Home delivery : a new paradigm in rolling stock testing

The requirements for railway vehicles have changed a great deal over the last 10 years. This development is being driven by the rise in energy costs, the increasing importance of the life cycle costs of a vehicle in comparison to its acquisition costs, stringent requirements regarding the safety of future vehicles, competition with other modes of transport, and rising expectations for passenger comfort. The NGT project brings together the DLR’s existing skills in railway vehicle engineering 1. Related areas, such as the design of the track and of automatic train control systems are taken into account in this research. Above all, value is added through the whole-system treatment of design issues and through the great potential for synergy. Networking among the partners allows for integrated treatment of the various topics, from conceptual design and materials qualification, through to detailed design and simulation to verification based on near production-ready components. Nevertheless, the DLR is not developing products; we are cooperating with manufactures of rail vehicles and suppliers to allow information flow during the runtime of the project. Our research objectives are focused on innovative rail vehicle concepts, computer based and experimental development processes as well as technical solutions for global high-speed transport. Until now we have concentrated on the following two passenger rail vehicles: ● A high-speed feeder train running at 230km/h – NGT LINK ● An ultra-high-speed train running at 400km/h – NGT HGV. We want to realise significant reductions in energy demand, for example, by introducing new technologies in light weight construction, propulsion and braking, as well as aerodynamic design. Furthermore, we are working on improved passenger comfort and reduced noise and wear. The operational processes for production, certification, maintenance and repair are also addressed. (NGT) project, researchers from nine DLR institutes are using an interdisciplinary approach to tackle the key questions of how the trains of the future can be safe, comfortable, environmentally-friendly and can significantly reduce travel times. The project started in 2007 and is financed until the end of 2013 under supervision of the Helmholtz Society. Credit: DLR their contribution to life cycle costs and pollution of the environment. At the beginning of our research, we collected all legal, technical and potential customers’ requirements into a functional specification. The desired vehicle was then described in all its operational and technical aspects.