The foreseen research activities are expected to contribute to the creation of a framework for an effective railway for freight as a part of the logistical value chain in a more automated way via intelligent equipment and railway terminals enabling the provision of accurate information to end customers and operators. The objective of the FR8RAIL IV project is to further develop technologies relevant for the rail freight sector to reach the goal highlighted in the Shift2Rrail Master Plan. The work is partly based on results achieved in the previous projects of the AWP 2015-2019 (FFL4E, ARCC, FR8RAIL I-III, and FR8HUB). 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, specific challenges consistent with the Annual Work Plan 2020 will be addressed by the FR8RAIL IV project.

CONNECTA aims at contributing to the S2R’s next generation of TCMS architectures and components with wireless capabilities as well as to the next generation of electronic braking systems. CONNECTA will conduct research into new technological concepts, standard specifications and architectures for train control and monitoring, with specific applications in train-to-ground communications and high safety electronic control of brakes. The specific actions to be undertaken within the scope of CONNECTA contributing to the S2R Multi-Annual Action Plan on TD1.2 and TD1.5 are: · To develop the general specifications of next generation TCMS and to generate the corresponding high level system architecture; · To incorporate wireless technologies to train communication network solutions; · To provide a train-wide communication network for full TCMS support including the replacement of train lines, connecting safety functions up to SIL4 and support of “fail-safe” and “fail-tolerant” principles, to provide an optimal train network for TCMS & OMTS (Onboard Multimedia and Telematic Services) as well as communication mean for non-TCMS functions; · To standardise functional interfaces of functions and sub systems as well as to define a generic functional architecture for the next TCMS generation; · To facilitate the coupling of two or more consists supplied by different manufacturers and which could have different train functions; · To develop a simulation framework in which all subsystems of the train can be simulated, allowing remote and distributed testing including hardware in-the-loop through heterogeneous communication networks; · To achieve a performance improvement in safety relevant braking functions resulting in optimisation of the braking distances in safety braking; · To optimise onboard systems by reducing the number of sophisticated pneumatic components and improving the overall LCC; · To validate non-railway EN standards for use in safety-related railway applications.

The PINTA Project (IP1 Traction TD1 and Brakes TD5 – Phase 1) will address the two key topics highlighted in the first Shift2Rail Call topic S2R-CFM-IP1-01-2016 – Development of concepts towards the next generation of traction systems and management of wheel/rail adhesion, namely Traction and Adhesion Management. Traction subproject will focus on the improvement of seven technical and economical performances of the Traction system that have been agreed and defined in Roll2Rail. These performances have to be improved on five different train applications having different constraints, needs and specificities, from tramway to HST, including metro, sub-urban, regional trains. In particular, Traction sub-project will address the following: 1) Line capacity increase through weight, volume and noise savings of Traction equipment. 2) Operational reliability increase via higher reliability/availability. 3) Railway system LCC reduction As far as Adhesion management is concerned, the work will lead to the achievement of a number of important objectives linked to Brakes, such as · Improvement of braking degradation limit in poor adhesion condition · Management of all adhesion conditions in a way that brake distances are optimized · Improvement of the overall train safety, which relies substantially on the management of the wheel/rail contact · Reduction of wheel Life-Cycle-Costs (LCCs) through optimized wheel/rail contact in braking The activities should contribute in formulating new performance specifications for Adhesion Recovery Systems. Moreover, improved requirements for Wheel Slide Protection test procedures should be developed, followed by new specifications for Automatic Test benches.