AuToRail OWL: Automated Transport of Road and Rail Goods OWL
Funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the program "REGIONALE East Westphalia-Lippe: Connected mobility and digital applications “.
In order to achieve climate targets, considerable efforts are required in the area of mobility, among other things. Digitalization and integration with innovative and intelligent technical systems are particularly important in the implementation of individualized mobility chains for freight and passenger transport.
To this end, innovative solutions must be developed that enable migration to the rail system. Linking road and rail transport modes via shared vehicles offers the potential to leverage the advantages of both systems. A dual-mode vehicle serves as a modular and highly automated platform for transporting goods and, in the future, passengers by rail and road. Such a vehicle makes an important contribution to solving the so-called "last mile problem" and makes it possible to tap into the resource-efficient rail infrastructure even for starting points and destinations without a rail connection.
The main project goal is the complete automation of the changeover between road and rail and vice versa with as little time loss as possible and without additional infrastructure measures. A commercial shunting vehicle is being used as the development basis within the project. The goal of the initial project presented here is demonstration operation to demonstrate the technical feasibility of the concept presented.
TH OWL focuses on the vehicle's system architecture and safety functions, as well as the design, development, and implementation of systematic test cases for commissioning and testing.
Project website: https://www.autorail-owl.de/
Project partners: Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences, Bielefeld University, Verler Immobilien- und Wirtschaftsförderungsgesellschaft mbH
Associated partners: DB Systemtechnik, Heroal, RailCampus OWL, Verkehrsverbund Ostwestfalen-Lippe, Zweckverband Nahverkehr Westfalen-Lippe, Mindener Kreisbahn
