New European Wish: Operation Project for European RAil network

Results in the following dimensions have been produced by the NEW OPERA project:

1. State of innovative experiences. The global and European market variables have been researched. The new trade patterns and the future trends within supply chains have set the framework which the future freight mobility need will be confronted with. Global challenges and new emerging service needs, dictated by a fierce competition game with longer and more sophisticated supply chains, are the prevailing common denominators. The necessary changes for facing this new competitive business environment with a more modern and optimistic outlook were suggested.
2. New operating and technical systems/aspects. This dimension addressed all technological aspects, both hardware and software. The issue of longer and heavier trains has been developed together with the signalling and management systems necessary for allowing the increased measures to be adopted. A variety of other management and bureaucratic barriers preventing the rail system from being one uniform rail space in Europe have been addressed. The cross border rail free circulation is still in its infancy. A lot of conflicts interfering with optimisation are still in existence. A showcase corridor has been taken as example for its complexity. The training and new operating rules dealt with harmonisation principles and the need of operating on a recognised and accepted sets of guidelines assuming the value of contract between partners. The interoperability dimension has been elaborated with particular attention to the ERTMS level 1,2,3 cost effectiveness assessment.
3. Network Perspective. A complex market research was conducted. Modelling methodologies have been applied in order to establish the European traffic origin and destination matrix as well as the entry points into the Union for the Extra-EU traffic. All this work was instrumental for assigning the rail freight network including hubs, gateways and connections coherent with the European traffic demand zones. The intermodal traffic is of particular relevance. It is unitised and projection up to year 2020 is based on good ground with the various sources giving coincidental projections. The ports of entry for maritime traffic provide a cross reference giving substance to the traffic projections. The analysis per transport modes is also made for national and international traffic.
4. New product/services. The market actors realised that investments in additional capa
   

   Technical Implications

   The following recommendations regarding new operating and technical systems/aspects have been made:

   1. The impossibility of providing by 2020 the required rail freight capacity forced the recommendation of considering the other only option of longer and heavier trains. Longer trains do not impact negatively on rail tracks productivity which means that theoretically doubling the train length the rail line productivity increases by the same quantity. The axle weight increase must be achieved at the same time to take full advantage of the expected benefits. However this increase capacity is achievable only through investments in longer parking yards, longer overtaking sidings, new breaking/communication signalling technologies, rolling stock, automatic coupling and more powerful electric substations.
   2. The double stack option should be considered for any new rail lines being planned or built together with new tunnels. Such option appeared to be most relevant wherever shuttle trains operations are implemented for port decongestion transferring CTS traffic from ports to inland dry ports.
   3. The old dilemma of choosing between electric vs. diesel traction moved in favour of electricity. This is due to technology evolution allowing multi current locomotives, environmental considerations and power made available by renewable sources. Diesel traction is still very important for covering electrification gaps and manoeuvring flexibilities. In order to reduce the impact of using fossils fuels, biodiesel percentages could be increased together with improving the balance in favour of renewable energies.
   4. Standardised maintenance emerged as a major area for reducing operating costs improving rail line efficiency.
   5. The adoption of software technologies was recommended particularly for the cross border abatement barriers. Important gaps must be covered to resolve: insufficient cross-border coordination, train numbering, tracking/tracing, traffic management and trains priorities. Other gaps exist in empty wagons optimisation still done manually in national management systems not communicating to each other and in the inability to deal with shippers / cargo peculiarities.
   6. The effective movements of trains on the corridors and their punctuality are moreover hampered by the incumbents inability to calculate expected train’s time of arrival. Trains delayed +10 minutes lose their slot. National Infrastructure Managers (IM) find solutions up to their borders. The bordering I
      

      Policy implications

      NEW OPERA contributed toward inverting the EU railways' declining trend by:

      • Setting sound methodologies for traffic flows distribution over the railways network;
      • Localising traffic flows in the EU area producing development forecasts;
      • Providing transport supply and demand analysis over the rail network;
      • Establishing traffic flows simulation and modelling tools on medium and long-term perspectives;
      • Providing an efficient decision-making tool;
      • Allowing the introduction of rail freight dedicated network concept backed by a sound socioeconomic and environmental assessment.