Mining corporation giant Rio Tinto has announced that it has successfully deployed its autonomous rail system in the remote region of Plibara, Australia.
Named AutoHaul by the company, Rio Tinto dubbed the automated train as the World's largest robot and first automated heavy-haul, long distance rail network.
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The company says the $940 million AutoHaul programme is focused on automating train transportation of ore to their port facilities in Pilbara.
Rio Tinto operates 200 locomotives on a rail track spanning across 1700 kilometres for ores transportation across 16 miles to 4 Pilbara port terminals.
To ensure the monitoring and safety of its train, every locomotive carrying the AutoHaul software is fitted with on-board cameras for constant monitoring from the Operations Centre.
"The safe and successful deployment of AutoHaul across our network is a strong reflection of the pioneering spirit inside Rio Tinto," Rio Tinto Ore managing director Rail, Port & Core Services Ivan Vella said.
"It's been a challenging journey to automate a rail network of this size and scale in a remote location like the Pilbara, but early results indicate significant potential to improve productivity, providing increased system flexibility and reducing bottlenecks," Vella added.
Rio Tinto has been gradually increasing the number of heavy-haul journeys across Western Australia, and has now claim to have traveled more than 1 million kilometres autonomously.