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THE MAGAZINE FOR EUROPEAN RAIL DECISION MAKERS

To meet demand for higher performance and reliability
fleets depend on design, materials & engineering

Technology & innovation are vital if rail
is to capture & retain passengers

Discover the planning, equipment & construction
behind all major projects in Europe & further afield

Corridors, logistics, markets supply & demand.
The driving forces behind goods transit by rail

Latest developments in standards & regulations.
Technology, product tests & deployment

Vehicles

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ON COURSE, IN MOTION – THE PANTOGRAPH-CATENARY SYSTEM

ARTICLE - ISSUE 25 - by EURAILmag

ON COURSE, IN MOTION – THE While the rails keep trains on course, the pantograph-catenary (PAC) system keeps them in motion. Since 2009, the PACIFIC[1] project has been working to develop a Computer Aided Design (CAD) tool to improve and optimise the behaviour of the PAC, without having to resort to costly test runs in the field.

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ASSOCIATED CONTENT

YOURAIL GENERATES CREATIVE RESPONSE
A first for rail, Bombardier has taken note of other business sectors by taking a user, or rather passenger, generated approach to…

ARTICLE - ISSUE 22 - by EURAILmag
PANTOGRAPH CATENARY COUPLE – A VOLATILE RELATIONSHIP
Despite improvements in technology, sparks continue to fly between the catenary and pantograph. Breaks in the current cause wear on the carbon…

ARTICLE - ISSUE 22 - by EURAILmag
PREPARATION – KEY TO HIGH-QUALITY COATINGS FOR ALUMINUM CAR BODIES
As long-life products of transport engineering technology, rail vehicles are designed to provide reliable services over a period of 40 years…

ARTICLE - ISSUE 23 - by Wolfgang Weber-Hampel, Siemens Mobility
VESTIBULE IS KEY TO AM 800 FOR CORSICA
Creating a railcar around an entry vestibule is not the most common of approaches when designing a passenger rail vehicle. Nonetheless, it…

ARTICLE - ISSUE 18 - by Ebbe Feilman, head of pre-projects, CFD
LASER MARKING OF COATINGS IN RAIL
Laser marking is an environmentally friendly alternative to printing and labelling technologies because it eliminates the need for printing inks and adhesive…

ARTICLE - ISSUE 20 - by H. Greisiger, T. Schauer & R. Maurer Research Institute for Pigments & Coatings (FPL), Stuttgart
WIDER PERSPECTIVES WITH CYBER-PHYSICAL SIMULATOR
The Alstom simulator under development at the constructor’ site in Belfort (east France) is aiming for something different. “It is really our…

ARTICLE - ISSUE 26 - by EURAILmag
HYBRID ARCHITECTURE FOR MORE ENVIRONMENTALLY-FRIENDLY TRAINS
In response to economic concerns over train manufacturing, the environment and growing energy costs, operators and rail industrials are exploring new concepts…

ARTICLE - ISSUE 16 - by Alain Jeunesse, SNCFGérard Coquery, INRETS
ORGANIC COATINGS SHIELD BOGIES FROM CORROSION BALLAST
Most people consider that using paints in both road and railway transport is the method that should guarantee protection against corrosion and…

ARTICLE - ISSUE 22 - by Stefano Rossi & Michele Fedel, Laboratory of Industrial Corrosion Control, University of Trento
FROM CABLE TO CHIP – FERROCOTS TAKES COMMAND CONTROL
FerroCOTS aims to metamorphose command-control systems by replacing cables with chip cards. “Today the ‘brain’ of the train is made up…

ARTICLE - ISSUE 21 - by EURAILmag
REGIONS HAVE THEIR SAY WITH REGIOLIS
The ‘Regiolis’ Coradia Polyvalent – the single deck regional train on order for eleven French regions – is currently in production, with a first…

ARTICLE - ISSUE 23 - by EURAILmag
BRAKE TESTING – SIMEF BOOSTS INDUSTRIAL PERFORMANCE
For the past several years, SNCF’s rolling stock engineering centre (CIM) has been working towards an ever-greater automation of its…

