MINING company Rio Tinto has achieved the first delivery of iron ore by an autonomous, driverless train as part of its $US 940m AutoHaul programme focused on automating trains running to its port facilities in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

MINING company Rio Tinto has been granted accreditation by Australia’s Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator (ONRSR) for the autonomous operation of trains serving the group’s Pilbara iron-ore mines in Western Australia.

GLOBAL mining company Rio Tinto announced on October 2 that it has successfully completed its the first fully-autonomous trip on its heavy-haul rail network in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

GLOBAL mining company Rio Tinto says automation of its Western Australia Pilbara iron ore heavy-haul rail network (Autohaul) is progressing well, with around 20% of all train kilometres now operating in autonomous mode, albeit with drivers still on-board managing the remaining safety and reliability systems.