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Self driving freight trains are basically impossible given the rails they run on

TheCoelacanth 4y ago
About 99 out of every 100 train cars are self-driving. Removing the last one driver per train just isn't cost effective.
- shagie 4y ago
  Aside: https://www.aar.org/article/freight-rail-crew-size-regulations/ https://www.aar.org/article/freight-rail-crew-size-regulatio... > Efforts to require at least two-person crews, including via regulation, lack a safety justification; ignore the decades of safe and successful use of single-person crews at some U.S. freight railroads and in passenger and freight rail systems throughout the world; upend meaningful collective bargaining, and undermine the rail industry’s ability to compete against less climate-friendly forms of transportation. > Freight Rail Policy Stance: The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) should not impose minimum crew size mandates on railroad operations. A mandate is unsupported by any clear safety justification. > Existing FRA regulations do not mandate minimum crew staffing requirements. For Class I railroads, recent industry practice has been to have two-person crews (a certified locomotive engineer and a certified conductor) in the locomotive cab for most over-the-road mainline operations. However, some non-Class I railroads have long operated with just one person in the locomotive cab, and thousands of Amtrak and commuter passenger trains, carrying hundreds of thousands of passengers, operate every day with just one person in the locomotive cab. And as an Oliver Wyman study found, these railroads’ safety records are comparable to two-person operations. --- And the most recent proposal on the subject: https://railroads.dot.gov/newsroom/press-releases/fra-issues-proposed-rule-enhance-train-safety-codify-train-crew-size-0 https://railroads.dot.gov/newsroom/press-releases/fra-issues... (there is a fair bit of material out there on the subject)

About 99 out of every 100 train cars are self-driving. Removing the last one driver per train just isn't cost effective.

shagie 4y ago
Aside: https://www.aar.org/article/freight-rail-crew-size-regulations/ https://www.aar.org/article/freight-rail-crew-size-regulatio... > Efforts to require at least two-person crews, including via regulation, lack a safety justification; ignore the decades of safe and successful use of single-person crews at some U.S. freight railroads and in passenger and freight rail systems throughout the world; upend meaningful collective bargaining, and undermine the rail industry’s ability to compete against less climate-friendly forms of transportation. > Freight Rail Policy Stance: The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) should not impose minimum crew size mandates on railroad operations. A mandate is unsupported by any clear safety justification. > Existing FRA regulations do not mandate minimum crew staffing requirements. For Class I railroads, recent industry practice has been to have two-person crews (a certified locomotive engineer and a certified conductor) in the locomotive cab for most over-the-road mainline operations. However, some non-Class I railroads have long operated with just one person in the locomotive cab, and thousands of Amtrak and commuter passenger trains, carrying hundreds of thousands of passengers, operate every day with just one person in the locomotive cab. And as an Oliver Wyman study found, these railroads’ safety records are comparable to two-person operations. --- And the most recent proposal on the subject: https://railroads.dot.gov/newsroom/press-releases/fra-issues-proposed-rule-enhance-train-safety-codify-train-crew-size-0 https://railroads.dot.gov/newsroom/press-releases/fra-issues... (there is a fair bit of material out there on the subject)