FR8RAIL II, III & IV

Use-centric rail freight innovation for Single European Railway Area

The main aim of the FR8RAIL project is the development of functional requirements for sustainable and attractive European rail freight.

FR8RAIL IV seeks to increase technical readiness of the specific technologies developed through innovation actions up to TRL 7. In the framework of the general challenges highlighted in the S2R Strategic Master Plan, the following specific challenges consistent with the Annual Work Plan 2020 will be addressed by the FR8RAIL IV project: 1) Condition based maintenance (CBM), 2) Smart Freight Wagon Concepts, 3) Freight Loco of the future, 4) Long trains, and 5) Automatic train operation (ATO).

The project will, in the parts where Trafikverket and LTU participate, enable condition-based maintenance for freight wagons by developing an intelligent wagon with the help of telematics and electrification. The project has three goals. The first (1) is to produce a specification for an intelligent vehicle and the development of subsystems (VMS, CMS, vOBU, FTSMS). The project will also (2) produce a specification for the integration of telematics (WMS, CMS, wOBU, FTSMS) that is in accordance with a new carriage design. Finally, the project will also (3) produce a definition of suitable demonstration activities and test tests.

Work is in progress where condition-based maintenance of rolling stock is analyzed on the basis of data collected by infrastructure owners. The work has two starting points: How measured values can control maintenance and how measured values can be used to check the quality and calibration of the measuring systems. Analysis of wheel temperatures for a test train has been performed as well as analyses of measurement data from detectors for the same test train.

In the project, Luleå University of Technology acts as a linked third party to Trafikverket. The task is to work with condition based and predictive maintenance.

Sponsors: EU, H2020, SHIFT2RAIL, Trafikverket
Researchers: Florian Thiery, Matti Rantatalo (PL), Johan Odelius
Duration: 2018-2023