In the summer of 2023, 24 locomotive engineers tested remote control of a shunting electric locomotive at the Mülligen station in Zurich, this is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.

The experiment was conducted at speeds of up to 30 km/h using a remote control from Alstom.

Track maintenance vehicle powered by hydrogen

Despite the absence of restrictions at the station, safety was ensured by the engineer and the tester present in the cabin.

SBB sees potential in using remote control for train shunting at stations from depots, during infrastructure maintenance, and other operations.

However, implementing this technology requires developing corresponding standards agreed upon with the European Union countries,

the trials of remote locomotive control

Additionally, SBB’s plans for 2024-2025 include trials of automatic train start-up, acceleration, and braking for freight trains, as well as signal and obstacle recognition systems.

These steps open up new prospects for the modern railway industry and may influence the future of railway transportation in Europe.

Video: SBB

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