Welcome to the official website of the conference with international participation Current Problems in Rail Vehicles. This traditional international conference is held every two years, alternately in Česká Třebová and Žilina. The conference is organised by the Faculty of Transport Engineering of the University of Pardubice (in cooperation with the Association of Mechanical Engineers, Czech Republic - Česká Třebová Club) and the University of Žilina (in cooperation with the Scientific and Technical Society at the University of Žilina). The aim of the conference is to acquaint the participants with new knowledge in research, development, testing, design, production, operation, maintenance and repair of rail vehicles and, of course, to establish new and maintain existing contacts between individual participants of the conference, between the academic sphere and industrial and operational practice. MAIN TOPICS OF THE CONFERENCE: design of railway rolling stock, urban rail vehicles and special vehicles, theoretical aspects of the development, design and testing of rolling stock, practical knowledge from the operation of rolling stock and its implications, issues of the vehicle/track interaction, materials and technologies used in the construction and repair of vehicles, diagnostics, maintenance and repair of rolling stock, traction, control and information systems for rolling stock. The official languages of the conference are Czech, Slovak and possibly English. The official conference proceedings will be published electronically from 2025 and are available via this website as single issues of this journal. The proceedings contain only papers that have successfully passed the peer review process. The composition of the scientific and organizing committee of the conference is specified for each individual year of the conference.
Dopravní fakulta Jana Pernera Univerzity Pardubice
Increase of Traction Forces in Head of a Train above Current Limit in the Network of Správa Železnic
Since the 1960s, a traction force limit at the head of the train of 350 kN has been applied on the Czech railway network. Compared to neighbouring countries, this limit is relatively low and negatively impacts freight transport efficiency. Therefore, Správa železnic initiated steps to revise relevant regulations and increase the traction force limit. One aspect addressed in cooperation with VÚKV during 2023–2024 was the interaction between vehicle and track and the running safety under traction forces exceeding 350 kN. The study began with theoretical analyses based on calculations and computer simulations of running dynamics. In the second phase, a test run was conducted with a train set capable of exceeding the current traction limit, with included an instrumented freight wagon equipped to measure key parameters (e.g., wheel forces via an instrumented wheelset and coupler forces at both ends). This paper summarizes the work carried out, key findings from the testing, and the resulting conclusions.
Copyright (c) 2025 Jan Pulda, Rudolf Mrzena, Tomáš Heptner, Zdeněk Moureček https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Safety Critical Components in Relation to Railway Vehicles Maintenance
Safety critical components (SCC) are a key element of the new EU Implementing Regulation 2019/779, which defines the responsibilities of entities in charge of maintenance of all types of railway vehicles. They are essential for assessing the risks associated with the operation and maintenance of railway vehicles and which directly affect railway safety. The paper presents the current situation in Europe in this area, pointing out that a methodology for determining the SCC has not yet been established.
Copyright (c) 2021 Peter Zvolenský, Juraj Grenčík, Miloš Brezáni
Use of Acoustic Camera in Rolling Stock Noise Analysis
The noise parameters of railway vehicles clearly contribute to their quality and are specifically monitored in accordance with the ever-tightening limits of TSIs or environmental regulation in general. The basis for the possibilities of reducing vehicle noise is a detailed analysis of noise sources and paths. The paper presents valuable results and new findings from acoustic experiments from the operation of trains at ŽSR using an acoustic camera.
Copyright (c) 2021 Peter Zvolenský, Ján Ďungel
Influencing Factors in Performance Assessment of Solid Lubricants for the Wheel–Rail Interface
Flange lubrication is a tool of friction modification at the wheel–rail interface, with the purpose of reducing wear and noise occurring at the contact of the flange with the rail head side. Possible solutions include solid lubricants – lubrication sticks pressed on the wheels of rail vehicles. For comparative testing of performance of solid lubricants, the European standard EN 16028 prescribes, albeit quite loosely, a method that employs a twin-disc test machine. In these tests, the wheel–rail contact pair is represented by two steel discs rolling on each other with constant creepage, and a specimen of the lubricant is applied and removed in a defined way. The paper gives an overview of the current state and presents the experience and findings of experimental activities that took place at the Faculty of Transport Engineering in recent years, including commercial research tasks carried out for suppliers and manufacturers of solid lubricants.
