Union Switch is back on track as demand expands for its driverless rail technology

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ^ | Sunday, March 02, 2003 | Jim McKay

[Willie Green]

The trains on Copenhagen's new Metro need no drivers. The cars wake themselves up in the morning to deliver rush-hour commuters and, when their rounds are done, they return themselves to the depot for cleaning.

The electronic brains and other equipment for this automatic marvel that opened in October in Denmark's capital were designed in Pittsburgh by one of the city's oldest industrial firms, Union Switch & Signal.

[Willie Green]

Made in the U.S.A. -- shunned by the Bush Administration.

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What is High Speed Ground Transportation?

High-speed ground transportation (HSGT)-- a family of technologies ranging from upgraded existing railroads to magnetically levitated vehicles-- is a passenger transportation option that can best link cities lying about 100-500 miles apart. Common in Europe ( The European Railway Server) and Japan (Japan Railways),HSGT in the United States already exists in the Northeast Corridor (Amtrak) between New York and Washington, D.C. and will soon serve travelers between New York and Boston. 

HSGT is self-guided intercity passenger ground transportation that is time competitive with air and/or auto on a door-to-door basis for trips in the approximate range of 100 to 500 miles. This is market-based, not a speed based definition. It recognizes that the opportunities and requirements for HSGT differ markedly among different pairs of cities. High-speed ground transportation (HSGT) is a family of technologies ranging from upgraded steel-wheel-on-rail railroads to magnetically levitated vehicles.

The Federal Railroad Administration has designated a variety of high density transportation corridors within our nation for development of HSGT:

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For more information, please visit the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA’s) High Speed Ground Transportation Website

[Willie Green]

ping

[anobjectivist]

Amtrak, that massive government funded failure?

[niteowl77]

I wonder how long "crewless" trains would last after the first at-grade fatality due to electro-mechanical error?

More realistically, how long would they last after the first lawsuit resulting from the first at-grade fatality due to electro-mechanical error?

[Abcdefg]

I think communication failures will be the most common cause of failure.
To be failsafe the automation will tend to stop the train rather than make it go.

[11th Earl of Mar]

I wonder how long "crewless" trains would last after the first at-grade fatality due to electro-mechanical error?

At leat the "crewless" trains don't have to worry about the drivers smoking pot on the job.