TestingATO – Innovation Laboratory for Automated Driving in Rail Transport

Background & Motivation

Rail transport is a key component of a sustainable, efficient, and future-oriented transportation system in Europe. In order to meet increasing demands regarding capacity, quality, and climate protection, automation is becoming increasingly important.

Automated and autonomous driving (ATO) is a major lever for:

Higher operational efficiency
Improved utilization of infrastructure
Greater reliability and safety

The development and implementation of these technologies require a specialized testing environment. In particular, suitable realistic yet controllable test conditions for perception systems — including sensor technology and environmental perception — are currently lacking.

Project Objective

The aim of the project is to establish a dual-track ATO innovation laboratory at the site of DB Systemtechnik GmbH in Minden.

The main focus areas are:

Research and development of ATO system technologies
Testing under realistic operating conditions
Support for approval and certification processes
Development of standards for ATO components

At the core of the infrastructure is a dual-track testing and validation facility that:

Enables reproducible testing
Provides controllable environmental and weather conditions
Simulates real operational scenarios

A particular focus is placed on the validation of perception systems, which play a key role in safe automated driving.

Added Value of the Test Infrastructure

The innovation laboratory creates significant benefits for both research and industry:

Relocation of tests from live railway operations into a laboratory environment
Relief for the highly utilized rail network
Acceleration of development and approval processes
Improved comparability of test results
Increased safety during system development

Implementation

he implementation of the innovation laboratory is carried out in several consecutive phases.

During the initial phase, the fundamental framework conditions are defined. Building upon this, the planning phase includes the preparation of all necessary approval and construction documents as well as the design of the research and testing infrastructure, which serves as the basis for procurement activities.

This is followed by the tendering and awarding of construction contracts and the procurement of the required testing systems. During the construction phase, the structural measures are implemented and supervised, while the testing systems are developed, installed, and integrated into the infrastructure in parallel.

The project concludes with the final acceptance and commissioning of the innovation laboratory.

Project Duration

01 October 2025 – 31 December 2027