Moscow – The first fully unmanned tram in Russia has been officially launched by Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin.
The mayor said the launch on Wednesday, 4 September 2025, was “a special day in the history of Moscow transport”.
The mayor explained that the unmanned tram will carry passengers in the northwest of the city on route No. 10 “Shchukinskaya Metro Station – Kulakova Street” and follow the established schedule.
“This is a very significant technological milestone,” Mayor Sobyanin said.
“Now, unmanned technologies are beginning to be introduced in the capital’s transport system.”
The mayor said the software for the unmanned tram was created by employees of the Moscow Metro without the involvement of third-party companies.
“The smart technology, developed by the city, is unique,” said Mayor Sobyanin.
“It works more accurately and stably than foreign counterparts. It has already been recognised with prestigious international awards.
“The unmanned tram has traveled more than 8 000 km in test mode without violating traffic rules once.”
Earlier this year, the unmanned tram was running in test mode (meaning it was periodically put into service and tested).
Alexey Panov Chief of International Dept. Moscow Metro explained that the trial period has now ended, and the unmanned tram has entered regular passenger service.
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The unmanned tram is equipped with a sensor system, a high-precision route map, and systems for localistion, computer vision, movement planning, and wheel slip prevention.
Mayor Sobyanin said the tram stops where it needs to, opens and closes doors, follows traffic light signals, yields to pedestrians, independently determines how to cross an intersection, switches points, and adheres to the schedule.
The mayor said an employee of the tram management rides in the cabin or salon only for observation, as required by federal law, and does not interfere in the process.
Further plans:
• To equip three more trams with unmanned technologies by the end of the year.
• To equip more than 300 by 2030, which is about 2/3 of the capital’s fleet.
• It is expected that by 2035, about 90% of Moscow’s trams will operate on unmanned technologies.
The mayor said the first phase of the pilot operation of the unmanned metro train on the Big Circle Line will begin in December.
“The control system will be tested on a modern “Moskva” series train at night without passengers,” revealed Mayor Sobyanin.
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