Robot train, 2km-long, makes first trip
RIO Tinto’s $1 billion driverless train program has made its first pit-to-port delivery.
An autonomous train hauled 28,000 tonnes of iron ore 280km from the mining giant’s Pilbara mines to the WA port of Cape Lambert.
The train spanned 2km and was monitored remotely by a Rio operations centre in Perth, more than 1500km away.
The journey, announced yes- terday, was made on Tuesday.
Rio’s driverless train program, dubbed AutoHaul, is the world’s first heavy haul, long distance autonomous railway.
“This program symbolises both the pioneering spirit and innovative talents of many people across Rio Tinto and shows our absolute commitment to improving safety and productivity, as well as enabling greater flexibility across our operations,” Rio rail, port and core services managing director Ivan Vella said.
“The program will deliver the world’s first fully autonomous, long-distance, heavyhaul rail network, operating the world’s largest and longest robots. We are working closely with drivers in this transition period as we prepare our employees for new ways of working as a result of automation.”
The driverless train program has run over budget and been plagued with delays.
Rio has spent at least $1.25 billion on AutoHaul but the program, launched in 2008, fell victim to budget cuts in the global financial crisis.
It was relaunched in 2012 with a budget of US$518 million and a start date of 2015.
Rio has pushed harder into autonomous technology than any other miner. It operates 200 locomotives on more than 1700km of track in the Pilbara, transporting ore from 16 mines to four port terminals.
The trains’ average return distance is about 800km, with the average journey cycle taking about 40 hours.
Driverless trains are fitted with on-board cameras allowing constant monitoring. Public rail crossings on the network are fitted with CCTV.