European rail freight is looking for all sorts of ways to operate more economically, efficiently and to create more capacity for itself. Flagship projects include ERTMS and the Digital Automatic Coupler (DAC), but the DC-FREIGHT consortium is working on an entirely different solution: Dynamic Coupling.
Dynamic Coupling aims to let trains and wagon groups join and split while moving. In this way, services can share a train path and separate where their destinations diverge. The expectation is that this will grow capacity on congested railways by freeing up train paths, bringing advantages similar to those of DAC and moving-block operation. However, it does not compete with those technologies, says Alberto Mandler, co-founder and CEO of tech company DirecTrainS.
With low speed differences, the technology would allow dynamic (de)coupling between two trains. It has shown promising results in early trials, according to Mandler (more on that below). The first product is a driver aid at up to 40 kilometres per hour. Later products are planned for much higher speeds. Dynamic Coupling would come with the added benefit that it does not require high initial capital expenditures.
| Partner | Country | Specialisation |
|---|---|---|
| Panteia | Netherlands | Coordination |
| DirecTrainS | Israel | Technology |
| CERTIA | France | Engineering |
| Gematica | Italy | IoT |
| ProEtico | Italy | Safety |
| Politecnico di Torino | Italy | Modelling |
| LTE Hungária | Hungary | Operations |
| Ederlog | Germany | Logistics |
Capacity and competitiveness
Besides capacity gains, Dynamic Coupling could also convert road freight into rail freight, believes DirecTrainS. The developer points to four constraints that make rail lose the battle versus the road: fixed train compositions, entire trains occupying mainline capacity to deliver just a few wagons, poor data integration and little adaptability to disruptions.
The coupling wagons should provide the flexibility to alleviate some of rail freight’s rigidity challenges. A group of wagons could detach from a train to enter a terminal while the rest continue their journey, for instance. “I see a good perspective for single wagon transport”, adds Botond Varga, Managing Director at consortium partner LTE. “You can put together wagon groups and establish block trains out of wagon groups on the way. Coupling two block trains is unlikely, because they are already at maximum parameters [length/weight].”
“The main opportunity is not coupling two trains already at maximum length, but shorter services that share a corridor and separate where their destinations diverge,” adds Mandler. Longer trains could also share a path, as long as they split before any stop.
What’s more, sensors could elevate rail to achieve similar technological sophistication as trucks. “Today, if you put a sensitive load on a truck, you can track its temperature and pressure, and estimate its ETA”, explains Mandler. “Trucks know where they are at all times, and they’re always connected. Modern trucks have many sensors and capabilities that trains simply lack.”
Telematics
To address this, the DC-FREIGHT consortium also provides a framework for installing sensors at the wagon level. “Our system, which is already required for coupling and decoupling, can also integrate those sensors in a generic way, giving us a universal sensor interface. This makes it easy to install a sensor on any wagon, while our system provides the connectivity backbone: merging the data, collecting it, and sending it to a central location.” It does this without continuous cellular communication.
As such, Mandler sees the technology as possibly complementary to DAC. Integrating DAC into the coupling wagons could allow for early operational testing without installing DAC on the entire wagon fleet. Moreover, by using DAC on the coupling wagons, you could digitise trains or wagon groups for lower costs, rather than each individual wagon for high costs.
The technology is the easy part, says Varga. Mandler subsequently points to a simulation study of the Israeli rail network. It indicated that Dynamic Coupling could quadruple the service from the north and double average capacity. Moreover, it could be accompanied by a new timetable that uses less total energy than the one of today. It also improves travel times and frequencies at all intermediate stations, Mandler says.
In real-world terms, DirecTrainS and CERTIA have also tested coupling at full scale on a real track in France, including extreme cases with high speed differences and misalignment.
Operational challenges
Still, there are challenges to overcome. For example, how will it work operationally? And what about legislation?
“You can not use the wagons to couple and decouple everywhere, that would be chaos”, Varga tells RailFreight.com. “You could have coupling zones of a couple of kilometres long.” These coupling zones need to feature particular characteristics, such as a flat geography and straight tracks, to facilitate on-the-go coupling.
Even if the DC-FREIGHT website highlights the expected extra capacity to absorb disruptions, Varga says that this needs to be assessed. What if two wagon groups do not meet at the intended location at the scheduled time? Or what if the couplers fail? “We need to evaluate situations where coupling is not possible for whatever reason”, Varga adds.
There is a therefore need for additional tests. Currently, DC-FREIGHT is looking for opportunities to organise a semi-static test in Hungary. This would take place at a test facility during a six-day period. The coupling wagons would be moved by consortium partner LTE once a suitable siding is found.
“We will just try the coupling itself”, says Varga. “We are not yet doing the ‘big thing’ on the open network. This is just a first step, a pilot at shunting speed (up to 20 kilometres per hour).” The tests would trial the coupling and IoT integration without ETCS integration. At a later stage, tests for Dynamic Coupling integrated with ETCS will follow at a certified facility in Europe.
The regulatory aspect
Even if the technology works in practice, there is the question of regulations — does the law even allow such an operation? “On a high level, we believe we don’t need regulatory changes”, explains Alberto Mandler.
“We’ve worked with TÜV Nord to show that our system doesn’t require any regulatory changes. This was preliminary work, though, and hasn’t been done for every country. Of course, the devil is in the details, and we’ll need a pilot in each country to verify that everything is correct. But at a high level, our analysis shows that no changes are required. We’ll start in the countries where it’s easiest and clearly allowed, and move to the more restrictive ones later.”
Varga also believes that regulation-wise, there is no need for changes on the network, rolling stock and signalling level. Still, discussions need to be held with national authorities to actually enable operations, according to the LTE Managing Director. Any necessary changes may prove to be time-consuming, since authorities often hold conservative views on rail operations.
Horizon Europe
The DC-FREIGHT consortium has submitted a bid for a Horizon Europe Cluster 5 call. Whereas most submissions relate to software solutions, DC-FREIGHT stands out with its hardware, according to Mandler.
If the consortium wins its bid, it can count on a grant. The lump-sum covers 70% for all partners except Politecnico di Torino, which would see 100% of its costs covered. The partners contribute their own funds for the rest.