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Stockholm could have driverless subway trains in less than 10 years

Xinhua, August 26, 2016 Adjust font size:

Driverless subway trains could be introduced in the Swedish capital in less than a decade, local media reported on Thursday.

The Stockholm regional council's traffic committee has decided to push ahead with plans to introduce driverless trains in the capital's subway system, newspaper Dagens Nyheter reported, adding the trains could be up and running in nine years' time.

When the key renovation phase of one of Stockholm's three main subway lines -- the so-called red line -- is over in 2022, rush-hour traffic is expected to have increased by 25 percent compared to today. A few years later, trains on the line will be driverless, according to the traffic committee's plans.

"We have carried out a small-scale trial using platform walls. Now we will go ahead with a full-scale trial at two stations," traffic committee head Kristoffer Tamsons said. "If the trial works well, then the red subway line will have platform walls at all stations as well as driverless trains," he added.

Apart from platform walls, driverless train traffic also requires security technology such as the installation of strong fences on outdoor lines and alarm systems that are activated should someone get on to the tracks.

The benefits for commuters are that the trains run on a tighter schedule and are more punctual. However, critics warn the traffic committee's plans could lead to job losses and weakened security for commuters.

"We have long fought for platform walls and we are not opposed to driverless trains. What worries us is how one will handle incidents, scuffles and technical issues when there are no responsible staff members on the trains," said Jannis Konstantis, a subway train driver and the president of the SEKO subway union.

However, Tamsons countered that the traffic committee is aware that having staff in the subway system is important for security and he said there would be staff members present in the future, too.

It will cost an estimated 1.6 billion SEK (190 million U.S. dollars) to install driverless trains on the Stockholm subway's red line and then significantly more to keep it running. Endit