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Six European rail freight companies led by DB Cargo have started the trials of digital automatic coupling (DAC) on wagons. The pilot project is dedicated to demonstrating, testing and obtaining regulatory approval for this technology. The tests will run from July 2020 to December 2022.
he German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) has awarded the contract for this pilot project to the consortium led by DB Cargo. It consists of six companies from Germany, Austria, Switzerland and France: three rail freight carriers DB Cargo, Rail Cargo Austria, SBB Cargo and three wagon keepers Ermewa, GATX Rail Europe, VTG. The German government allocated around 13 million euros for this project.
Two phases
The tests will be carried out in two phases. In the beginning, 12 freight and tank wagons of DB Cargo, VTG and GATX will be equipped with prototype couplers from four different manufacturers. Afterwards, the initial technical tests will start. The results of these tests will determine which type of coupler is ultimately selected.
Within the second stage of the trials, a demonstrator train consisting of 24 freight wagons equipped with the selected coupler type will perform the test runs in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and other European countries. This will allow DAC to be tested in daily operations in a variety of areas, including at marshalling yards. After that, the results of these trials will be used for introducing innovation throughout Europe. Read more
Source: RAILFREIGHT.COM
