The success of the European rail system to foster the modal shift towards rail requires cost-efficient and reliable long-lasting trains. GEARBODIES contributes to this effort by improving the efficiency of rolling stock maintenance in close collaboration with the ongoing CFM-IP1-01-2019 (PIVOT2). To achieve the above, GEARBODIES follows a twofold approach: extending overhaul periods and improving maintenance processes. The extension of overhaul periods will be facilitated by developing high-performance and long-lifetime components for running gear. The improvement of maintenance processes will be boosted by developing innovative NDT technologies to optimise inspection processes for lightweight carbody shells. GEARBODIES will design and prototype several elastomer-metal running gear components, suitable for serial production, based on high-performance new elastomer formulations and existing elastomers not yet applied in rolling stock elements. In addition, the project will also explore innovative technologies for the development of low LCC bearings. New lubrication solutions, new materials for races and rollers, novel polymers for cages and the effects of new bearing geometries will be researched, among which the most feasible ones will be integrated in a new bearing design and prototyped. GEARBODIES will develop an innovative modular platform to reduce the inspection time of lightweight carbody shells. The platform will incorporate tailored thermography and ultrasonic inspection systems and will facilitate the automated detection and assessment of defects throughout the thickness of the shell by using a customed software module. GEARBODIES will benefit form a strong multidisciplinary consortium, made of 13 partners from 8 countries, committed to the mentioned actions towards maximisation of the project's impact.

The Shift2Rail Multi Annual Action Plan (MAAP) will play a central role in the establishment of future interoperable railway systems suitable for European society and environment. However, it is necessary to be aware of the novel possibilities that can enable an increasingly sustainable progress in this regard. TER4RAIL will identify and monitor new opportunities for innovative research and facilitate the cross-fertilisation of knowledge from other disciplines, at what is referred to as the Rail Innovative Research Observatory. Permanent contact with other relevant sectors will have a prominent role in importing disruptive perspectives from other disciplines and facilitating interactions. TER4RAIL will determine and assess the existing roadmaps that drive the future of railways and compare them with the interpretations obtained from the observatory. This analysis will indicate the gaps that require to be covered and serve as the anchor for the prospective roadmaps. TER4RAIL considers railways as the backbone of future European mobility, as stated in the rail sector’s European Railway Research Advisory Council’s (ERRAC) Rail 2050 Vision published in December 2017, and therefore, it is necessary that TER4RAIL raise arguments that can sustain this essential system. To that end, data analysis and statistical reporting are foreseen and conducted. Finally, the work performed under TER4RAIL will be communicated to the transport community, liaising with the Shift2Rail communication team with a correlated communication strategy. A strategy of exploitation of the results will guarantee that these are properly employed in this area with maximum impact. TER4RAIL will be able to select and synthetize a considerable amount of information regarding railways’ futures and transmit them in a consolidated, improved, clear, and understandable manner. This should facilitate the realisation of TER4RAIL’s ambition of being the CSA of reference for the evolution of EU railways.

The rail sector has recently seen only limited changes in running gear.The rail sector has recently seen only limited changes in running gear. A reason is that innovations have the tendency to increase the first cost of the running gear while they reduce the LCC by reduce maintenance costs. The long-term cost reduction, however, is not easy to quantify. This dilemma will be addressed in WP1 where an updated Universal Cost Model based on the one from the Roll2Rail project will be developed that makes it possible to judge the economic impact of the innovation suggested for an operator using the vehicle. How can the costs for buying, operating and maintaining the vehicle be influenced? Lower bogie weight would reduce wheel-rail forces and allow for higher payload. In WP2, the project is going to suggest ideas that are based both on the use of new materials and new manufacturing methods. Simulation techniques will be explored to allow optimisation of designs. It will be investigated whether required properties of the running gear such as stiffness and damping could be distributed through the structure rather than requiring specific components. In parallel, active control strategies will be investigated to improve the level of ride comfort or reduce wheel and rail damage. The wheelset is another extremely important and safety-critical component in a rail vehicle. Since it represents a so-called “unsuspended mass” there is a desire to minimize the wheelset weight. The main objective of WP3 is a feasibility study on the use of composite materials for the construction of railway wheelsets. Technology concepts for a lightweight wheelset will be defined. Main focus areas are material selection, durability, manufacturing process and joining methods. The output of this project will be important input for the parallel member project in IP1 both regarding the Cost Model and the technical innovations. There will also be a contribution to the overall S2R KPI’s and partly IP3.