German rail brake manufacturer Knorr-Bremse signed a Memorandum of Understanding with China Railway “to develop next-generation technologies”. The aim is to help Beijing put more freight on rail by focussing “on digital solutions, driver assistance systems and advanced braking technologies”.
The new initiative is part of the China Freight Cooperation Programme, which sees Knorr-Bremse partnering with the China Academy of Railway Sciences (CARS). The main goal is to help China’s modal shift ambitions, which demand “even longer and heavier trains to operate safely, efficiently and intelligently”, Knorr-Bremse underlined.
In terms of freight digitalisation, the joint project will “will cover digital train architecture, predictive maintenance, wagon monitoring solutions and digital automatic couplers”. Moreover, the two parties will work on developing driver assistance technologies based on Knorr-Bremse’s LEADER project, which makes recommendations to drivers on how to save energy and costs.
€1bn revenue goal
Finally, “the partners will work on advanced braking systems tailored to the demanding requirements of long-distance and heavy-haul transportation”, the German manufacturer added. If this partnership goes well, the company might be able “to capture a global annual revenue potential exceeding €1 billion in the long term.” In addition to the partnership with China, this goal could be reached with the installation of DAC in Europe and the adoption of next-gen rail freight technologies in the United States.