THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
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Future of train travel is smart, electric and comfortable

Future of train travel is smart, electric and comfortable

Transportation by train is a necessity for cities around the world as urbanisation changes people’s lifestyles and they seek work in the city. Train manufacturers are keeping up with innovative technologies and design for both their plants and their products as they try to keep up with regulations and public tastes and preferences, including environmental regulations.

Innovative breakthroughs, “green” technologies and futuristic designs used by leading trade manufacturing plants worldwide are now on show in Berlin at the InnoTrans 2018 trade exhibition for trains. The fair was open to industry insiders until yesterday, and now to the general public from today until tomorrow.
The fair features prototypes of train technologies that will be launched in the commercial market in the next few years, some of them expected to change the world of train transportation.
“The Future of Mobility” was the theme of this year’s biannual fair, and exhibitors delivered with 146 world premieres, highlighting the importance of the event as a showcase of innovation and an economic driver of the sector, said Christian Goke, CEO of Messe Berlin GmbH, which puts on the event.
Ben Mobius, managing director, Verband der Bahnindustrie in Deutschland EV (VDB), said the rail industry is moving innovation forward in e-mobility and automated systems. Electric mobility can move people with less environmental impact than using traditional carbon-based fuels, and automation allows transit operators to run on a tighter schedule and so increase overall capacity. The essence of innovation for the railway industry, he said, is that it makes good sense and that riding on rails remains great fun.
For example, Canadian-based train and aircraft manufacturer Bombardier Transportation introduced its latest train driven by batteries. The trains themselves are emission-free, energy-efficient and low-noise – and the company claims that it sets a standard for sustainable mobility.
The development of the battery-operated train received a 4-million-euro subsidy from the German federal government in the framework of an innovation program for electro-mobility. The project partners include the DB Regio subsidiary DB ZugBus Regionalverkehr Alb-Bodensee (regional transport for the Lake Constance region), Nahverkehrsgesellschaft Baden-Wuerttemberg (Baden-Wuerttemberg Regional Transport Company) and the Nationale Organisation Wasserstoff-und Brennstoffzellentechnologie (National Organisation for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology) along with the Technical University of Berlin. 
The new battery-operated train is the first of its kind to enter passenger operation in Europe in over 60 years. It generates no exhaust, and sets the standard for smart mobility with peak values of 90 per cent in the areas of efficiency and recyclability. It is also around 50 per cent quieter than modern diesel trains, said the company.
According to a comparative study by the Technical University of Dresden, the battery-operated train clearly has an edge with respect to the total costs across the service life of 30 years.
“With our new battery-operated train, we are putting real innovation on the tracks,” said Michael Fohrer, who heads Bombardier Transportation in Germany. “This train is Bombardier’s technological response to challenges such as air pollution, climate change and scarcity of resources. Around 40 per cent of the German rail network is not electrified. The Bombardier battery-operated train is an attractive option to counter that, both economically and ecologically speaking.”
The prospects for the batter-operated train are positive in general, he said.

Increasing capacity
The range increases proportionally with continuous capacity increases made possible by new battery developments. 
The current prototype is equipped with four Bombardier Mitrac traction batteries and can travel routes of around 40 kilometres – and in 2019, the next generation of battery-operated trains will be able to cover distances of up to 100 kilometres on non-electrified railways. 
Next year, Deutsche Bahn (DB) will use the current prototype to start a 12-month trial run with passengers in the Alb-Lake Constance region.
The company uses artificial intelligence or AI to support their design and maintenance systems, with the AI helping the engineers understand how the system is functioning and how to maintain the trains.
The fair includes a full-scale mock-up of a double-decker carriage from DB Regio AG, a Deutsche Bahn subsidiary that operates short- and medium-distance commuter train services in Germany. Visitors can board the carriage to obtain a vivid impression of the rolling stock, which will be used for future regional services. Also making its first international appearance is the first half-train of the DB 484 series for the new S-Bahn (light rail train) for Berlin and Brandenburg.
China-based CRRC shows the latest-technology metro vehicle “CETROVO”. Its design reduced by 13 per cent the weight of a current train, along with a 3 decibel noise reduction and 15 per cent savings in energy. The design features a carbon fibre car body.
The interior design for all trains shown at the event ensures sufficient space for disabled people, the aged and children. 
Space for bicycles are also included, so people could bring them along when travelling by train.
These are the trends in train transportation on display at the fair, and which can be expected to show up on our railways – the use of digital technology, AI, and innovations to improve train technology and design for all people.

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