I really don’t see the need to have a driver in a vehicle on rails.
In: 8
Freight train engineers calculates the load of cargo (say coal) and determine how fast the train must go to make it up a grade (incline) of track. It is also important that they do not exceed this speed or they might have a runaway train on the downslope side.
In my city the Metro trains are completely driverless and it works very well. The tracks at ground level are all fenced or raised well above street level, so no need for a driver to watch for people or dogs on the tracks. I’m in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Freight train engineers calculates the load of cargo (say coal) and determine how fast the train must go to make it up a grade (incline) of track. It is also important that they do not exceed this speed or they might have a runaway train on the downslope side.
In my city the Metro trains are completely driverless and it works very well. The tracks at ground level are all fenced or raised well above street level, so no need for a driver to watch for people or dogs on the tracks. I’m in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Some are. The reason most aren’t is the same reason planes aren’t, the driver constitutes a backup safety system and handles things that are more likely to go wrong if you entirely automated it.
There are train systems that are entirely driverless, usually underground systems. There are other systems that employ the same technology and the trains drive themselves but a human is there in case something breaks.
I think I might have just said the same thing twice but whatever.
Some are. The reason most aren’t is the same reason planes aren’t, the driver constitutes a backup safety system and handles things that are more likely to go wrong if you entirely automated it.
There are train systems that are entirely driverless, usually underground systems. There are other systems that employ the same technology and the trains drive themselves but a human is there in case something breaks.
I think I might have just said the same thing twice but whatever.
Driver can act in unplanned problems.
Mostly incursions of people/vehicles/animals, but also medical emergencies, light mechanical/electrical failures, locking doors and access to areas of the train that become unexpectedly unsafe.
To get rid of the driver you need to get rid of any chance of these problems. Which Dubai metro does. But at what cost? The most obvious is that they had to make the entire track elevated/underground, with no crossings, just to avoid incursions. And the other issues? More redundant systems, Video surveillance, extra personnel at each station… it’s more a remote driver than no driver.
It’s not that easy and it’s not that economic.
Driver can act in unplanned problems.
Mostly incursions of people/vehicles/animals, but also medical emergencies, light mechanical/electrical failures, locking doors and access to areas of the train that become unexpectedly unsafe.
To get rid of the driver you need to get rid of any chance of these problems. Which Dubai metro does. But at what cost? The most obvious is that they had to make the entire track elevated/underground, with no crossings, just to avoid incursions. And the other issues? More redundant systems, Video surveillance, extra personnel at each station… it’s more a remote driver than no driver.
It’s not that easy and it’s not that economic.
Driver can act in unplanned problems.
Mostly incursions of people/vehicles/animals, but also medical emergencies, light mechanical/electrical failures, locking doors and access to areas of the train that become unexpectedly unsafe.
To get rid of the driver you need to get rid of any chance of these problems. Which Dubai metro does. But at what cost? The most obvious is that they had to make the entire track elevated/underground, with no crossings, just to avoid incursions. And the other issues? More redundant systems, Video surveillance, extra personnel at each station… it’s more a remote driver than no driver.
It’s not that easy and it’s not that economic.
Some are. The reason most aren’t is the same reason planes aren’t, the driver constitutes a backup safety system and handles things that are more likely to go wrong if you entirely automated it.
There are train systems that are entirely driverless, usually underground systems. There are other systems that employ the same technology and the trains drive themselves but a human is there in case something breaks.
I think I might have just said the same thing twice but whatever.
Latest Answers