MOSCOW Metro has begun preparations to introduce a second Lvyonok-Moskva type driverless LRV for testing on the city’s light rail network.
The follows the successful completion last year of the first phase of the project under which Russia’s first driverless LRV covered over 3200km on the Moscow network without breaking traffic regulations, Moscow Metro says.
The driver monitors operation of the LRV on street-running tracks while it is controlled autonomously by the new driverless system. The full transition to driverless mode will be made later this year.
Maksim Liksutov, Moscow’s deputy mayor for transport, has previously said that a fully unmanned LRV without a driver at the controls will enter passenger service under the third phase of the project by the end of this year.
The second driverless LRV has already travelled several kilometres during testing within the Krasnopresnenskoye depot in the Strogino district of Moscow.
At present, the driverless system only replicates the actions of the driver who controls the LRV, with test site conditions replicating an urban environment.
Workspace for technicians is provided in the LRV to allow onboard verification of the radar, LiDar and camera systems that provide obstacle detection.
