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

  • Cooperative systems - traffic management centres of the future?
    February 1, 2012
    What will the traffic management centre of the future see and do? TNO's Frans op de Beek, who was responsible for putting together the Cooperative Mobility Demonstrations which included the Traffic Management Centre at this year's Intertraffic exhibition in Amsterdam, offers some insights. The road tours and demonstrations which took place at this year's Intertraffic to mark the conclusion of COOPERS, CVIS and SAFESPOT, the European Commission's (EC's) three major cooperative mobility projects, gave visitor
    Read More
  • Georgia DoT showcases its connectivity
    March 3, 2020
    Georgia DoT’s regional connected vehicle programme could be a model for the rest of the US. Adam Hill speaks to two men involved in making it a reality – and takes a look at the state’s first-ever Tech Showcase
    Read More
  • Developments in software visualisation packages
    February 3, 2012
    Adrian Greeman looks at developments in software visualisation packages. The capacity to make visualisations has been growing in importance over the last decade, and is now a well-accepted part of consultations and client presentations. But making high-quality images of projects is still a major undertaking and larger consultancies employ specialist departments to do so. Costs are coming down but it can still take a while, and some high-capacity hardware, to produce realistic renderings from drawings and 3D
    Read More
  • Plate matching technology more accurate than conventional OCR
    February 3, 2012
    EngiNe srl's patented Plate Matching technique is something of a paradox, in that it achieves formal vehicle identification without recognising, in the accepted sense, the characters on its number plate. Here, Angelo Dionisi of ENG Group explains how it works
    Read More

Highlighted Content