The DAC made tangible: large-scale commercial testing with trains operating in real-world conditions
Several freight trains equipped with DAC, the ‘Pioneer trains’, are set to circulate in Europe as of 2027. Not in test labs. In real commercial operations. The trains will run across borders, serving marshalling yards and customer sidings, covering a wide variety of vehicle types, goods and environmental conditions. The operating data collected will provide a comprehensive picture of the DAC’s operational capability, robustness and cost-effectiveness.
Co-funded by the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), the ‘PioDac’ Consortium – consisting of 10 partners from seven European countries – are tasked with validating the technical and operational performance of the Digital Automatic Coupling in these ‘Pioneer trains’ in real-world conditions under a wide range of operating conditions for a period of 36 months.
At the High-level meeting in Copenhagen on 20 November, the project partners signed a memorandum of understanding to officially kick-off their work.
The memorandum of understanding adds another strong signal of commitment to the advancement of interoperable and high-performant rail freight traffic in Europe, as already stated in the DAC sector statement from 2023. (....)