Polish national railway company PKP Cargo has announced it is joining forces with Pesa Bydgoszcz, the country’s leading manufacturer of railway vehicles, and the Institute of Rail Vehicles (IPS), to develop a dual-system autonomous locomotive.
Under the terms of the agreement, PKP Cargo and Pesa will develop the technical aspects and configuration of the designed locomotive, which will then be verified by scientists at IPS. The second stage of the project will involve the design and research work, followed by the construction of a dual-system, electric and diesel autonomous locomotive by Pesa.
“We are optimistic about the joint research and development of new locomotives, and we hope that they will result in the construction of innovative vehicles that will increase the efficiency of our work,” said Mr Warsewicz. “The new locomotives will be more efficient and will help to reduce costs, which is important under the circumstances of rising fuel and energy prices.”
“This contract is an example of our good cooperation with PKP Cargo. It is important to us and shows that we have not only restructured the company, but are also thinking about innovation,” said Krzysztof Sędzikowski.
The project has already received a recommendation for funding under the Innotabor programme, announced by the National Centre for Research and Development. Following the successful completion of all tests, and assuming the necessary permits are obtained, the vehicle should be commissioned in four years. It is to be classed as GoA3 automation, which essentially means it will not require a driver to control the route, as this will be carried out by an autonomous steering system controlled by AI.