GERMANY: Rail automation and maglev start-up Nevomo and freight operator Captrain Group have launched practical trials of the MagRail Booster concept at a steelworks in Bremen.
The trials will be undertaken by the Hansebahn Bremen joint venture of Captrain Deutschland and steel company ArcelorMittal Bremen which is responsible for managing operations on the plant’s 100 km internal railway. The aim of the trial is to test full automation of wagon movements within the steelworks without the use of a shunting loco or tractor unit.
The partners say their aim is to introduce what they say will be the world’s first fully automated freight wagon transport system using existing vehicles and rail infrastructure.
Branded ‘BREMAG — Bremen Magnetic Shuttle’, the tests start in December and the promoters hope to achieve full automation within three years. The trials will focus on the transport of steel coils between production sites. By retrofitting the railway infrastructure with Nevomo’s MagRail Booster linear motor propulsion technology, the shuttle operation is intended to increase operational flexibility at the site and eliminate the need to use road transport for urgent deliveries.
The retrofitting of existing rail infrastructure includes installing an active linear motor stator and equipping wagons with specially developed linear motors. This allows the wagons to move autonomously while being controlled by a magnetic field.
‘The automation of transport and shunting services offers great potential for increasing the efficiency of rail freight’, said Jonas Tesch, Managing Director of HBB, when the trials were formally launched on December 17. ‘It will allow us to carry out transport operations more frequently, more reliably and more flexibly and improve our carbon footprint by reducing the use of diesel locomotives. As the Captrain Deutschland Group, we are pleased to be able to carry out this pilot project and develop this innovation.’
‘We are delighted of the trust given to MagRail Booster from such renowned rail logistics and industrial players as Captrain’, said Przemek Ben Paczek, CEO & Co-founder of Nevomo. ‘We are convinced that that the innovation in traction by replacing locomotives with linear motor-powered self-propelled wagons combined with the Rail-as-a-Service business model holds the key to significantly reducing the carbon footprint of logistics on a global scale.’
‘MagRail Booster represents a transformative step for the rail industry’, added Stefan Kirch, Chief Commercial Officer and co-founder of Nevomo. ‘This project will demonstrate how our technology can seamlessly integrate into existing infrastructure, delivering both economic and environmental benefits.’
BREMAG has a total budget of around €6m. It is being supported by the German Federal Ministry for Digital & Transport Affairs’ Future Rail Freight Transport for the Promotion of Innovation programme. Support is also coming from DZSF, the German centre for railway research, which offers grants to enable innovation in rail logistics.
