DB Cargo is opening up technical potential for more economical rail freight operations.
“ATO Cargo Betuweroute” is the only project in Europe, running trial operations for highly automatic driving as well as remote monitoring and remote control in rail freight transport.
The trials are conducted as a consortium, together with strong partners.
In collaboration
with:
In collaboration with:
The goal: to make ATO and RTO available for rail freight transport across Europe.
The path: Defining the technical specifications for the application of ATO and RTO on locomotive-hauled trains on the route.
RTO workstation
ETCS trackside subsystem
ATO trackside subsystem
Remote control – 1:1
Remote monitoring – 1:n
ATO control interface
ATO onboard subsystem
RTO onboard subsystem
ETCS onboard subsystem
Localization system with
digital map
Obstacle detection
Physical / virtual balise
New technologies in trial operations.
Automatic Train Operation (ATO):
Automated operation of rail freight transport on the mainline.
Remote Train Operation (RTO):
Rail freight operations along the route, supported by remote monitoring and remote control.
ATO- and RTO-technology support the employees.
For the trial operation, employees are at work on the mainline locomotive as well as at the remote monitoring and control center.
“Innovations are the driving force behind modern, intelligent, and efficient rail freight transport.”
Federal Minister of Transport Patrick Schnieder (CDU), Germany
“Automated driving reduces the workload for employees and creates future-oriented jobs at the same time. This is exactly what we need to handle the shortage of skilled workers and demographic change, which of course also affects rail freight transport. With this project, we are doing pioneering work in this area for the entire rail freight transport sector in Europe.”
One of the series 193 locomotives for the 2026 trial operations of ATO and RTO on the Betuweroute in the Netherlands. (Credit: Stefan Verkerk, ProRail)
ATO and RTO are in trial operations within in the entire system including timetable and infrastructure on the open network for the first time with different train compositions and their individual train dynamics characteristics.
In ATO and RTO operation, the locomotive takes over and optimizes acceleration, travel, braking, and stopping in an automated manner. The resulting dynamics are taken into account by the ATO system. Journeys with different types of wagons and loading scenarios are considered: from bulk material wagons to partly filled tank wagons.
The one-year trial operation phase is taking place on a section of the Dutch Betuweroute. The Betuweroute is a highly frequented route and, as part of the Rhine-Alpine corridor, one of the most economically relevant freight routes in Europe. This makes it a representative and challenging trial environment. The trial will be carried out in mixed operation between ATO- and RTO-trains and regular trains.
Credits: (1) Oliver Lang, DB Cargo AG, (2) Stefan Verkerk, ProRail, (3) Oliver Lang, DB Cargo AG, (4) Fabian Acker, DB Cargo AG