German light rail technology firm Hübner has revealed its first real-world tests of its automatic gangway coupling system will take place in Canada in 2025.
The AutoCouple product was trailed in early September before its official launch in Berlin this week, and the inter-car train gangways trial location has been revealed.
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Toronto Subway will play host to the tool, which is aiming to make more efficient use of existing fleets, by making the process of lengthening or shortening trains (depending on passenger demand) easier and quicker.
The company claimed the coupling time can be reduced from 30 to just five minutes.
“With the HÜBNER AutoCouple System, it should be possible for train drivers to uncouple or add cars to the train with the push of a button in a fully automatic process. During the entire coupling process, the train should be able to remain connected to the power grid,” explained Balamurali MK, Innovation & Product Developer in HÜBNER’s Mobility Rail division.
“This way transit operators should be able to save up to 25 minutes in each coupling process. Thanks to the quicker availability of trains and the savings in personnel costs, the system would create a true added value,” they added.
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By GlobalDataThe new technology would also reduce human interaction, and therefore making the coupling and decoupling of train carriages a much safer affair.
The new system is also exceedingly robust and durable and in future should facilitate power and data transmission from one rail car to the next, the company added.
“We’re very pleased to be presenting a first-ever innovation that will allow rail transit operators in the passenger sector to be both more flexible and safer in their scheduling and organization,” remarked Alexander Schmidt, Head of Innovation and Product Development in the HÜBNER Mobility Rail division.
“Our team is working to create a customized innovation for customers that also enables significant savings in important resources.”
Meanwhile…
Also revealed this week was the new trainset from Stadler, following on from the popular FLIRT model.
The Swiss manufacturer has unveiled a custom BEMU design for the Centovalli railway between Locarno in Switzerland and northern Italy.
The new train is called the Stadler FART and is specially designed to traverse inclines of up to 6% under its own traction power.
And yes, that is its real name.