ARTICLE - ISSUE 27 - by Mr Richard Chavagnat, Mr Alain Nicolas, Mr Franck Bourgeteau, SNCF CIM
THE RIVAS TOOLBOX FOR VIBRATION MITIGATION
While plenty of research[1] has been carried out on rail-generated noise, since vibration is less perceptible it tends to receive…

ARTICLE - ISSUE 25 - by EURAILmag
THE FASTEST HOTEL BETWEEN FRANCE & SPAIN!
The Elipsos Trenhotels are among the best equipped, international night trains in Europe today. Delivering high standards of comfort and quality, the…

ARTICLE - ISSUE 18 - by Elipsos Internacional; Talgo
NEW LIGHTWEIGHT CONCEPTS FOR NEXT GENERATION ROLLING STOCK
The Institute of Vehicle Concepts at the German Aerospace Center (DLR), Stuttgart, studies new, lightweight construction methods for railcar bodies. This article…

ARTICLE - ISSUE 16 - by Dipl. Ing. Gerhard Kopp & Prof. Dr. Friedrich E. Horst, German Aerospace Center
HIGH HOPES FOR ICx
Last spring, Siemens Mobility won a contract from Deutsche Bahn (DB) to build its next generation of high-speed ICE trains. Testing…

ARTICLE - ISSUE 25 - by EURAILmag
METAMORPHOSIS BY THALYS
Ten years down the line and in the run-up to market liberalisation in 2010, the Thalys fleet has received a timely…

ARTICLE - ISSUE 19 - by EURAILmag
CLEAN RAIL DIESEL FOR EUROPE – TACKLING THE CHALLENGE OF REDUCING EMISSIONS
CleanER-D* – Clean European Rail-Diesel – is a research project partly funded by the European commission under the 7th Framework Programme that…

ARTICLE - ISSUE 21 - by Judit Sandor, CleanER-D project coordinator, UNIFE
IRIS CERTIFICATION – STATUS OF THE GLOBAL RAILWAY STANDARD
IRIS is a common, globally valid certification scheme recognized, endorsed and implemented by railway market leaders such as Bombardier Transportation, Alstom Transport…

ARTICLE - ISSUE 17 - by Bernard Kaufmann, IRIS & UNIFE
GREEN LIGHT FOR GREEN FIELD – IEP SHAPES UP
Construction of Hitachi’s purpose-built manufacturing facility in the U.K. is due to debut before the end of 2013. “So far…

ARTICLE - ISSUE 27 - by EURAILmag
COVERAGE ENHANCEMENTS FOR U.K. RAIL PASSENGERS
As a mobile network operator in the U.K., Orange is committed to providing contiguous coverage on all mainline and commuter rail routes…

ARTICLE - ISSUE 19 - by James Lockwood, Orange
TWINDEXX FOR SWITZERLAND – SBB SEES DOUBLE
Swiss Rail (SBB) is taking no risks with the biggest acquisition order in its history. After boldly signing a deal worth around…

ARTICLE - ISSUE 25 - by EURAILmag
INTERIOR PASSIVE SAFETY FOR EUROPE – RESEARCHING AHEAD
Occupant safety depends on the configuration and severity of an accident, as well as the degree of crashworthiness engineered into the overall…

ARTICLE - ISSUE 22 - by Roberto Palacín, Newcastle University, U.K.
DB REGIO GOES MODULAR WITH TALENT 2, INTERVIEW WITH ULRICH HOMBURG, CHAIRMAN, DB REGIO
At the end of 2008, Deutsche Bahn (DB) placed an order for 15 Bombardier Talent 2 trains worth approximately €60 million. The…

INTERVIEW - ISSUE 19 - by EURAILmag
AGV MAKES ITS MARK
Financed from its own pocket and so freed from the constraints of client specifications, Alstom has pulled out all the stops to…

ARTICLE - ISSUE 18 - by EURAILmag
SYSTEMATIC DESIGN OF AN AUTONOMOUS HYBRID LOCOMOTIVE
Electric vehicles have been developed in three phases, separated by periods of disinterest or stagnation[1]. The demonstration by Gaston Planté at…

ARTICLE - ISSUE 22 - by Cossi Rockys Akli, Alstom Tarbes