During the past years and within the scope of the S2R freight innovation pillar (IP5), rail stakeholders have been working on the freight Digital Automatic Coupler (DAC). This solution, in addition to the mechanical and pneumatic coupling, will integrate digital communications and energy for the rail freight segment. DAC is an enabler that will enhance the performance and safety of rail freight as it will eliminate manual interventions and, by transmitting data and power through the freight train consist, it will allow addressing the operational gaps to increase the competitiveness of rail freight.

The project stemming from this topic should deliver :

• a plan for a full-scale European DAC upgrading/retrofitting of existing freight locomotives and freight wagons;
• the identification and assessment of the retrofitting capacity, and develop an implementation plan.

All project deliverables shall be of Public nature to ensure a broad exploitation of the results and take up in the context of the European DAC Delivery Programme (EDDP)^[1].

The coordinated support action support the Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking with the needed technical expertise for the development of the above mentioned plans.

The following areas have been identified as key research area to cover the expected outcome. The project stemming from this topic shall address all the following workstreams:

Workstream 1: Fleet retrofitting readiness

The project should collect and analyse the status of wagons and locomotives in operations in Europe. The processed information should consider the number of wagons and locomotives, the usage, the technical state and its retrofitting ability (fleet retrofitting readiness). The project shall deliver a sound assessment on the retrofitting readiness of wagons and locomotives which will serve as the basis for the strategic sector alignment, in the context of the EDDP, on the future DAC deployment plans. The project shall cover for its assessment the following elements (non-exhaustive list):

• Locomotives difference between shunting and mainline ones and the possibility to have hybrid coupling or DAC only;
• Wagons based on the type of traffic (Core Wagonload System (CWS), intermodal,…);
• TSI compliance and safety level achieved (e.g. inner-coupling for rakes).

Workstream 2: DAC Retrofitting capacity plan

The project should identify the required workshop capacity and locations (in Europe), workforce skills for retrofitting of locomotives, freight wagons and other on track machines, as well as the planned/required retrofitting rolling stock quantities. The outputs of the workstream 1 are an important element to take into account in the analysis.

It should also propose a DAC retrofitting plan considering the optimisation of workshop locations and the major sidings/terminals in Europe (e.g. through predominant traffic type) use, and related vehicle fleets. A gap analysis should be performed and required countermeasures analysed, with the aim to propose alternative technical and operational solutions.

The project should develop a comprehensive retrofitting capacity plan, including concrete operational and technical recommendations (including timing) per traffic type (Block Train, Single Wagon Load,…) and concerned fleet. The plan should include (non-exhaustive list):

• an allocation of vehicles per retrofitting workshops;
• an identification of the rolling stock, timing and retrofitting process per type/vehicle;
• an estimate of the foreseen DAC components quantity required per retrofitting location.

Additionally, the project should propose further recommendation based on the analysis on how mobile workshops could cover (in part) the retrofit needs and their impact on:

• • Retrofitting plan on infrastructure (e.g. buffer stop retrofitting plan, changes needed to shunting yards/sidings and planning).
  • Requirements for the wagons for operations at shunting yards (e.g. uncoupling button or lever at the side).

Interactions with other EU-RAIL projects and EU-Missions

The action to be funded under this topic shall:

• Take into account the outputs of linked projects from EU-RAIL Flagship Area 5^[2] and work together for any potential interfaces.
• Interact with EU-Rail System Pillar^[3] for the aspects related to the TSI compliance aspects and planning and with the European DAC Delivery Programme groups^[4], to which is expected to report on a regular basis to the Programme Board and Supervisory Board.

Gender dimension

In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.

[1] https://rail-research.europa.eu/european-dac-delivery-programme/

[2] https://projects.rail-research.europa.eu/eurail-fp5/

[3] https://rail-research.europa.eu/system_pillar/

[4] https://projects.shift2rail.org/s2r_ip5_n.aspx?p=6%20EU-DAC