Alstom testing automated freight train

French train engineering giant Alstom is to test automated freight trains in the Netherlands this year. The automated train prototype can travel for about 100km (60 miles) without driver intervention. Automation will free the train driver to focus on supervising the train's progress. The test's purpose is to provide a live demonstration that the train and the signal system can communicate effectively to drive the train. Alstom signed an agreement with the the Dutch infrastructure operator ProRail and Rotterdam Rail Feeding (RRF) to carry out the tests along the Betuweroute - a 150km double track freight railway line connecting Rotterdam to Germany.