Rio Tinto (LSE:RIO,ASX:RIO) has been granted accreditation by Australia’s Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator approving the autonomous operation of trains at the group’s iron ore business in Western Australia.

As quoted in the press release:

The AutoHaul project continues to progress and is on schedule to be completed by the end of 2018. Rio Tinto will take a phased approach to deploying autonomous trains across the network in the lead up to full commissioning. Once commissioned, the network will be the world’s first heavy haul, long distance autonomous rail operation, unlocking significant safety and productivity benefits for the business. Rio Tinto’s Pilbara shipments guidance for 2018 remains between 330 and 340 million tonnes (100 per cent basis). This is subject to market conditions and any weather constraints.

Click here to view the full Rio Tinto (LSE:RIO,ASX:RIO) press release.