SUSTRAIL final conference on 21 May 2015, Brussels

The sustainable freight railway: Designing the freight vehicle – track system for higher delivered tonnage with improved availability at reduced cost

The SUSTRAIL consortium and the International Union of Railways (UIC) held the SUSTRAIL Final Conference on 21 May 2015 at the Royal Flemish Academy in Brussels, offering issues for debate to participants – including railway suppliers, research groups, railway operators (undertakings and infrastructure managers) the chance to discover the main achievements of the projects and to be informed of the use of the project’s results, guaranteeing that project solutions will satisfy user needs and fulfil railway requirements, railway organisations at EU and international level.

Launched in June 2011, and ending on 31 May 2015, SUSTRAIL is a four-year collaborative R&D project co-funded by the European Commission within the FP7, with the overall objective to support the freight railway in regaining a primary position in the market, accounting for:

• The increase in demand of the total freight transport volumes: about 40% (in tonne-kilometres) by 2030 and 80% by 2050;
• The shift of 30% of road freight over 300 km to other modes such as rail or waterborne transport by 2030 (50% by 2050) as targeted by the European Commission.

Mr Hans-Günther Kersten, Director of the UIC Freight Department, gave an introductory speech on behalf of UIC. He highlighted UIC’s important role of disseminating the project results, as dissemination is an integral part of its core business of sharing knowledge with its Members. He said: “SUSTRAIL set itself some very ambitious goals which have been successfully achieved. The project was guided by a systemic approach which is becoming standard in all research projects. This systemic approach and consideration for the interaction between vehicle and track has produced a tangible innovation in the shape of a track-friendly bogie, which is aimed at limiting vulnerability to which infrastructure is subjected due to rail traffic.”

Dr Gerhard Troche, representing the European Commission, gave an opening address in which he spoke of the key challenges of rail freight in terms of quality, cost, service, and securing political support. He stressed the importance of the White Paper on Transport – the 2050 vision for rail freight – outlining the use of energy-efficient modes and the importance of reinforcing cooperation among infrastructure managers, improving capacity, harmonising standards and providing rail freight services of good quality to meet customer needs. He added that it was a key initiative of the Commission to revitalise the European rail freight system and to achieve the objectives of the White Paper on Transport.

Highlights of the programme included:

• Integrated approach for an increased performance in the freight rail system (D’Appolonia)
• The freight train of the future (Huddersfield University)
• Novel wheel profiles (Lucchini, Politecnico di Milano)
• Improved breaking systems (KES GmbH)
• Lightweight solutions for bogie and wagon structures (Newrail)
• Condition monitoring for the freight rail vehicle and for the rail track (Mermec)
• Performance based design principles towards a “zero” maintenance track (Network Rail, D’Appolonia)
• Supportive ballast and substrate (D’Appolonia)
• Switches and crossing (University of Huddersfield)
• Track based condition monitoring (Mermec)
• Establishing the business case (University of Leeds)
• LCC and RAMS analysis (Lulea Technical University)
• User and environmental benefits, (University of Leeds),
• Technical implementation (Network Rail, Gruppo CLAS)

Under the theme of the freight train of the future, the work package leaders were able to present the results of their studies and tests carried out on a prototype bogie. Tasked with designing a rail freight vehicle which is environmentally-friendly, lightweight, low-noise and with improved running gear, the work package leaders showed the testing of the bogie and described the main parameters, concepts and challenges throughout the design and testing process. They explained how they were able to implement a new and improved braking system.

By taking a holistic and integrated approach, the SUSTRAIL project was able to achieve successful results. What now remains to be done is to translate the project’s results into standards – into Technical Specifications for Interoperability, EU legislation and European Standards from the European Committee for Standardisation Controls (CEN), and more generally into guidelines and recommendations from UIC.

(Source: UIC ENews Nr 450 UIC ENews Nr 450)

Presentations of the workshop are available below:

SUSTRAIL Final Conference programme

Freight Corridors: the European perspective

The position of the manufacturers on the freight vehicle

Introduction on the SUSTRAIL project

Highlights on validation of project results

The freight train of the future - towards a sustainable vehicle

Sustainable Track - Towards a "zero" maintenance track

Establishing the Business Case

Synergies with other EU funded projects - SPARTACUS

Synergies with other EU funded projects - SPECTRUM

SUSTRAIL UK dissemination event on 15 April 2015

Within the framework of SUSTRAIL, Network Rail will be hosting a dissemination event on 15 April 2015 in its Milton Keynes facilities.

