Ministry to start testing self-driving trucks at M-11 from 2022

VLADIVOSTOK, Sep 2 (PRIME) -- The Russian Transport Ministry plans to start testing self-driving trucks on the M-11 Neva federal highway in 2022, the ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

“The Transport Ministry and the Digital Transport and Logistics Association are forming a request to create logistics corridors for self-driving vehicles in the framework of experimental regulation regimes,” the statement read.

“Implementation of the project that was previously approved by the Russian government in the format of digital playgrounds will allow us to start test drives of self-driving trucks on parts of the M-11 Neva Highway next year.”

The tests will become the first step toward commercial use of self-driving trucks between Moscow and Petersburg, which should be launched in 2024, and toward the launch of autonomous cargo transportation between Asia and Europe in 2030.

During the Eastern Economic Forum, Deputy Transport Minister and Chairman of Digital Transport and Logistics Association’s Supervisory Board Kirill Bogdanov signed agreement with new participants of the Unmanned Logistics Corridors project of Russia, including Volvo, Russian Post, State Transport Leasing Company (STLC), and VTB Infrastructure Holding. The other participants of the project are the association, Kamaz, National Telematic Systems, SberAutoTech, logistics company Delovye Linii, Globaltruck, X5 Group, and PEC (First Expedition Company).

The ministry expects the project to speed up transportation of cargoes through the M-11 highway by 25% at the first stage, and expand the share of Russia in the China–Europe cargo transportation tenfold in the future.

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