Rail travelers in the Czech Republic can soon ride on a driverless passenger train for the first time after a new autonomous train was launched on Friday.
The train is the first such vehicle in Europe, according to Czech media, and is set to begin services on Saturday near the city of Mladá Boleslav in the Central Bohemian Region.
Extensive testing was carried on the train for a year before it was unveiled on Friday, Radio Prague International reported, but Czech law requires that the vehicle still have a human driver on board during journeys.
Czech firm AŽD Praha, which manufactures communication and signaling equipment for rail services, said in a press release that during its public debut the train reacted without driver input to a broken-down car standing at a level crossing.
AŽD Praha is working to increase automation in the rail sector, and argues that autonomous train technologies could reduce cost and increase efficiency in railway operations.
Autonomous train operations use a “range of sensors, detectors, artificial intelligence, support and diagnostic systems” to replace the senses of a human driver, the company added.
The firm wants to see changes to legislation in the Czech Republic and across Europe that would one day allow fully autonomous railways.
