The mining company Rio Tinto's AutoHaul ™ program, which is expected to cost $ 940 million, is focused on automating most trains that transport iron ore to the mining company's port facilities in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
Rio Tinto has successfully implemented the AutoHaul program, including by designing the world's largest robot and the first automated railway line for extra heavy traffic.
- The safe and successful implementation of the AutoHaul project, which covers our entire network, is a strong reflection of the pioneering spirit of Rio Tinto. It was an extremely demanding challenge. The automation of a rail network of this size and scale in a remote geographical area such as Pilbara, illustrates our company's great potential in improving productivity, which in turn contributes to increased system flexibility and reduces bottlenecks, said Rio Tinto Iron Ore CEO: s Department of Rail, Port & Core Services, Ivan Vella.
Over the coming months, Rio Tinto plans to further maximize and refine its autonomous operations. The company stated that it will continue to work even with drivers and that there will be no redundancies during 2019 as a result of the expansion of the AutoHaul network.
Locomotives equipped with AutoHaul software and with built-in cameras enable continuous monitoring from the operating centre.
All traffic movements on the Rio Tinto rail network are monitored by CCTV cameras, which have been upgraded to meet the highest safety standards requirements
