Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) has demonstrated Digital Automatic Coupling (DAC) under operational conditions at the Floridsdorf freight yard in Vienna.

The demonstration compared DAC with the screw coupling currently widely used on European freight trains. ÖBB says the technology is intended to support greater automation and digitalisation of freight operations.

Digitale Automatische Kupplung

© ÖBB/Marek Knopp

DAC enables freight wagons to be coupled and uncoupled automatically, while also providing continuous energy and data connections along the train. This could support applications including automated brake tests, digital recording of wagon order and, in future, train integrity monitoring.

The technology could also reduce manual tasks for railway staff and potentially enable longer and heavier freight trains.

ÖBB has been testing DAC through European development projects, including Europe’s Rail FP5 TRANS4M-R project. Its demonstrator train includes freight wagons and locomotives equipped with DAC, with testing covering reliability, safety, maintenance and integration with existing operations.

ÖBB CEO Andreas Matthä said:

DAC is far more than just a new coupling. It is the foundation for the digital freight train of the future and thus for safer and more competitive rail freight transport in Europe. With our demonstrator train, we are showing today that the technology works under real-world conditions.

The next stage will see ÖBB deploy DAC in commercial freight services through the Pioneer DAC Trains (PioDAC) project. Funded by the Connecting Europe Facility, the project will assess the technology’s approval readiness and economic performance under market conditions.

The results will contribute to discussions around potential wider deployment of DAC across European rail freight.

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