 test sessions to get even closer to the autonomous train.
