The European railway sector reiterates its unwavering commitment to the necessary transformation of the rail freight operations by means of automation and digitalisation.
Both are crucial enablers for the rail transport sector to respond to shippers’ expectations and meet the sustainability and decarbonisation targets set by the EU Green Deal.
Automation and digitalisation shall support the creation of a safer and more modern work environment and are key to the long-term viability of the greenest and most sustainable mode of mass transportation in Europe.
The DAC is a disruptive innovative technology that is an essential prerequisite on the path to transforming the railway system. Not only will it allow to automatically couple and decouple wagons in a freight train both physically (the mechanical connection and the air line for braking) and digitally (electrical power and data connection) but it opens up numerous possibilities to modernize and automate rail freight operations. Deploying the DAC means a small revolution for the century old rail freight operations.
In the sector statement, stakeholders highlight their strong commitment to drive the transformation of the railway system and detail the journey of the development of the DAC technology to this day, the next steps and their expectations towards the European Commission and Member States.
Next to the European rail associations AERRL, CER, EAL, EIM, FEDECRAIL, UIP, UIRR, UITP, UNIFE, wagon keepers, railway undertakings, shippers, manufacturers as well as European and national customer associations endorsed the Sector Statement and added their signatures in support.
Their letters have been added at the bottom of the statement.
Please find the full statement and the press release on the right side of the page.