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Table 1 Currently used equipment, methods and common standard, with required future incremental and total system changes

From: How to make modal shift from road to rail possible in the European transport market, as aspired to in the EU Transport White Paper 2011

Equipment

Common standard

Incremental changea

System changea

Wagons

 Running gear

Different

50 % track-friendly

All track-friendly

 Brakes

Cast brakes

LL brakes

Disc brakes

 Brake control

Pneumatic

Radio controlled EOT

Fully electronic

 Couplers

Screw couplers

Automatic couplers on some trains

Automatic couplers on all trains

 Max Speed

100 km/h

120 km/h

120–160 km/h

 Max Axle load

22.5 tonnes

25 tonnes

30 tonnes

 Floor height lowest

1200 mm

1000 mm

800 mm

 IT-system

Way-side

Some in wagons

All radio controlled

Locomotives

 Tractive effort kN

300

350

400

 Axle load

20 tonnes

22.5 tonnes

25 tonnes

 Propulsion

Electric

Some duo-locos

All duo-locos

 Fuel

Diesel

LNG/Diesel

LNG/electric

 Drivers

Always drivers

Some driverless

All driverless

Trains

 Train lengths in RFC

550–850 m

750–1050 m

1050–2000 m

 Train weight

2 200 tonnes

4 400 tonnes

10 000 tonnes

Infrastructure

 Rail Freight Corridors

18,000 km

25,000 km

50,000 km

 Signalling systems

Different

ERTMS L2 in RFC

ERTMS L3 in RFC

 Standard rail weight

UIC 60 kg/m

70 kg/m

70 kg/m

 Speed standard freight

100 km/h

100–120 km/h

120 km/h

 Speed fast freight

100 km/h

120–160 km/h

120–160 km/h

Traffic system

 Wagonload

Marshalling - feeder

Marshalling - feeder

Automatic marshalling

Some liner trains

Liner trains - duo-loco

 Trainload

 

Remote controlled

All remote controlled

 Intermodal

Endpoint-trains

Endpoint-trains

Endpoint-trains

Liner trains with stops at siding

Liner trains fully automated loading

 High Speed Freight

National post trains

International post and parcel trains

International post and parcel train network

IT /monitoring systems

 

Some different

Standardised

Full control of all trains and consignments

  1. aAdapted to market needs on each product and line