Railway research issues will be approached from a client-oriented perspective, through eight federating and innovative challenges:
Further improving rails’ green credentials / Keep increasing the relative carbon emission advantage.
Minimizing rails’ impact on communities and neighbours.
Providing customers with more services, added value services in the logistics chain.
Improved comfort, information, ticketing, services on board, at stations, while travelling. To meet the increasing expectations of customers.
Affordable reduced travel time , Influence of higher speeds on travel costs , High speed mobility, seamless travel, integration of modes, infrastructures.
More capacity with better performance to meet growing demand.
Lower costs, better and more value adding services.
The topics and sub-topics are:
• Whole system design and modelling
• Aerodynamics
• Noise and vibration
• Electromagnetic compatibility
• Pantograph/catenary interaction
• Wheel / rail interface
• Vehicle / track dynamics
• Electrification and catenary
• Track components
• Structures (bridges, tunnels…)
• Signalling
• Condition monitoring, inspection, innovative detection technologies
• Maintenance
• High reliability / availability infrastructure
• Adaptation to climate change
• Train control and signalling
• Route conception/design and Planning/scheduling and timetabling optimization
• Traffic Supervision /management
• Revenue optimization
• Network capacity
• Satellite applications
• Use of IT and telecoms for customers services
• Level crossings
• Stations and hubs
• Rolling stock design : components and structure
• Virtual train conception and testing
• Predictive maintenance (system and detectors)
• Vehicle maintenance and high reliability and availability of rolling stock
• Comfort
• Motorization, alternative energy sources and management, hybridisation
• IT applications, on board software
• Train control and on board diagnosis
• High speed trains design
• Magnetic levitation
• Human reliability
• Training and competence
• Risk and safety management
• Sociology of mobility
• Man – machine interfaces, ergonomics