Deutsche Bahn and the technology group Siemens celebrated a world premiere on Monday: For the first time, a fully automatic, digitally controlled S-Bahn started in Hamburg.
Railway boss Richard Lutz announced that the technology will be gradually expanded to the entire S-Bahn network of the Hanseatic city in the future.
According to Siemens boss Roland Busch, it is a "blueprint for the digitization of the railways in Germany, Europe and around the world".
Hamburg - Autonomous railways have been around for a long time.
What is new is the open system, which is compatible with every railway that masters the technical standards.
dpa