The “2019 UGT Forum on Driverless Technology Innovation”, directed by Shanghai Shentong Metro Group Co., Ltd., hosted by Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Driverless Train Control of Urban Guided Transport and jointly organized by CASCO Signal Ltd. and Urban Mass Transit of Tongji University, was successfully held in Shanghai on June 28. Experts from Shanghai Science and Technology Commission and Development & Reform Commission, China Association of Metros, Paris Metro as well as metro companies and design institutes throughout China gathered together to deeply explore such hot topics as driverless technology development trend in rail transit, innovation achievements, construction modes, operation & management. On the forum, CASCO launched its upgraded solution for smart metro – fully automatic operation system 2.0.

2019 UGT Forum on Driverless Technology Innovation

Driverless technology – new trend of future rail transit

The research and practice of driverless technology in urban rail transit started internationally decades ago, and China joined the team five years ago. On August 9, 2014, Shanghai Metro Line 10, with CASCO’s signaling system, officially launched the driverless operation mode, marking a milestone in the application of "driverless technology" in China's rail transit. As the first driverless metro line in China with the highest automation level (GoA4), it has produced a perfect result in terms of driverless operation achievements as it enjoys no delay exceeding 5 minutes, with average punctuality rate and train fulfillment rate of 99.9%. The average traveling speed has increased by 8.8%, the average depot entry and exit time reduced by 50%. Under the same service level, the number of trains allocated is reduced by 3 and the staffing per km is reduced by 13 persons. In this way, the operation and maintenance cost is greatly decreased while the operation safety, reliability and efficiency are substantially improved.

Following the step of Line 10, an increasing number of new projects have opted for driverless operation, including Shanghai Line 17, Wuhan Line 21, as well as Shanghai Lines 15 and 18, Chengdu Line 9 and Beijing Line 3 under construction. All of these lines have adopted CASCO’s system solution, among which four under construction will reach the highest automation level (GoA4). In other words, CASCO has greatly led the application and development of driverless technology in domestic rail transit by virtue of its localized and independent system solution.

Upgraded system 2.0 for smart metro

In 2016, Shanghai released the 13th five-year plan of promoting the construction of smart city, and planned to develop Shanghai into a future-oriented smart city, for which the smart transportation system plays an important role. The new "fully automatic operation system 2.0" proposed by CASCO has its strength in technology integration and independence further upgraded by focusing on serving the passengers based on multiple demands of smart metro. In addition, on the basis of the existing automatic train operation system, it covers driverless trains, intelligent dispatching, intelligent stations, intelligent yards and intelligent operation and maintenance, which greatly improves the intelligence level of centers, stations, yards, dispatching and operation & maintenance management and realizes intelligent control of urban rail transit by the whole course and scope. This system, as another masterpiece in the field of independent innovation of CASCO, is the pioneer throughout the world.

Wang Xiaoyong, Deputy Technical Director of CASCO, is introducing the fully automatic operation system 2.0 for smart metro

- Driverless trains realize intelligent train operation and service under various working conditions, including fully automatic operations of trains like sleep, wakeup, in and out of the depot, washing, main track operation, door opening and closing and train departure, as well as management of such systems as air conditioning and lighting inside the train together with treatment of train faults.

Intelligent dispatching realizes operation dispatching based on the capacity and volume and intelligent equipment management with passenger service as the core. For example, the dispatching schedule can be adjusted automatically to increase the number of operating trains, if large passenger flow is noticed at a certain station, thus to relieve the traffic pressure of the station.

- Intelligent yards realize the timely use of train resources based on the demand through a combination of virtual yards and real storage sidings, which guarantees excellent operation state of trains as the "home" and "health care center" of the trains. For example, the transfer of main tracks and storage sidings into a virtual depot reduces the deadhead kilometers of trains and realizes more flexible and quick entry or exit of trains.

- Intelligent stations provide passengers with more rapid information interaction and independent services based on the intelligent perception of passenger flow and behavior and the intelligent linkage with station equipment. For instance, in the event of an emergency (such as a fire), train operation will automatically re-scheduled, which will be timely updated in the passenger information on the platform and the train, to unlock the gate and efficiently evacuate passengers, thus eliminating the time-consuming human decision-making and execution and effectively improving safety and efficiency.

- Intelligent operation and maintenance monitor the health status of equipment and operation service environment in real time and predict possible equipment failures in advance, thus reducing the failures and their impact on operation and ensuring smooth train operation.

The existing automatic operation system which is time-based and efficient focuses on train punctuality and fulfillment rate while the system 2.0 for smart metro pays more attention to smooth passenger flow and convenient travel services such as average waiting time, average response time, platform retention rate and congestion in carriages, aiming at providing passengers with safer, more convenient, more efficient and more comfortable travel services and improving the efficiency of government management and operation, thus to realize "serving the passengers" and fundamentally enhance the public's sense of acquisition and happiness.

Keep the mission in mind and develop intelligent transportation

Shanghai, as the pioneer of comprehensively deepening reform in China, is now further opening up, promoting the construction of a series of urban brands, including upgrading the brands "Made in Shanghai" and "Shanghai Innovation", accelerating the construction of global innovation centers for science and innovation and serving the Belt and Road Initiative. CASCO, as a scientific innovation enterprise headquartered in Shanghai and the main force leading the innovative development of rail transit, has always remained committed to its original mission and paid close attention to the new opportunities for intelligent transportation brought by new technologies and applications such as big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence and "Internet + transportation".

In 2017, CASCO and Shanghai Metro, as the core members, participated in the establishment of "Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Driverless Train Control of Urban Guided Transport", focusing on the prospective research of intelligent rail transit. In 2018, CASCO established a new integrated urban rail laboratory for cooperation with the Center. In April this year, CASCO and Shanghai Metro jointly launched the first intelligent super-large network signal operation and maintenance platform in China, which can realize inter-disciplinary and life-cycle collaborative management of all levels of equipment.

Urban rail system integration lab of Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Driverless Train Control of Urban Guided Transport

In the future, CASCO will extend the innovative cooperation with Shanghai Metro in the application of digital metro, AI technology and 5G technology, to further improve the intelligent transportation ecology of Shanghai, jointly promote the brands "Made in Shanghai" and contribute to the construction of Shanghai Science and Technology Innovation Center .