Hitachi Rail wins ERCI award for innovation that enables autonomous trams

Prestigious award presented at global rail conference InnoTrans, in Berlin

Hitachi Rail’s “Autonomous Tram AI Technologies” has today won the “ERCI Innovation Award 2024” for “Best Large Enterprise”. The business’ state-of-the-art solution is set to transform urban transportation by delivering unparalleled safety, precision, and efficiency for autonomous tram operations.

The Autonomous Tram AI Technologies is expected to enter the market soon and guarantees extremely high levels of safety for trams to operate without a driver, using an algorithm developed over years of robust testing. The technology allows for minimal use of wayside equipment, making it perfect for the operational scenarios in which trams in today’s cities operate.

Hitachi Rail’s autonomous tram system integrates artificial intelligence with key innovative positioning and obstacle detection functions. The ERCI Award recognizes the solution’s use of cutting-edge next generation autonomous positioning system (NGAP) and an obstacle detection and tracking system (ODT).

NGAP is brand new solution which enables a tram to localize along the track line with an accuracy of less than 1 meter, using advanced sensor fusion algorithms that draw on IMU, radar, and GNSS measurements. This is combined with an advanced ODT system which integrates radar, lidar, and camera sensors with AI to detect, classify, and track potential obstacles, ensuring the safety of the trams operation. Each autonomous function feeds into Hitachi Rail’s railway-certified high-performance computers, with real-time 5G remote monitoring implemented through the business’s cloud servers.

Hitachi Rail's autonomous tram solution was developed also in the frame of the Hitachi Rail Global Innovation organization which brought key core technologies to the project, advancing innovation in autonomous transportation. This “Global Project” encompasses autonomous trains for all Rail Transport means including Main Lines and Metro, developed in Europe and Canada sites respectively.

Hitachi Rail designed this cutting-edge solution for Trams in collaboration with a research team that included academics from the University of Florence, University of Siena and the Polytechnic of Milan. This partnership to develop the new technology has helped deliver a robust and innovative product that can transform tram operations in cities around the world.

Carlo Piacenza, Head of Hitachi Rail GTS Italia, said: “We are proud to have won this important prize, which sees truly pioneering innovation from 18 different European railway clusters compete for one award. Our solution leverages AI to create a technology that can enable trams to operate autonomously with unparalleled levels of precision and safety. This solution will help us to continue to transform urban transport, delivering more seamless and sustainable journeys for passengers in cities around the world.”

The same Hitachi Rail innovation has already won the “10th DITECFER Railway Innovation Contest” in Italy. Access to the ERCI competition is reserved each year for the winners of the national contests organized by the 18 European railway clusters. The ERCI European Jury is composed of academic and industrial representatives from various countries, and the “Best Large Enterprise” is considered the most prestigious among the awards given. The award was presented to the Hitachi Rail team at InnoTrans, the global railway conference based in Berlin.

ENDS