Periodic Reporting for period 1 - FR8RAIL IV (Use-centric rail freight innovation for Single European Railway Area.) Reporting period: 2020-07-01 to 2021-12-31 Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project The objective of the FR8RAIL IV project is to further develop technologies relevant for the rail freight sector to reach the goal highlighted in the Shift2Rrail Master Plan. The work is partly based on results achieved in the previous projects of the AWP 2015-2019 (FFL4E, ARCC, FR8RAIL I-III, and FR8HUB). FR8RAIL IV seeks to increase technical readiness of the specific technologies developed through innovation actions up to TRL 7. In the framework of the general challenges highlighted in the S2R Strategic Master Plan, the following specific challenges consistent with the Annual Work Plan 2020 will be addressed by the FR8RAIL IV project:• Establish, develop and ensure the effective and efficient implementation of the S2R Master Plan, as referred to in Article 1(4) of the S2R Statutes.• Contribute to the implementation of Horizon 2020 Regulation, in particular the part of the Smart, Green and Integrated Transport Challenge under the Societal pillar of Decision No 2013/743/EU.• Contribute to the achievement of the Single European Railway Area, to a faster and less costly transition to a more attractive, user-friendly (including for persons with reduced mobility), competitive, efficient and sustainable European rail system, and to the development of a strong and globally competitive European rail industry; play a major role in rail-related research and innovation, ensuring coordination among projects within its overall programme. It provides all stakeholders with relevant and available information on R&I activities funded across Europe. It shall also manage all rail-focused research and innovation actions co-funded by the Union.• Actively promote the participation and close involvement of all relevant stakeholders from the full rail value chain and from outside the traditional rail industry. In particular, it fosters the involvement of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), as defined in Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC (8).• Develop demonstration projects in interested Member States including those that do not currently have a railway system established within their territory. Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far In the field of Condition Based Maintenance (CBM), an end-to-end solution for CBM including the developed digital border crossing solution and the advanced monitoring solution for both locomotives and wagons is further developed. This includes the implementation of a feedback loop between workshop and engineers as well as the modularization and integration of manufacturer guidelines across European entities.For CBM Wayside Monitoring the labeling data through the employees of the maintenance ordering at DB Cargo has been started. First Evaluation and interpretation of the Labeling leads to some little changes in the Labeling manuals for the employees. An AI-model to interpret and analyze the influence of stretching and compression is developed. The aim of an additional model is to detect and analyze the thickness of the Brake-Pads on freight wagons. The User-Interface for the employees in the maintenance ordering is developed and the transformation concept for the employees of the maintenance ordering is defined. The possibilities of extracting information from wayside detectors has been investigated for Hot-Box/Hot-Wheels and Wheel Impact Load Detection systems.DAC prototypes have been mounted and tested under winter conditions. After the decision of choosing the Scharfenberg coupler for introduction on the European rail freight market the work regarding the requirement specification for the integration of the coupler into wagons has been started up. Studies for hybrid couplers into Locomotives have been started, like crash worthiness and available space. In the field of Automation of Rail Freight Technology and environment analysis as well as as-is analysis of automation systems in rail freight focusing on current challenges have been executed. Several expert interviews focusing on the migration path from DAS to ATO and a critical discussion about the possibility of an ATO solution based on national train control systems were conducted; further analysis is in progress. Furthermore, the installation of an environment sensing system for shunting loco has been analyzed. In case of the Core Market Wagon the U-Frame is build and tested with connected Wheelset. The new aluminum bogie frame has been completed. The new aluminum bogie frame was completely manufactured and implemented into a bogie. Non-destructive tests (NDT) within the scope of 100%VT, 100%PT and 100%RT have been conducted, while the final longitudinal and transverse beams achieved suitable results according to the requirements of the standard ISO 25235. The FSW welding technology for welding of AL alloys used for production of the bogie frame has been verified successfully.For the Extended Market Wagon a Lightweight chassis design including aerodynamic optimization has been realized. The topology optimization method was implemented by means of a power design approach that is used to obtain the chosen functional performance, adapted from engineering fields such as in the aerospace and automobile industries. The running gear development process continued based on the obtained parameters from FR8RAIL-3. The full-scale shipping container, developed and build in the framework of the FR8RAIL II Project, fitted with measurement equipment has been transported on normal operating freight-trains in Europe during 2021 and 2022 for more than 10000 km.In the field of Telematics and electrification, the activities focused towards completing the demonstrators of the intelligent wagon with regards to the interoperability of the system. These activities were focused on activities related to the integration of the demonstrator of the intelligent wagon based on telematics and electrification and a first set of demonstration activities of the intelligent wagon based on telematics and electrification. In order to contribute to the field of Long Trains with Distributed Power, a concept for implementation of Distributed Power into regular operations has been developed. The outcomes of demonstration campaign in February 2021 have been analyzed including the deduction of further needs to refine Distributed Power technology. Finally, the preparation of further demonstration of long trains on European corridor section have started. In order to contribute to the development of the Freight Loco of the Future, relevant functions becoming available thanks to the enabler DAC have been summarized. Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far) The expected impacts are e.g.:• A 10% reduction of maintenance operational expenses to increase rail freight business competitiveness by use of CBM• A Reduction of the total operating costs for the vehicle and infrastructure by up to 30%, by use of the Extended Market Wagon• An enhanced environmentally friendly performance through high energy efficiency propulsion systems by 10%• A 20% punctuality increase for freight trains arrivals/departures to and from yards by use of realtime network management• An increase in payload of 4-axle CMW to a level of approx. 900kg, respectively, weight reduction when empty CMW The FR8RAIL IV Project in Action
