TrainDy: The New Union Internationale Des Chemins de Fer Software for Freight Train Interoperability

Abstract

The increasing demand of long and interoperable freight trains requires suitable numerical simulators of train longitudinal dynamics. Focusing attention on the European railway freight transport, such simulators need to properly model the typical Union Internationale des Chemins de Fer (UIC) pneumatic brake, even for more than one active locomotive placed along the train. A pneumatic model, previously developed, has been integrated in a software for longitudinal train dynamics ( TrainDy). This software has been successfully subjected to an international process of validation and certification, undertaken by an ad hoc expert group on behalf of UIC. By using TrainDy, UIC plans to update the actual limits of the UIC leaflet 421. Moreover, UIC has established a consortium dedicated to further improve the code. This article outlines the main features of the simulator along with the most significant results of its validation process.