The transportation industry has for a long time been engaged in the application of new lightweight materials for primary structural design in an effort to develop more energy efficient structures to meet low emissions targets without compromising public safety.



This is also true for the rail industry, but the implementation of new lightweight materials has been slow, mainly due to the lack of suitable certification procedures addressing the specific operational requirements of a railway vehicle. Such procedures are necessary so that rail vehicle manufacturers and operators can be confident that rolling stock made of a new material will perform as intended and will be at least as safe as a vehicle made out of the material it replaces.



The REFRESCO project aims to achieve this goal by creating a regulatory framework for the use of new structural materials in rail car bodies. The existing certification procedures will be analysed, gaps identified and test and assessment methodologies for both isotropic and orthotropic materials will be developed. It is expected that the output from REFRESCO will accelerate the implementation of new materials in transport applications improve the competitiveness of transport industries, ensure sustainable, efficient and affordable transport services will be available and will create new skills and job opportunities through research and development in new material technologies.