Freight & Logistics Achievement of the Year award went to VTG Rail and Knorr-Bremse Rail Systems UK for the launch of the UK’s first digital iWagon.
A Highly Commended went to Freightliner with Network Rail, Mendip Rail, Aggregate Industries and Heidelberg Materials for the Mendip train plan recast.
VTG Rail and Knorr-Bremse have been working on this year’s National Rail Award-winning iWagon freight wheel protection system for more than a decade.
Launched as a nine-wagon first phase in October 2023, the concept features axle lock detection and wheel flat prevention technology to monitor wheelset slide and brake condition.
iWagon trials, involving 41,742 train miles on three separate contracts, captured more than 3,000 abnormal events and showed there was a wheel-slide event on average every 6.5 miles.
By running the prototype wagons in a rake which contained two unfitted monitoring vehicles the trials showed that an average of 37 wheel-lock events were avoided by the active wagons, and that, unlike the monitoring wagons, they incurred no damage requiring a wheel-set replacement.
A key aspect of the system is that it works independently on each fitted wagon and is powered by axle-end generators rather than depending on a supply from a locomotive and data transmission via couplers.
The judges said stopping wheelset slides would have significant benefits to the wider performance of the rail network by increasing wheel life, improving wagon availability and cutting the risk of track damage and derailment.
Digital monitoring and less damage could also revolutionise how wagons are maintained and avoid the need for annual vehicle inspection and brake tests, resulting in a net gain of 13 extra days in service per wagon each year.
The judges said: “We were impressed by the speed at which a prototype trial has been converted into a commercial reality. Mass production lines are now being built, and orders are already in place for delivery to British customers in the autumn.”
Read the winners list here https://www.railmagazine.com/news/2024/09/10/national-rail-awards-2024-the-results
https://couriernews.co.uk/blog/award-for-vtg-rail-and-knorr-bremse-rail/