The train is being billed  as more punctual and energy efficient than traditional trains and will start carrying passengers from December, using the existing rail infrastructure.

Other cities like Paris and London have driverless metros while airports often have automated monorail trains plying terminals, but those run on exclusive single tracks while the Hamburg train will be sharing tracks with other regular trains.

The project, which Siemens and Deutsche Bahn called a "world first", is part of a 60 million euro modernisation of Hamburg's rapid urban rail system.

It is not entirely driverless. Although the train is controlled through digital technology and fully automated, a driver will still be present to supervise journeys whenever there are passengers on board, the companies said in a statement.