The electric train «Lastochka» (Swallow), which integrates the highest, fourth level of automation and moves completely without human presence in the cabin, was placed on a test track in Russia.
As the developers of the technology from the research institute NIIAS stated to the news agency RIA Novosti, exhaustive tests are being carried out on the Moscow Central Circle (MCC). On this specific line, a third-level version has already been operating since August 2024, where however the driver remains in the control cab to monitor the route and control the doors.
One operator will remotely control up to four trainsets
As explained by the deputy general director of the St. Petersburg branch of NIIAS, Sergey Kudryashov, the fourth level of automation means the complete absence of a driver from the train.
This role is assumed by a driver-operator from the central control center, who can simultaneously supervise up to four trains.
The trainset moves, accelerates, decelerates, and opens and closes doors automatically, while the operator intervenes only in emergency cases for adjusting air conditioning, door management, or raising the pantograph.
Domestic artificial intelligence that surpasses human vision
The system is entirely of Russian development and is considered unique in the world, as it was designed to operate on open railway infrastructure and not in fenced or closed areas.
The Russian artificial vision system detects obstacles on the tracks and instantaneously transmits a stop command, a capability that corresponding foreign systems do not possess. In fact, in comparative tests with professional train drivers, artificial intelligence recognized signals and obstacles faster than the human eye.
This system can be adapted in the future to any type of trainset.
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