Rail Summit to discuss automated operations in Aviation and Rail, Vienna

The often repeated comparison between the levels of automation in the aviation and rail sectors will come under scrutiny at the Intelligent Rail Summit Vienna 28 – 30 November, according to a report in rail knowledge sharing platform Railtech.com. Dick Terleth, director mobility at ADSE consulting and avionics specialist Sander Van Lochem, will discuss automated operations and focus on the introduction, operation and lifecycle
October 4, 2017 Read time: 2 mins

The often repeated comparison between the levels of automation in the aviation and rail sectors will come under scrutiny at the Intelligent Rail Summit Vienna 28 – 30 November, according to a report in rail knowledge sharing platform Railtech.com.  

Dick Terleth, director mobility at ADSE consulting and avionics specialist Sander Van Lochem, will discuss automated operations and focus on the introduction, operation and lifecycle management of automated train operations. Terleth stated that the main differences is that unlike with rail, in aviation sector there is constant communication between the pilot and ground control but there is no active automated interface between the airplane and traffic control as happens with signalling and control systems in rail.

“This is completely different in the railway sector, where space is more confined to the rail track and a much higher level of interaction between the vehicle and the rail infrastructure takes place. Also, there are more factors, like people walking along the track, to take into consideration. A lot more needs to be done to successfully implement an automated driving system on rail, as the prerequisites are much harder to fulfill,” he added.

Referring to a safety culture developed to the aviation industry, he recognised that it is not as paramount in the rail industry, but a similar focus in inevitable to a successful implementation.  He added that overcoming challenges caused by system malfunctions and acceptance among passengers are two challenges that need to be overcome.

Related Content

  • Israel Railways deploys train planning system
    February 9, 2015
    Israel Railways is to use HaCon’s train planning system, TPS, for its train planning and capacity management, including all schedules and route inquiries for passenger and freight traffic. The rail operator aims to fully replace its legacy tools and systems with TPS by the end of the year. The contract also includes HAFAS components for timetable publishing. Israel Railways acts as both infrastructure manager and train operator, with 2,370 employees and a network of approximately 1,100 kilometres of tr
    Read More
  • Volvo testing smart cars that share road conditions
    February 20, 2015
    As the Drive Me project enters its second year, Volvo Cars is moving rapidly towards the aim of placing 100 self-driving cars in the hands of customers on selected roads around Gothenburg by 2017. The key to making this unprecedented leap is a complex network of sensors, cloud-based positioning systems and intelligent braking and steering technologies. Volvo Cars’ Autopilot system is designed to be reliable enough to allow the car to take over every aspect of driving in autonomous mode. The main challenge i
    Read More
  • ‘Only 20% of people’ would put their child inside an AV, says Fujitsu
    July 24, 2018
    Only 20% of people would be prepared to put their child inside an autonomous vehicle (AV), according to research from Fujitsu. People are more anxious about adopting digital services in travel than they are in other areas of their lives, according to Russell Goodenough, the company’s managing director of business and transport. Just 40% of people would put their trust in an AV - and the transport sector is falling behind in the race to digitisation, the company says. Speaking at a media forum in Lo
    Read More
  • Vision technology: the future in focus
    November 23, 2018
    Just a few years ago, terms such as ‘embedded’ and ‘polarisation’ were buzzwords. But now they are real and present examples of vision technology in action – and, Adam Hill finds, the ITS industry is waking up to a number of possible applications Every aspect of the intelligent transportation systems industry moves quickly – but developments in camera technology change with a rapidity which can appear quite bewildering. And with ITS providers constantly searching for an edge against fierce competitio
    Read More

Highlighted Content