More specifically intended to disseminate the results of the project towards the infrastructure and rolling stock experts based in UK and in the northern part of Europe, this workshop will give a brief overview on the project background and objectives and will showcase the innovations developed in SUSTRAIL to achieve the overarching goal of the project.

More information and online registration form available here

SUSTRAIL dissemination event in Spain on 28 April 2015

Universidad Politécnica de Madrid will be hosting a dissemination event on 28 April 2015.

Specifically intended to disseminate the results of the project towards the freight, infrastructure, and rolling stock experts based in Spain and in the southern part of Europe, this workshop will give a brief overview on the project background and objectives and will showcase the innovations developed in SUSTRAIL to achieve the main objectives of the project.

Moreover it will address Spanish specificities with top level officials from the Ministry of Transport, Spanish rail freight operators, and infrastructure managers.

More information and online registration are available here

SUSTRAILProject presented at InnoTrans 2014

The Sustrail project will be showcased from 23 to 26 September 2014 at InnoTrans 2014 (UNIFE Stand 302 in Hall 4.2).

Do not hesitate to visit the UNIFE stand to learn more about the on-going research activities and objectives of Sustrail.

We look forward to seeing you at Stand 302 in Hall 4.2

SUSTRAIL will be presented at the next Edition of the Global Rail Freight Congress, Vienna, 23-25 June 2014

The project will be presented on 25 May during the afternoon Session Nr 6: "New Technologies, Standardisation".

To know more about the Congress, its programme and venue, visit http://grfc.uic.org/

SUSTRAIL was present at TRA2014

The project was presented during the Scientific and Technical Session STS 14 dedicated to geotechnics. The project was also presented on the UIC stand in TRA 2014 exhibition area.

To know more about the event, visit http://www.traconference.eu/

SUSTRAIL Mid-Term Conference

The SUSTRAIL consortium, and UIC are pleased to invite you to the SUSTRAIL Mid-term conference that will take place at UIC Headquarter (Paris) on 4 December 2013.

Conference Highlights

This event will be the opportunity to discover the main results achieved by the project over the last 24 months.

Among others, the following topics will be presented:

• Integrated approach for an increased performance in the freight rail system (Network Rail, D’Appolonia)
• Current and future trends in freight systems and freight traffic flows (Newrail, Network Rail, Adif, Marlo)
• Novel wheel profiles and improved braking systems (Lucchini, Politecnico di Milano, KES)
• Improved bogie design (Huddersfield University)
• Condition monitoring for the freight rail vehicle and for the rail track (Mermec)
• Performance based design principles towards a “zero” maintenance track (Network Rail, D’Appolonia)
• LCC and RAMS analysis (Lulea Technical University)
• Novel business models, including user and environmental benefits, and technical implementation (University of Leeds, Network Rail, Grupo Clas)

Download the conference documents

SUSTRAIL Mid-term conference - Agenda

SUSTRAIL General presentation

SUSTRAIL - Duty Requirements

SUSTRAIL - the Freight Train of the Future

SUSTRAIL The Sustainable track

SUSTRAIL Performance based design principles

SUSTRAIL - Supportive Ballast and substrate

SUSTRAIL Switches and Crossings

SUSTRAIL Track based monitoring and limits for imposed loads

SUSTRAIL Sustainable Track - Conclusions

SUSTRAIL business case

SUSTRAIL was presented at Innotrans 2012

The SUSTRAIL project was showcased from 18 to 21 September 2012 at InnoTrans 2012 (UNIFE Stand 103 in Hall 4.2).

During InnoTrans 2012, SUSTRAIL organized a Lunch and a presentation. The event took place on Wednesday, 19 September from 13h00 to 14h00 at the UNIFE booth, Hall 4.2, Stand 103.

It featured a short presentation on the progress of SUSTRAIL project and provided visitors with the opportunity to meet and discuss with some of the project partners.

The full UNIFE stand programme can be viewed here.

A video was shot on this event, click on the screen below to open