Automatische Zugvorbereitung am Rollberg - Der FDFT Preparator

The European single wagon transport is often less economical and less attractive to customers compared to competing modes of transport, partly due to the complex and expensive shunting process. Due to demographic changes and the unattractive nature of the work, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find and afford labor for shunting. Therefore, efforts across Europe to make shunting cheaper and more efficient through e.g. automation and digitalization are underway. One such effort, the so-called Full Digital Freight Train (FDFT) Preparator, is the subject of this article. This FDFT Preparator is capable of automatically braking wagons after rolling, filling them with air, and conducting a brake test using the Digital Automatic Coupling (DAC). The concept, development, and construction of a prototype, as well as the use case including a simple preliminary economic analysis, are presented here.