AutomatedTrain: Concepts and System Components for Driverless Trains Functional

The automation of shunting and stabling operations allows for a fundamental rethinking of central processes in railway operations. Activities that are currently performed manually by train drivers—such as preparing and shutting down trains or operating in “line-of-sight” mode—are to be automated in the future. The cooperative project AutomatedTrain thus marks an important step toward fully automated, driverless train operations. 
Automation and digitalization are decisive for the future of rail operations. In view of the shortage of skilled personnel, train drivers must be deployed as efficiently as possible. The AutomatedTrain project, funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and supported by DB InfraGO and eight other partners from industry and science, aims to enable driverless train operation in railways. The project specifies, develops, and tests a system for fully automated train operations (GoA4 – Grade of Automation 4). The goal is to demonstrate the technical feasibility of driverless shunting and stabling trips as well as fully automated train preparation and shutdown. The results will be presented at InnoTrans 2026. After successful completion of a laboratory phase, system implementation is currently underway on two prototype trains (Mireo from Siemens Mobility and BR430 of S-Bahn Stuttgart). 

Background  

Shunting and stabling runs currently take place from the first and last stations in “line-of-sight” mode. In the AutomatedTrain project, automation is implemented for the use case without passengers and at a maximum speed of 40 km/h under ETCS Level 2 Full Supervision. Since ETCS in Full Supervision Mode is assumed, consideration of train-to-train collisions for object detection in this use case can be omitted. In addition, level crossings and powerless sections posts are excluded from the scenario. The AutomatedTrain system extends existing onboard vehicle components—vehicle control system, ATO-OB (Automated Train Operation – Onboard Unit), and ETCS-OB (European Train Control System – Onboard Unit)—by three new elements: 
Automatic Processing Module (APM-OB) as the central control unit,  
Object Detection System (ODS) for obstacle detection, 
Vehicle Data Logger (VDL) for data storage.

CENELEC-compliant specifications, which are intended to support later European standardization, are implemented and tested in the two prototype trains. 

rain preparation, which has until now been carried out manually, is mostly automated within the project. Via the APM-OB, the vehicle receives mission data and then independently performs tests of vehicle systems, brake tests, train data entry, and vehicle state changes. After completing these tasks, the system transmits a train preparation message to the control center. Tests that cannot be automated—such as those involving safety-relevant control elements—remain manual and are conducted either by the train driver upon taking over the train or during subsequent operations. 

After receiving the movement authority from the ETCS-OB, the train begins to move automatically. During the journey, the object detection system (ODS) monitors the track. Based on a zone concept and predefined reactions for each zone, the APM-OB decides whether to trigger an acoustic warning, service brake, or emergency brake. 

To prevent false detections, sensor data are cross-checked with digital infrastructure data. According to current standards, no safety-relevant functions are currently planned based on artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning (ML). Thus, the system refrains from classifying objects and reacts uniformly to all objects in the track, to ensure a safety level comparable to current operations and to simplify the approval process. 

If the ODS detects an object, the APM-OB calculates the braking distance to the object, triggers a warning via the horn, and—depending on the zone—initiates the appropriate braking action. The APM-OB decides whether to apply a service brake via the ATO-OB or an emergency brake directly through the vehicle control system. This modular approach, while excluding the ETCS-OB from the emergency braking reaction chain, shortens reaction times, reduces approval effort, and enables optimized braking curves. After initiating the vehicle reaction, the APM-OB reports operational restrictions to the control center. 

In the case of automatic braking or technical faults, the system sends detailed status messages to the control center, including information on the situation, position, type of object, and reactions. The control center then decides on further action. Automatic restarting after a stop is not currently intended because, according to the current state of the art, assessment by a human allows a more reliable and quicker resumption of operations than the currently used technical system. 

AutomatedTrain is developing a modular system for fully automated, driverless train runs for the use case of shunting and stabling operations. With the upcoming vehicle tests, the transfer of the modular system architecture for a fully automated vehicle moves from theory to practice. Through these developments, the project establishes a common basis for rail operators and industry to standardize and develop market-ready products for fully automated, driverless operation. Once the project is successfully completed, industry partners can immediately begin their series development phases based on the results achieved. A detailed insight into the underlying concepts and system components of the system can be found in a recent technical article in the October issue of the "Der Eisenbahningenieur" magazine. 

LINK to Article (German only)

AutomatedTrain is funded by the Federal Republic of Germany and the European Union. Funding providers are the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, on the basis of a decision by the German Bundestag, as well as the European Union.