DE
Menu
Back to the project overview
The image shows a picture of the future station in the Stuttgart digital node. ICEs can be seen.
Pilot project

AutomatedRail@DKS

The pilot project "Highly automated driving in the Stuttgart area" (ATO GoA2) is being realised in the Digital Node Stuttgart (DKS) for S-Bahn and regional transport. The use of new technologies enables highly automated driving in an open system. This will improve operational quality, achieve better energy efficiency and increase route and transport capacity in the future.

Project Duration

Start
2021
End
2030

Our Partners

Technologies

The pilot project "Highly automated driving in the Stuttgart area" (ATO GoA2) is being realised in the Digital Node Stuttgart (DKS) for S-Bahn and regional transport. The use of new technologies enables highly automated driving in an open system. This will improve operational quality, achieve better energy efficiency and increase route and transport capacity in the future. 

 

The train is controlled by the ATO on-board unit in the train, which receives exact ATO track information from the ATO Centre. This is how ATO enables automated start of driving, the driving itself and stopping. This leads to an optimized driving and later braking than in manual operation. As a result, energy is saved, and route capacity is used optimally. In the event of delays, the maximum driving reserves can be utilized. ATO operation is activated by the driver, who remains on board in ATO GoA2 operation. 

 

The pilot project is based on equipping the line and vehicles with ETCS Level 2. Highly automated driving in the Stuttgart area is the pilot project for the rollout of this pioneering technology across the entire rail network.

The ATO GoA2 overall functionality acts like a kind of remote cruise control: The track tells the train when it should be at which location via so-called timing points. The trackside ATO system (ATO centre) consists of several components that provide the on-board system with journey profiles and segment profiles, among other things.

 

The on-board ATO system (ATO-OB) can then use this information to determine optimum journey profiles. These journey profiles are executed as soon as the on-board ETCS provides a movement authority and ATO GoA2 has been activated by the train driver. The driving profile provided by the ATO centre enables timetables to be adhered to more precisely, thus reducing delays.

 

Train drivers always retain responsibility for safety: they are on board, monitor the journey, can intervene and switch to manual operation.

 

The safety-relevant ETCS communication will initially still be handled via the dedicated GSM-R railway mobile radio network. The public mobile network (4G/5G public) is being used for the transmission of ATO data in the pilot project. In the future, all communication will run via FRMCS (Future Railway Mobile Communication System).

Various subsystems are required for ATO GoA2 on the route and vehicle side. Various subsystems are required for ATO GoA2 on the route and vehicle side.
Various subsystems are required for ATO GoA2 on the route and vehicle side.

Calculation of driving profile

 

If a train is delayed, ATO runs at the maximum permitted speed, which is specified and monitored by ETCS. During scheduled operation, ATO specifies a driving profile that saves as much energy as possible. If a train is too early, ATO reduces the speed in order to return to the scheduled running profile; this also saves energy. ATO enables high-precision stops at platforms. 

Calculation of the ATO driving profile Calculation of the ATO driving profile | © DB InfraGo AG
Calculation of the ATO driving profile

Specialist articles

Back to the project overview