On 2–3 December, the Europe's Rail General Assembly 2025 took place, providing a valuable occasion to look back at the...
Europe’s Rail General Assembly 2025
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Optimising running gear
Railway vehicles are complex machines, meaning their running gear require regular maintenance.
Addressing this need is EU-Rail, which delivered technical demonstrators covering three key areas.
Condition-Based Maintenance (CBM)
CBM is a maintenance strategy that monitors the condition of an asset to determine when maintenance is
needed.
Solutions delivered
- Hardware architecture and main components
- Hardware and software architecture, components and algorithms
- Bogie component diagnostic system
- Health monitoring of high-speed trains
- Train-borne ultrasonic detection system
Key Finding
CBM can reduce maintenance costs for running gear by up to 12% and increase reliability by up to 15%.
Fast Fact
The expected impact of implementing CBM solutions includes a 2% increase in reliability and 5% decrease in running gear maintenance costs.
Did You Know?
Some of the CBM solutions delivered could detect up to 90% of insufficiently lubricated gauge faces.
Radial steering on the bogie
Work focused on reducing the wear of wheels and rails, as well as avoiding noise in curves.
Solutions delivered
- Active hydraulic actuator
- Hydro elastic bushing
- Electromechanical actuators
- Active steering system
Key Finding
Radial steering can reduce maintenance costs
by up to 10%.
Fast Fact
The solutions delivered have the potential to reduce running gear maintenance costs by between 3% – 10%.
Suspension
Assessing the benefits of active or semi-active suspension systems to boost passenger comfort.
Solutions delivered
- Computer model (virtual twin) of two-axle metro car
- Design of experiment to select most suitable active dampers
Key Finding
Two-axle metro car can meet the recommendations for passenger comfort at speeds up to 100 km/h or more.
Did You Know?
Suspension with active vertical dampers is the
best choice for passenger comfort.
Conclusion
- CBM has the potential to reduce rail wear and track settlement and to enable the early detection of potential failures in running gear.
- Promising new radial steering solutions include the use of active hydraulic actuators, hydro-elastic bushing, electromechanical actuators, and a system to actively steer single-axle running gear.
- Future trains will run faster, and virtual tests and simulations show that active suspension will likely be the best way to ensure passenger comfort.
Who benefits
Infrastructure managers
Railway operators
Suppliers
