Autonomous Metro Enters Trials in Brazilian City

The city of Campinas, in the interior of São Paulo, began operational testing of Brazil's first autonomous-driven metro system. The trains of Line 4 — Rosa — operating experimentally without passengers, travel the 12-kilometer stretch between Barão Geraldo station and the city center with remote human supervision carried out from a centralized control room, without an operator in the cabin.

How the Autonomous System Works

The system uses a combination of LiDAR sensors, high-resolution cameras, short-range radars, and V2I (vehicle-to-infrastructure) communication for navigation and obstacle detection. A predictive control model automatically adjusts speed, braking, and spacing between trains based on real-time track occupancy data. In situations of detected anomaly — presence of an object on the track, sensor failure, or deviation from normal parameters — the system triggers the emergency brake and notifies the remote operator in less than 200 milliseconds.

The system manufacturer, a consortium between French Alstom and Brazilian Digicon, conducted more than 3,000 hours of simulation before beginning tests on real track. The current protocol provides that a human supervisor can take remote control at any time, with a second backup operator on permanent standby.

Outlook and Timeline

If the tests without passengers proceed without incidents over the next six months, phase 2 foresees operation with passengers during off-peak hours, still with reinforced remote human supervision. Fully autonomous operation during peak hours is projected for 2028, conditional on ANTT approval and revision of federal legislation on autonomous rail transport — which does not yet explicitly provide for this modality. The project is being closely monitored by other Brazilian cities evaluating modernizing their rail transport systems.