SWEDEN: The country’s heaviest freight trains outside the iron ore sector are being used to test digital automatic couplers in real-world conditions.
DAC equipment from Dellner and Voith has been fitted to wagons used on daily 3 800 tonne trains which Green Cargo uses to transport steel slabs from Luleå to Borlänge for steelmaker SSAB.
The route of more than 1 000 km includes gradients, curves and a cold climate to test the robustness of the couplers. ‘The steel shuttle provides the project with unique insights that will serve as important decision-making data’, said Green Cargo Project Manager Björn Landström on December 17.
The test is part of the FP5 TRANS4M-R innovation project within the framework of Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking.
Trafikverket is responsible for the tests and the preparation of the demonstration train, while Rail Sweden at Lindholmen Science Park is leading the project. Testing institute SMP is supporting measurement and preparations. More suppliers and wagons are to be added during the two-year project.
‘This is an important step in the development of DAC, where Sweden is the first in the EU to demonstrate the technology in a real commercial environment’, said Jan Bergstrand, Senior Strategist at Trafikverket.
