The Australian government has approved a first $15.5 million tranche of funding for the roll out of the Advanced Train Management System (ATMS).
Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC), which manages Australia’s national rail infrastructure, is currently trialling ATMS on two locomotives operating between Port Augusta and Whyalla.
Further testing is scheduled for later this year.
The Australian government has already invested $60.8 million developing ATMS and a further $65 million will be spent employing the system around the country.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Regional Development Warren Truss said: “ATMS will further improve the reliability of our national rail network, increasing on-time performance and safety. It will also increase capacity for the movement of freight across the nation, boosting the productivity of our industries.”
Australasian Railway Association (ARA) chief executive Bryan Nye OAM added: “ATMS is designed to improve rail network capacity and reliability, through a communication based train management system that allows network controllers and the train drivers to operate trains in closer proximity than ever before and to be assured that they are doing it safely.
“It also minimises the need to construct new or upgraded track infrastructure and increases capacity on the existing single-track network that meets industry’s need for greater rail capacity on a network which is enormously geographically extensive.”
