Shifting to rail via longer freight trains

Longer, faster and heavier trains will attract more traffic to the railways, leading to less congestion and carbon dioxide emissions. Up to now, European infrastructure constraints and increasing passenger traffic have limited the size of freight trains.

The EU-funded project MARATHON (Make rail the hope for protecting nature) developed new technologies allowing operators to run longer trains and ensuring safety and compliance with the rules.

MARATHON enabled lengthening of trains by merging two trains running in the same direction, with the second train locomotive in the middle of the newly formed train. The slave locomotive was operated via a state-of-the-art wireless radio solution connected to the lead locomotive.

New braking technology minimising derailment risk was developed, while computerised interface managed signals between the lead and slave locomotives. Two antennas were mounted on the two locomotives that were capable of capturing the radio signals in open environments such as narrow valleys, village crossings and forests, or in tunnels.

The project's trains eliminate the need for investments in new rail infrastructure, recording savings of up to 30 % in the transportation costs of freight. The coupled trains use only 20 % more network capacity than a classical train, while being able to carry twice the payload. In addition, one driver is required for their control.

MARATHON demonstrated that its trains can be produced using both diesel and electric traction locomotives. A second MARATHON test took place operating a diesel locomotive that had a total length of 1 524 m – the longest freight train in Europe.

The project team included all the operational and safety procedures in a handbook for future reference and for training purposes. Additionally, a technical recommendation document was issued for submission to the competent European authorities. A final MARATHON project book, called 'The MARATHON 1500m train opening up new horizons in rail freight transport in Europe', was printed for dissemination purposes.