Mining co. says first autonomous freight train network fully operational

Enlarge / Rio Tinto's AutoHaul autonomous train in Western Australia. (credit: Rio Tinto)

On Friday, major mining corporation Rio Tinto announced that its AutoHaul autonomous train system in Western Australia had logged more than 1 million km (620,000 mi) since July 2018, S&P Global Platts reported. Rio Tinto calls its now fully operational autonomous train system the biggest robot in the world.

The train system serves 14 mines that deliver to four port terminals. Two mines that are closest to a port terminal will retain human engineers because they are very short lines, according to Perth Now.

The train system took ten years to build and cost Rio Tinto AUD $1.3 billion (USD $916 million) to implement. The trains are remotely monitored by a crew located 1,500km (932mi) away in Perth.

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