Successful use of comprehensive lightweight construction, the Extended Market Wagon

Abstract

The Extended Market Wagon (EMW) presented in this study is a design concept developed within the FR8RAIL-4 project, which is part of the Shift2Rail IP-5 program, now subsumed into the Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking. FR8RAIL-4 focuses on increasing the efficiency of rail freight transportation by employing new technologies and strategies such as new lightweight wagon designs, novel running gear, wagon intelligence and wagon automation in order to deliver goods safely, reliably and cost-efficiently. For the EMW, developed in cooperation with the partners of the Competitive Freight Wagon (CFW) consortium, this means lightweight wagon frame and bogie structures, aerodynamic cladding, advanced onboard telematics, and a modern operating strategy designed to compete with road freight transportation [1]. The challenges addressed in this research primarily relate to the conceptualization and design of a robust yet lightweight innovative wagon structure with an increased payload per train meter that can be implemented using conventional manufacturing methods. This lightweight design must be achieved while balancing the above goals with the necessity for simplicity and low life-cycle-costs. A further goal of the study is to demonstrate the use of the described methods and design in the course of dramatically shortened design cycles and in flexible response to changing requirements. In the FR8RAIL-4 project, several demonstrations are to be implemented, of which the EMW is a part, which deals with technical solutions for these requirements and also challenges. Therefore, the results are to be applied as a technical full-scale demonstrator, in accordance with the EU Annual Work Plan 2020. In addition, the driving dynamics properties of the EMW are also to be tested. The corresponding driving tests were successfully carried out under real conditions on the test track.