The German Centre for Rail Transport Research (DZSF) has a positive outlook on its activities during the European Year of Rail.
Some upcoming highlights are the updates to the Federal Research Programme, the appointment of a scientific advisory council and the opening of the open and digital test area.
“Last year we were able to hire the scientific staff we intended, despite the coronavirus conditions. With them we're able to get going with our many research projects, which will allow us to strengthen the railway system.”
The DZSF will focus on topics such as increasing network capacity, connecting to other modes of transport and cyber security in 2021. However, those are just a few key topics. The DZSF will look at automated trams, a project it has been working on in a consortium since the end of February.
Two new projects that launched in 2021 are:
- emissions and immissions from railway – pollution monitoring and dispersion measurement: this project is to identify potential data deficits for pollutant emissions and immissions, making an important scientific contribution to closing potential knowledge gaps
- vibration behaviour of overhead lines under different current collectors: the vibration behaviour of the system overhead line-current collector is influenced by speed, the gaps and number of current collectors. In order to keep the contact forces and amplitudes of the vibrations within the permitted range and thereby avoiding damage or even destruction, the complex vibration system is to be examined using a detailed mathematical-physical model that will be established.
