Automatic subway systems are no longer new technology as it may seem. Vancouver's automatic Skytrain is already twenty-three years old. The Victoria Line on the London Underground has used automatic train operation since 1968, where the driver only needs to open and close the doors, start the train (and let the train do the rest), and react in case of an emergency. Automating subway trains have improved passenger comfort by adjusting speeds at a comfortable levels. And, since trains can run close together, as a computer controls the trains, the capacity of a line is also increased. But, just like with any technology, there are some computerized metros that have succeeded, and others that have failed.
Video by Youtube user mikedk2100.
Paris' Line 14, a rubber-tyred line, is one of the many leading example of automatic trains. Computers calculate, based on speed and position, the appropriate distance that should be left between two trains. Using this method, the trains can run very close together. Trains run every 60 seconds at rush hour (3 minutes during the mid-days), showing the high capacity of the system. During Paris rail strikes, the 14 is the only one to remain open with "traffic normal."
San Francisco's Muni Metro uses a computer system to control its light rail vehicles through the subway tunnel. But, despite the automatic train control within the tunnel, congestion remains at a high with delays constantly appearing during peak hours. Although stations are long enough to accommodate more than one train at a time, Muni only allows one train to have its doors open at a time, resulting in trains backing up behind. New routes have also confused the computer with Bayshore-bound T trains occasionally marked as Mission Bay-bound K trains on station screens. S trains sometimes are marked as K trains or simply an asterisk (*) on the computer control map. Although the delays are not nearly as bad as it was when the computer was newly installed, the Muni Metro still continues to have occasional "Muni Meltdowns."
Other automatic rail systems worth mentioning include: Taipei MRT Muzha Line, Vancouver Skytrain, Lille Métro, Lyon Métro, Metro Torino, the Docklands Light Railway, and several airport people-movers.
