The Ministry of Economic Development announced the start of a large-scale project as part of an experiment to introduce unmanned trams into the urban environment. Public transport without a driver will be launched in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The experiment will last until 2027, after which the trams can be put into operation.
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The project involves the launch of autonomous trams in real urban conditions, training of operators, carrying out maintenance and implementing measures to ensure road safety. At the initial stage, each driverless tram will be accompanied by a test driver.
Deputy Ministry of Economic Development Maxim Kolesnikov emphasized that safety is a key condition for conducting the experiment. In case of successful testing and confirmation of the safety of the technology, the possibility of refusing to accompany the vehicle with a driver will be considered.
The purpose of the experiment is said to be to gain operational experience, with each tram to travel more than 3,000 km, equivalent to approximately 150 hours of operation. Upon successful completion of this stage, it is planned to move on to fully autonomous transportation of passengers based on remote monitoring by operators.
Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Transport Maxim Liksutov said that the first unmanned tram will begin transporting passengers in September 2024 – first in Moscow and then in St. Petersburg. The exact number of trams and their routes have not yet been disclosed. The second stage of the project, which provides for the movement of trams without a driver, is planned to be launched before the end of 2025.
It is worth noting that the St. Petersburg State Unitary Enterprise “Gorelektrotrans” has been working on the development and implementation of driverless tram technology since 2022, and currently about 250 trams in the city are equipped with an active safety and driver assistance system based on artificial intelligence. Successful testing of these systems will allow us to move on to a new stage of testing in more difficult road conditions.