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6. December 2020DB Cargo is testing an ‘Automated Shunting Locomotive’ and an ‘Automated Brake Test’ at the Munich-North marshalling yard. The Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) supports the initiative. Digitalization strengthens single wagon traffic.
(Berlin/Mainz) The Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) is supporting two innovative projects by DB Cargo with 7 million euros. With the initiatives ‘Automated Shunting Locomotive’ and ‘Automated Brake Test’, the test field ‘Future Train Formation Facility’ is starting in Munich-North. This accelerates the automated train formation in single wagon traffic for Europe’s largest freight railway.
Thousands of Trains
Thousands of trains are assembled daily at the marshalling yards. Shunting locomotives are used for this purpose. The goal is for these locomotives to operate automatically. All brakes on the trains are manually checked before each departure. In the future, this should be possible much faster and remotely through sensors and radio transmission. There are currently no ready-made solutions on the market for projects of this kind. Comprehensive development and testing work can only be financed with additional support.
The funding is a measure from the federal program ‘Future Rail Freight Transport’ of the BMVI, which was adopted in May 2020. The program promotes the digitalization and automation of environmentally friendly rail freight transport. From 2020 to 2024, 30 million euros are allocated annually in the federal budget for this purpose. The average funding rate is a maximum of 50 percent.
Freight Trains Must Be Assembled Efficiently
Federal Minister of Transport Andreas Scheuer: “We want to bring more freight transport onto the environmentally friendly rail. For this, freight trains must be assembled efficiently, quickly, and cost-effectively. That is why we are promoting the practical testing of automatic and digital technologies in shunting operations. Our goal is: strong rail. And that also means: strong freight transport.”
“The Munich-North marshalling yard will be our testing ground for the future. We will strengthen single wagon traffic as the backbone of the economy, and digitalization and automation will help us with that. That this innovation boost is now receiving financial support is the right step,” says Dr. Sigrid Nikutta, DB Board Member for Freight Transport at Deutsche Bahn.
Testing Further Innovative Technologies
Innovations benefit both customers and employees: through faster and more efficient processes as well as less physically demanding work. Particularly, the economically significant single wagon traffic, characterized by frequent train formation and dissolution as well as regular shunting, will benefit from this.
In Munich-North, further innovative technologies are to be tested, which can automatically detect damage to freight cars or organize workflows more efficiently using Artificial Intelligence (AI). The Digital Automatic Coupler (DAK) is also to be tested here in shunting operations.
Photo: © DB Cargo
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