Research into high-speed trains

The German Aerospace Center (DLR) and Bombardier Transportation have signed a five-year agreement to jointly promote research and development into next-generation high-speed trains.

The parties will collaborate in railway vehicle aerodynamics and aeroacoustics, dynamic stability, interior airflows and interior acoustics.

Lightweight vehicle construction, energy systems and energy management, issues regarding homologation and railway control systems, as well as safety systems, will also be covered.

‘In the medium term we expect the creation of express trains that are more climate friendly, more efficient, lighter and more comfortable,’ said Prof Johann-Dietrich Wörner, chairman of the executive board of DLR. ‘We are developing technologies for tomorrow’s trains and identifying what could be technically feasible.

Over the next year, a tunnel-simulation facility and a crosswind-test facility will be opened at DLR’s Göttingen research centre.