Self-Driving Railcars Are Coming to Missouri

This has been the year where artificial intelligence automation has made big inroads into society in good ways and bad. You can add railroads to that list as self-driving railcars are incoming to Missouri soon.

I saw a press release today shared by Railway News revealing that "Federal Grant Supports Autonomous Freight Rail in Missouri". If you dig into the details, you'll see this is a $16.2 million dollar grant that is intended to bring the Columbia Terminal Railroad up to modern standards including the cutting-edge technology of autonomous railcars.

What is an autonomous railcar?

It is a self-powered, driverless freight vehicle equipped with its own electric motors, batteries, computers, and sensors that will be deployed by Intramotev. Their official site says this technology can eliminate the need for a locomotive and can be retrofitted to transform any railcar.

The Railway News article says this deployment will start with "remote switching at COLT’s Columbia terminal, before progressing towards autonomous freight services across the full line, including public level crossings" in Missouri.

The funds will reportedly be used for track and other upgrades in Columbia along with the introduction of autonomous railcars. Two of these railcars will eventually be integrated on the 21.4-mile line between Centralia and Columbia, Missouri eventually.