SFERA: Smart communications for efficient rail activities

Project information

  • SFERA: Smart communications for efficient rail activities
  • Project director: Jerzy Wisniewski
  • Project manager: Carole Escolan Zeno
  • Status: completed project
  • Project code: 2017/ENV/528

Project description

Standardisation DAS (Driving Advisory Systems) languages is required for broader implementation, reduced costs and facilitating exchange of data for Traffic Management Systems.

Current energy costs for EU railways total about 6,000 million Euros per year. Average savings are 5% to 10% for simple DAS solutions, between 8% and 12% for connected DAS to TMS (Traffic Management Systems) (c-DAS) rising to >10% for level 3 solutions (manage conflicts, harmonise traffic flow, integration of energy efficiency into system-wide train schedules).

Current implementation in the European Railway Sector very low (1-3%), the remaining potential market still to be exploited is very high.Automatic word wrap
This project is required to help the sector reach key energy & carbon targets of the UIC-CER Sustainable Mobility Strategy. The project will focus on implementation of the conclusions from previous EU funded projects including MERLIN, RailEnergy and ON-TIME.

The project is needed in order to be able to reduce operating costs, reach the energy efficiency and CO2 emission commitments of UIC members, keep the competitive advantage compared to other main major modes of transport and help the EU achieve its legal commitment to reduce carbon emissions.

To achieve these objectives, railway sector needs to keep improving, implementing the latest technologies and developing standards to manage interfaces related to energy, including smart grids, innovative power supply infrastructure, smart energy procurement, energy consumption monitoring systems, timetable optimisation, regeneration of energy and ecodriving.

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Sunday 1 January 2017