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Author: Prose

Development of next Generation CCS as open CCS onboard reference architecture, OCORA

Customer: Swiss Federal Railways SBB, Infrastructure Division, Switzerland

Project tasks

  • Project management OCORA / vehicle equipment
  • Project planning, project controlling
  • Staffing and onboarding of internal and external project resources
  • Exchange with other programs/projects/individuals Facilities
  • Weekly coordination with the international cooperation OCORA
  • Coordination with stakeholders, including rail carriers, suppliers / industry
  • Authorities national / international BAV / ERA, as well as other stakeholders (CER, S2R, ER JU, DG Move, RCA,…)

Our Approach

PROSE is mandated with the project management for the SBB project OCORA / Vehicle Equipment. First, the project is defined in the dimensions costs, benefits, contents and schedule and submitted to the Federal Office of Transport for approval. Subsequently, the project management deals with the set-up of the project organisation and the establishment, planning and management of the international cooperation OCORA with the Railroad undertakings NS, SNCF, DB, ÖBB and SBB. In the further course, the mandated project management includes planning, reporting, demand-oriented reporting and communication within and outside the project and thus also with national and international stakeholders

Customer benefit

With the assignment of PROSE, the customer benefits from the extensive experience of PROSE in the field of on-board signalling, ETCS and ATO for new rolling stock procurements as well as for the modernisation of existing rolling stock.

 

Setting requirements for ATO on the Betuweroute

Customer: DB Cargo AG, Germany

Project tasks

  • Project coordination across two suppliers
  • Development of a high-level operating concept
  • Creation of a test concept and derivation of the requirements
  • Creation of a training concept and derivation of the requirements
  • Creation of an operational benefit analysis
  • Analysis of the operational processes, also for reduced operation
  • Hazard analysis
  • CENELEC System Definition
  • Safety Plan / Safety Concept
  • System Architecture
  • System Integration
  • Project Schedule
  • Functional requirements diagram ATO Onboard GoA2 + GoA4
  • Functional requirements diagram Remote Supervision & Control
  • Requirements HMI
  • Non-functional requirements catalog ATO Onboard GoA2 + GoA4
  • Non-functional requirements catalog Remote Supervision & Control
  • Use-Case Analysis
  • Human Factors Analysis and derivation of requirements

Our Approach

PROSE was commissioned by DB Cargo to provide a Set of Requirements for Freight ATO GoA 2 and GoA 4 + Remote Supervision & Control in close collaboration with Ricardo Rail in a design-to-timeline approach. This Set of Requirements will be used to evaluate an ATO technology partner for the development, installation, integration, commissioning, certification and testing of such an ATO solution. The tests for the 1-year test trial operation until 2025, will take place on the Dutch part of the Betuweroute (from Kijfhoek to Valburg).

Customer benefit

The customer benefits from PROSE’s extensive experience in the fields of ATO, sensor technology and architectures. For this, profound technical knowledge, but also very good knowledge of the market and railway operations are indispensable. Thanks to PROSE’s structured approach, a well-founded result from a broad analysis on the technical possibilities and business implications of automation is ensured.

 

Strategy consultancy for Common Safety Method CSM

Customer: Plasser & Theurer, Austria

Project tasks

  • Safety assessment report
  • Identification of significant changes
  • Definition of system boundaries
  • Creation of “Requirement Capture“
  • Creation of the security plan

Our Approach

In a hybrid workshop moderated and conducted by PROSE experts, questions will be discussed. Different topics like the safety assessment report, efficient decision bases and tools for the identification of significant changes will be addressed. The optimization of the system boundary definition, the optimization of the requirement capture and the optimization of the safety plan are also discussed in detail. The issues are underpinned with practical examples.

Customer benefit

Thus, processes and methodologies are optimized at Plasser & Theurer to the extent that the effort is reduced, and the lead times are shortened, but always in compliance with the requirements of the CSM EU VO 402/2013. The results of the workshop including recommendations for the further procedure were summarized by PROSE in a short report after the workshop.

 

Harmonization of modular freight wagon concepts

Customer: BASF/WASCOSA (Germany), DB Cargo/VTG (Germany), RCA (Austria), SBB Cargo (Switzerland)

Project tasks

1st phase:

  • Neutral collection, analysis and evaluation
  • Comparison and evaluation

2nd phase:

  • Creation of a common experimental description

3rd phase:

  • Evaluation of the safety techniques
  • Recommendation for a future standard

4th phase:

  • Cluster development
  • Force application point

Our Approach

The technical innovation group for rail freight (TIS) sees the modular design of carrying wagons in conjunction with innovative container concepts as an approach to solving the problem outlined. Innovative container solutions are also becoming increasingly popular for bulk goods.

