Projects

Project Description

Today's rail freight transport in Europe, and wagonload transport in particular, suffers from the complicated coupling and shunting processes, which are largely characterised by the technically outdated screw coupling. The DAC4EU project, the subsequent "European DAC Delivery Programme" (EDDP) and "Europe's Rail Joint Undertaking" (ER-JU), in particular its Flagship Project 5 "TRANS4M-R", are currently making very intensive efforts to introduce a new type of digital automatic coupling (DAC). The DAC is intended to provide a technological and productivity boost in the area of rail freight transport, analogous to the development towards Industry 4.0.

For a successful introduction of the DAK, however, many additional investigations are needed, especially in the area of shunting processes. Automatic uncoupling and the associated processes, such as bleeding the brakes and the brake test after unrolling in the marshalling yard, must be investigated with regard to automation.

Goals

The project „Digital Automatic Coupling in Infrastructure Operations – DACIO“ has therefore set itself the following goals:

Investigation of the effects of the DAK on the processes in the marshalling yard and in the area operation or shunting from the

perspective of the infrastructure operator and shunting service provider

Scientific support of the DAK test programme, taking into account the shunting processes in the station and in the area.
Finding solutions for additional automation steps in the marshalling yard and development of corresponding functional models and laboratory demonstrators. This includes, in particular, uncoupling at the rolling hill and brake handling, i.e. bleeding and then refilling the brake air reservoirs, carrying out the brake test and the issue of wagon and end-of-track protection.
Finding solutions for additional automation steps in the wagon area. These include, in particular, the introduction of new braking systems for freight transport and a wagon integrated proximity sensor system.
Investigating the possible effects of the introduction of DAK on the structure and scope of the shunting infrastructure in order to be able to sustainably increase the efficiency and, above all, effectiveness of rail freight transport through redimensioning.

The DACIO project is intended to make an important contribution to the European EDDP and TRANS4M-R projects, while at the same time providing concrete proposals for the piloting of more advanced automation solutions.

Project Coordination

ÖBB-Infrastructure AG

Partner

Technical University Graz

ULBRICH Maschinenbau- und Export-Import Betriebs GmbH.

PJ Monitoring GmbH

m.ZERO OG

University of Applied Sciences St. Pölten Research GmbH

University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria Research GmbH

AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH

Funding

Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology (BMK)

www.bmk.gv.at

Project Description

The aim of Flagship Project 5 (FP5) TRANS4M-R is to establish rail freight transport as the backbone of a low-emission, resilient European logistics chain that fully meets the needs of end users. Two technology clusters, 'Full Digital Freight Train Operation (FDFTO)' and 'Seamless Freight Operation', will develop, validate and demonstrate technologies in line with an integrated, cross-sectoral systems approach as part of TRANS4M-R. The integration of solutions enabling Digital Automatic Coupling (DAC) with software-defined systems and digital rail services will ensure higher capacity, higher throughput and faster transport. It will strengthen cross-border coordination and cooperation between rail infrastructure managers and enable optimised rail network management. TRANS4M-R's seamless, integrated, interoperable, validated and EU-approved solutions aim to create a single EU framework for rail freight technology with strictly managed interfaces for effective system integration and seamless operations across borders, actors and modes. These objectives form the basis, framework and motivation for the project, which will have a significant impact on the EU transport and logistics sector.

The FP5 project TRANS4M-R within the Horizon Europe programme brings together 71 partners from across the European rail sector, including end users, industrial partners, railway companies, operators, wagon keepers, SMEs and universities. The project will support the rail freight sector's commitment to increase the modal split share to 50% by 2030, break the causality between economic growth in Europe and pollution and have a positive impact on the quality of life of European citizens.

This project is financed by HORIZON-ER-JU-2022-01 of the European Union.