Russian Railways spent 580 million rubles on the introduction of the technology of driving freight trains without assistant drivers

In 2020, the total costs of Russian Railways for the modernization of locomotives as part of the project to introduce the technology of driving freight trains without an assistant driver amounted to 582.4 million rubles. This follows from the company's annual report for 2020^[1]

As of July 2021, about 30 thousand assistant locomotive drivers are working in freight traffic "(photo - Roman Cherinov)"

Russian Railways explained to TAdviser that a pilot project to organize the work of freight drivers without assistant drivers was launched in 2019. As part of the project, a "significant number" of freight locomotives are equipped with modern microprocessor safety and automatic control devices. They control the physiological state of the driver, the speed of the train, depending on the section of the track and the readings of traffic lights.

In the event of a dangerous situation, for example, when the driver loses the ability to control the locomotive or exceeds the permissible speed, the safety devices provide automatic stopping of the train.

Automatic control devices - auto-driving systems - are similar in principle to autopilot in aviation. They provide fully automatic control of the locomotive according to the given traffic schedule, "say Russian Railways. - The role of the driver at the same time is reduced to performing checks at departure of the train - for example, checking the effects of brakes, controlling the operation of locomotive systems in traffic, monitoring the freedom, condition of the track and other infrastructure objects.

New freight locomotives come from the plant to the depot already equipped with safety systems for control in one person.

As of July 2021, about 30 thousand assistant locomotive drivers are working in freight traffic, TAdviser brought data to Russian Railways. The company clarified that it is not planned to completely abandon the assistant driver.

The estimated number of assistant drivers will be clear following the results of the pilot project, after running the technology in various areas and confirming guarantees for traffic safety, explained TAdviser in Russian Railways.

At the same time, the company is interested in maintaining qualified workers. Assistant drivers can undergo additional training to become drivers, Russian Railways said. They are also offered vacant positions in other types of work.

Earlier, Anatoly Krutko, head of the operation service of the Russian Railways Traction Directorate, said that organizing the work of freight drivers without assistant drivers is the most promising segment in terms of financial efficiency, because more than half of the locomotive crews work in it^[2] Such technology is beneficial to both the company and the driver himself, since he receives an additional payment for the missing assistant.

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