Customer benefit

The securing techniques developed in the various concepts of modular construction and container concepts were evaluated with regard to their effect on the forces and accelerations measured in the sequence tests. Furthermore, a recommendation for a possible future standard for a securing system, possibly for different classes of accelerations and forces, was developed. PROSE developed different clusters for the classification of transport goods/containers.

 

Drafting specifications for trams

Customer: Kasseler Verkehrs-Gesellschaft AG, Germany

Project tasks

  • Recording of customer requirements regarding the vehicle technology
  • Revision and extension of the specification sheet
  • Consideration of the current state of the art
  • Observance of the currently valid technical rules and standard
  • Evaluation matrix

Our Approach

PROSE prepared a draft of the specification sheet based on the applicable regulations and the specific requirements of Kasseler Verkehrs-Gesellschaft AG (KVG) as well as using the experience from other tramway pro-jects. Together with KVG AG, a detailed examination and finalization of the specification sheet took place as well as the development of an evaluation matrix for the subsequent bid evaluation.

Customer benefit

The customer can benefit from a broad and independent expert support during the preparation of the specification by PROSE. The market knowledge of PROSE helps the customer to create the specifications, always considering the requirements of the public transport.

Conceptualisation of a meter gauge vehicle platform

Customer: Matterhorn-Gotthard Bahn, Rhätische Bahn AG, zb Zentralbahn AG, Switzerland

Project tasks

  • Screening of inventory documentation
  • Development of an evaluation matrix
  • Realization of workshops
  • Evaluation of the requirements
  • Development of a vehicle concept

Our Approach

PROSE analyzed the existing documentation of the MGB, the RhB and the zb and compared them in a jointly defined depth and structure to be developed together. Further PROSE captured the vision of the future of the three operators in the four topics: 1. market, 2. operation and production, 3. technology and 4. infrastructure, as well as the classification for each topic.

Customer benefit

The joint achievement of the objectives of the “analysis” phase represents an important milestone for the project partners (MGB, RhB, zb) in defining the strategic direction of the next project phase, in which the upcoming vehicle procurement by means of a call for tenders in accordance with BöB/VöV is located.

 

Automatic Train Operation

Customer: Swiss Federal Railways SBB, Infrastructure Division, Switzerland

Project tasks

  • Comprehensive consulting in the area of ATO (architectures and interfaces)
  • Consulting in the area of sensor technology (LiDAR, radar, camera) and their connections
  • Consulting in the area of remote control and the necessary technology and architecture
  • Consulting in the area of track monitoring and the necessary sensor technology for GoA3 and GoA4
  • Support in international committee work
  • Preparation of the feasibility study for the automation and remote control of a defined maintenance fleet including business case
  • Preparation of tender documents (dialog procedure)
  • Exchange with other programs and projec
  • Support in cooperation with other stakeholders (industry, railroads..)

Our Approach

The first objective is to develop a technical and commercial feasibility study for the automation of a defined maintenance fleet of several vehicles. This study includes all automation scenarios (GoA2, GoA3, GoA4 and remote control). The dimensions of cost, benefit, content and schedule are determined and as a result the tender documents are prepared.

Customer benefit

With the assignment of PROSE, the customer benefits from PROSE’s extensive experience in the fields of ATO, sensor technology and architectures. The customer does not need to build up project specific resources. The conceptual and technical consulting in the field of railroad automation provided by PROSE is used reliably, efficiently and target-oriented.

PROSE Bern goes skiing 

As every year, the team Bern went skiing together. The spring-like temperatures last Friday, unfortunately, caused the snow to melt and the whole team had to struggle with “braking snow” from 12 o’clock onwards. Nevertheless, the mood was good and the team could enjoy the beautiful view of the big Scheidegg and the Eigernordwand.

 

Felix Saur

Senior Consultant

Office: Bern

 

 

This is how we do MBS-calculation

The company ROBEL develops an electric rail vehicle (RORUNNER Level 3) with bogies and two loading cranes for Stadtwerke München GmbH.

PROSE investigates the derailment safety of the rail vehicle in track twists using multibody simulations (MBS) in order to evaluate the current design in combination with the track-side conditions. PROSE created a MBS model of the track vehicle and simulated runs through critical curves with superelevation and maximum track twist.

Silver medal status in EcoVadis rating

PROSE maintained silver medal status in EcoVadis rating!

Also, in this latest EcoVadis assessment, PROSE was able to maintain its rating from previous assessments. And with this result, we stay among the top 25 percent of companies assessed by EcoVadis and are awarded again with a silver medal.

 

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