Autonomous will NOT only apply to cars…..

StadlerRail Class88-2FEB17

Class 88 #LocoMotive from #StadlerRail

(not the type to enter service on MerseyRail)
 
Why is it only us numpty armchair newswatchers that can see the writing on the wall for rail strikes?
Coal mining, car factories, and ship-building, come to mind…..
 
I am deeply immersed in #connectedcars and #fintech – yes, the realisation that robots ARE going to be part of our (near) future.
 
So why do the rail unions fail to recognise that we are already working towards autonomous (“driverless”) cars by 2025? Cars run on roads, not rails, so they can, in theory, drive all over the place – indeed, we will EXPECT them to.
 
Err, reality check – trains run on rails – they have to be at certain places by certain times – regularity means easier to regulate. Yet we are proceeding with the harder tasks first – cars WILL be driving themselves on our roads, and, for that matter, rockets will be going into space, regularly, within the next 10 years.
 
So all the limp & lame “passenger safety” excuses must stand aside in the current round of rail disputes about “keeping guards” – train drivers are heading towards oblivion too! All the strikes will achieve is to bring the adoption date forward – we don’t have one for trains yet, but we do for cars.
 
MerseyRail have just ordered new “guardless” trains to replace 40 year old rolling stock.
Stadler, the Swiss supplier, will not be building them – for longevity – without factoring in the “driverless” probability too.
 
Writing’s on the wall. 
 
If you can’t read it, you need glasses, or shouldn’t be – soon won’t be – working on the trains.