Next Generation Railway System

An important key to increasing the competitiveness of rail as a mode of transport is economical and efficient control and safety technology. With innovative technologies, methods and concepts, DLR contributes to the operational, technical and economic development of the railway system - for safe, efficient and competitive rail transport.

Centralized Remote Control Workplace as fallback solution for automatic railway operation
So, what´s your backup plan? German Aerospace Centre evaluates prototype of a centralized Remote Control Workplace as fallback solution for automatic railway operation At the Institute of Transportation Systems we are engaged in answering questions around fallback solutions for automated railway service. To this end, we are integrating innovations from sensor and mobile network technology with Human-Factors theory to enable safe and efficient future railway operation. Have a look! For further information: https://elib.dlr.de/119748/ https://elib.dlr.de/135415/
Next Generation Railway System
An important key to increasing the competitiveness of rail as a mode of transport is economical and efficient control and safety technology. With innovative technologies, methods and concepts, DLR contributes to the operational, technical and economic development of the railway system - for safe, efficient and competitive rail transport.

The demand is current and unequivocal: the competitiveness of rail as a mode of transport must be increased. An important key to this is economical and efficient control and safety technology. In the context of railway automation, DLR develops innovative technologies, methods and concepts for the railway system. Its operational, technical and economic optimisation is the goal. The motivation: to make rail transport safe, efficient, environmentally friendly and competitive.

We see the efficient and economical railway system of the future as an integral part and stable backbone of intermodal mobility. Rail transport thus plays a central role in achieving the European climate and sustainability goals. For example, the aim is to shift 30% of freight transport over distances of more than 300 kilometres from road to rail by 2030. To achieve this, information and communication technology and transport networking as well as extensive digitalisation are essential.

In order to make the rail system attractive for users, high operational quality is an important subject of research, which ensures the reliability of fast, comfortable travelling on a disruption-free infrastructure. To this end, research is being conducted into the further optimisation and automation of operating procedures and maintenance. DLR is developing solutions to reduce disruptions, minimise downtimes and ensure a rapid return to the timetable in the event of deviations.

Despite - or perhaps because of - increasing automation, people will continue to play a central role in ensuring high operational quality in the future. For the operator (e.g. dispatcher, train driver), the increasingly complex systems must be designed in such a way that they are easy to use, provide clear and situation-relevant information and offer support in critical situations.

In order to optimise the rail system economically, the standardisation of systems and the automation of approval must be driven forward. In order to equip rail transport to cope with the increasing volume of traffic and to make it environmentally friendly, DLR is analysing technological trends for their applicability to the rail sector.

Links:

You can read a summary of the milestones in the project report. You can find out more here.

This project is managed by the department:

Contact

Dr.-Ing. Christian Meirich

Head of Department
German Aerospace Center (DLR)
Institute of Transportation Systems
Research Design and Assessment of Mobility Solutions
Lilienthalplatz 7, 38108 Braunschweig