A train driver is a person who operates a train, railcar, or other rail transport vehicle. The driver is in charge of and is responsible for the mechanical operation of the train, train speed, and all of the train handling (also known as brake handling). Train drivers must follow certain guidelines for driving a train safely.
Rail suicide or suicide by train is deliberate self-harm resulting in death by means of impact from a moving rail vehicle. The suicide occurs when an approaching train hits a suicidal pedestrian jumping onto, lying down on, or walking or standing on the tracks. Low friction on the tracks usually makes it impossible for the train to stop quickly enough. On urban mass transit rail systems that use a high-voltage electrified third rail, the suicide may also touch or be otherwise drawn into contact with it, adding electrocution to the cause of death.
Unlike other methods, rail suicide often directly affects the general public. Trains must be rerouted temporarily to clean the tracks and investigate the incident, causing delays for passengers and crews that may extend far beyond the site, a costly economic inconvenience. Train drivers in particular, effectively forced into being accomplices to the suicide they witness, often suffer post-traumatic stress disorder that adversely affects their personal lives and careers. In recent years railways and their unions have been offering more support to afflicted drivers.
Automatic train operation (ATO) is a method of operating trains automatically where the driver is not required or is required for supervision at most. Alternatively, ATO can be defined as a subsystem within the automatic train control, which performs any or all of functions like programmed stopping, speed adjusting, door operation, and similar otherwise assigned to the train operator.
The degree of automation is indicated by the Grade of Automation (GoA), up to GoA4 in which the train is automatically controlled without any staff on board. On most systems for lower grades of automation up to GoA2, there is a driver present to mitigate risks associated with failures or emergencies. Driverless automation is primarily used on automated guideway transit systems where it is easier to ensure the safety due to isolated tracks. Fully automated trains for mainline railways are an area of research. The first driverless experiments in the history of train automation date back to 1920s.