Copenhagen's Trains Ditch the Driver

The Danish capital, Copenhagen, will be home to the world’s longest automated urban railway network after implementing new technology from Siemens.

The 170-kilometer Copenhagen S-bane is set to implement GoA4 technology from Siemens Mobility, with a 2030 deadline on the project to deliver fully unattended train operations.

GoA4, which stands for Grad of Automation 4, will allow the operator to run more trains in the system, enhance the passenger experience, secure the current punctuality rate and futureproof the network.

GoA4 is the highest level of automation and is currently used on trains in Paris. It will be implemented in the new Sydney Metro network, currently under construction in Australia’s largest city.

The Sydney Metro will run over 113 kilometers of rail, comprising four lines and 46 stations.

The GoA4 technology comprises Automatic Train Protection for safety, Automatic Train Operation for driving, and Automatic Train Control for route setting and ensuring the train runs on time.

At GoA4, the ATP, ATO and ATC functions utilize on-board and wayside equipment to exchange data and perform functions undertaken by humans in a GoA1-3 system.

The system takes over responsibility for speed, driving, acceleration, braking, collision avoidance, emergency detection, and response using sensors and AI-based incident management.

The new Danish contracts have a total volume of around EUR270m and build on the original Siemens contract from 2011 to equip the Copenhagen S-train network with the Communications-Based Train Control System (CBTC).

The CBTC GoA4 technology upgrade will be carried out in five phases with very limited operation downtimes, ensuring that train services in Copenhagen are not interrupted.

Throughout this phased approach, a mix of existing GoA2 trains and new driverless GoA4 trains will operate until 2038.

Peter Jonasson, director of construction at Banedanmark, added: “The S-bane’s core network can handle up to 84 trains per hour, transporting over 100 million passengers annually across a total of 88 stations on seven lines.”

“Copenhagen’s S-bane system plays a crucial role in the city’s public transportation network, serving around 350,000 daily commuters. This number is steadily increasing as the metropolitan area around the Danish capital expands, now housing over one-fifth of Denmark’s population. Upgrading the network to support unattended train operations will effectively cater to this growing trend,” he added.

Image credit: iStockphoto/Johny Kristensen