British News Agency

The train, named Edita, operates on the 24-kilometer Kopidlno–Dolní Bousov line at the eastern edge of Central Bohemia. Purchased in 2016, it was restored by AŽD and runs on a previously abandoned regional route.

Edita is the first driverless train in Europe to operate in an open environment with level crossings and the possibility of animals entering the tracks.

Michal Novák, a railway developer at AŽD, told the Daily Mail: “The train operates autonomously and is equipped with systems that allow us to control traction, braking, and speed.”

He added: “It is also equipped with a device that detects objects, recognizes obstacles, and reacts accordingly.”

Since its launch, the train has run infrequently, as AŽD primarily uses the route to test new technologies under real-world conditions. Once used for transporting sugar beets, the line was closed in 2010 before being purchased by AŽD and turned into a modern test site for autonomous rail systems.

Vítězslav Landsfeld, head of the autonomous train project at AŽD, said in a press release: “The object detector currently consists of… 3D spatial scenes using laser beams, a stereo camera creating a depth map, a thermal camera capturing the infrared thermal radiation of objects, and an HD camera.”

Since April, Edita has been operating under the supervision of a driver, as Czech law requires one to be present. Each trip includes a conductor and a technician collecting system performance data.