DACIO - Digital Automated Coupling in Infrastructure Operations

Europe is the last continent in the world where rail freight operates without an au-tomatic coupling system. For this reason, manipulation activities are still necessary, especially in wagonload traffic, as they were carried out more than a hundred years ago. Various projects are currently running throughout Europe, such as the "Euro-pean DAC Delivery Program" (EDDP), which has set itself the goal of introducing a new type of digital automatic coupling (DAC) in Europe. In order to ensure a suc-cessful introduction of the DAC, further supplementary investigations are required to make the influence on the various shunting processes visible. The "Digital Auto-matic Coupling in Infrastructure Operations - DACIO" project is intended to show the special features of Austrian rail freight transport in connection with the DAC. The following goals were set: • Investigations of the effects of the DAC on the processes in the marshalling yards and the service stations without a hump from the point of view of the infrastructure operator • Scientific support for the DAC test program planned as part of the EDDP • Search and analysis of possible solutions for additional automation steps in the shunting yards • Search and analysis of possible solutions for additional automation steps for wagons