At the Slovany depot, Pilsen Public Transport Company (PMDP) unveiled an innovative system for autonomous trams in collaboration with the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at Prague’s ČVUT and the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen (ZČU). The focus was on automating the process of manoeuvring into the waiting position at final stops, allowing drivers to make better use of their rest periods and, in turn, reduce the risk of accidents.
During a special demonstration at the Slovany depot, the Plzeň Transport Company (Plzeňské městské dopravní podniky) presented the autonomous tram system, developed in partnership with experts from the FEL CTU (Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Czech Technical University) and the FEL ZČU (Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of West Bohemia). The primary aim was to automate the process of moving the tram into its waiting position at final stops.
Currently, drivers must continuously manoeuvre the tram into position at stops, which limits their rest periods and increases the risk of accidents. The new autonomous solution enables trams to independently navigate terminal stops and automatically move to the waiting position. This advancement allows drivers to utilise their breaks more effectively.
How does the system work?
In the future, an autonomous tram will feature modular hardware that can be easily integrated with existing vehicles—making it a significantly more cost-effective solution than purchasing entirely new autonomous trams. The hardware can also be flexibly adapted to different tram models.
At the Pilsen depot, experts demonstrated the system using an old Tatra T3 tram, which was produced in Prague between 1962 and 1997. Around 14,000 of these vehicles were built, and despite modernisation, they remain in frequent use in many cities.
