“Keeping a balance” – delivering an automated metro network but retaining the human factor
The benefits of automated, driverless metro networks are widely known within the industry but for the public, the perception of installation of automation on a network is often characterised by press stories about dangerous driverless trains and concern at resulting job cuts. This negativity creates a challenge for an operator in delivering an automated system in addition to those technological and financial barriers to overcome. Today SmartRail World takes at the ‘human factor’ within metro automation and looks at how metros in Nuremberg, Copenhagen and Paris have overcome this opposition.
The announcement that Sydney would be developing a driverless train system earlier in the year was met with criticism in many quarters. Writing in the Sydney Morning Herald, Alex Claassens, SW Secretary of the Rail, Tram & Bus Union, was stinging in his criticism in questioning the safety of the driverless system: “Anyone who regularly witnesses Central station at peak hour will raise an eyebrow at relying on a computer to safely control all that human drama on a daily basis. But the computer is not infallible. Last year it was only the quick thinking of a London Underground staff member that saved a young child that had fallen between carriage and platform. The computer had said the train was safe to depart when the worker spotted a tiny hand reaching up from the track.” Claassens continues in his criticism in targeting the decision making process “We’re risking this kind of automation for the sake of a few drivers’ wages…Unfortunately this latest news seems to be just another example of the government’s penny-pinching approach to rail infrastructure.” Whilst the political opposition in NSW have also opposed it, echoing the calls that it was designed purely to save money and would put safety at risk.
At the recent CBTC World Congress held in London this area was discussed by some of the leading automated metros in the world. Klavs Hestbek Lund, Project Manager (Operation & Maintenance) of Metroselskabet, the Copenhagen Metro stated that it was a key point to be considered as they were developing their automated CBTC System: “We are all fascinated by the latest technological innovations but it’s also important to balance this with respect to the human factor and keep on-board staff in the shape of stewards. Stewards give safety and security to passengers but also help when the system doesn’t work, which it doesn’t occasionally, can provide the solutions.”
Nuremberg was the first city in Germany to bring online an automated system and used it as an opportunity to change the role of metro staff, Andreas May, Project Manager for VAG Verkehrs-Aktiengesellschaft Nuremberg explained: “Personnel that were not needed anymore as drivers for metro-trains were able to get a qualification in customer service and are now stationed along the two automated lines. They are a real benefit for our customers because they are contact persons and now have time for our customers’ questions, which they didn’t before.”
2012 in Paris saw Line 1, the oldest line in the metro network, and also the busiest, with 213 million passengers a year, move from a traditional system to an automated one and SmartRail World spoke to Mathilde Mahaut, Deputy Director of RATP about how they carried out this modernisation in a city with a strong trade union presence; “It took time. Discussions began in 2001. We needed approval of our unions before we began to work and managed to convince them due to Line 14 – it worked there- so why not on Line 1? They knew we were going to create high skilled jobs and create better customer service. But crucially we made focussed on the jobs for the drivers – either making them on-board managers or ensuring they went back into the network but with priority over other drivers. It was Important to bring the whole company in on this from the start to ensure success.” The project to automate line 1 of the metro, which was launched in 2004, is part of the huge modernisation programme that RATP will be undertaking over the next twenty year with more automation to follow.
Despite initial public fears over safety and delivery, users of automated systems can normally immediately see improvements in their service. One recent study from the Observatory of Automated Metros found that the implementation of an Unattended Train Operation (UTO) system not only increases the average speed of the system, but shortens headways up to 75 seconds, and can reduce dwell time in stations to 15 seconds. These developments not only improve productivity for the transport provider but also for the passengers who see an increased quality of service due to enhanced reliability of trains and shorter waiting times on platforms.
By taking a sensible and sensitive approach to the staffing issue, being prepared to face opposition and by preparing convincing a strong set of positives an automated system can be brought in without losing the human factor.
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This article originally appeared on SmartRail World, brought to you by the the editorial team at the Global Transport Forum.