Copyright (c) 2021 Petr Voltr, Stanislava Liberová
Wayside Diagnostic of Running Gear in Subway Vehicles Maintenance
The introduction describes the advantages of wayside diagnostics of running railway vehicles, existing systems and the system developed within the project TAČR Wayside Diagnostics of Railway Vehicles Running Gear. The next section describes selected diagnosable disorders, the detection of which is problematic or impossible during a static inspection in the depot. In addition to the option of switching to predictive maintenance, the automatic diagnostic system also performs a safety function, as it makes it possible to detect sudden faults that occur during operation. The paper concludes with a vision of how to integrate wayside diagnostics into an existing vehicle maintenance system.
Copyright (c) 2021 Jakub Vágner, Petr Havlíček, Stanislava Liberová, Martin Kohout
Development of a Tribometer for Evaluating Adhesion on a Real Rail
One of the most important parameters, which are measured on the rail, is the coefficient of adhesion (CoA). CoA on real rail is measured by measuring locomotive or measuring carriage. These methods are quite expensive, therefore rail tribometers which are fixed or pushed are used. Developed track tribometer is mounted on a rail above the measured section. The main part of the device is a measuring module, which is dragged by a stepper along a linear guide mounted on the frame. CoA is obtained by controlling the change in traction force, which is realized by breaking the measuring wheel. During the measurement, the braking torque, forward and rotational speed are recorded. Based on these data, it is possible to plot the adhesion curve in the measured section. The paper discusses the various measuring modes of the tribometer and presents the methodology of adhesion measurement. Moreover, a series of measurements in the presence of various contaminants was performed in a laboratory.
Copyright (c) 2021 Martin Valena, Milan Omasta, Radovan Galas, Martin Hartl
Double Deck Push-Pull Trainsets Škoda for ČD
At the beginning, paper briefly describes history of EMU and double deck push-pull trainsets produced at Škoda Vagonka (former Vagonka Studénka). Follows the description of coaches for double deck push-pull trainsets for Czech Railways (ČD). In the second half of 2021, these coaches undergo type-testing process.
Use of AI Methods for Classification of Railway Signals Images
The article looks into the use of artificial intelligence (AI) methods, specifically image detection and classification in railway transport. The introductory chapters describe the possibilities that AI currently offers in various fields of science and industry, followed by a description of the use of AI in the Custom Vision environment for image classification of railway track signals. In the end, there is an evaluation of the simulation of the use of AI and a consideration of the possible use in real operation.
Copyright (c) 2021 Pavla Šmídová, Stanislav Machalík
Improving Attractivity of Passenger Information Systems for Metro Passengers
Modern passenger information system for metro – PIS+, concrete project implementation. Wayfinding capabilities of transfer connections. Orientation and navigation for people with reduced mobility. Passenger flow optimalization within the metro stations. Dynamic updates from the “Train office”.
Development Trends in Regional Railway Vehicles
Stimulation of transport demand by quality of transport supply, environmental aspects and economic efficiency of regional passenger railway transport. High cruising speed as an indicator of the quality of regional transport and as a necessary condition for the running of regional trains in parallel with long-distance passenger trains as well as fast freight trains on heavily used railway main lines. Traction and braking parameters of EMU as a tool to increase cruising speed. Energy management of regional trains. Management of reducing the specific weight of vehicles for regional passenger transport.
Comparison of Advantages of Radially Adjustable Bogie with Conventional Bogie with Regard to New and Worn Transverse Profiles of Rail Head
The article focuses on a comparison of running characteristics of rail freight bogies when negotiating curves of small radiuses. The conventional bogie Y25 and the bogie with radially adjustable wheelsets TVP-NG2 are compared. Emphasis was placed on effect of used rail head profile and also on rail head wear effect upon running and operational characteristics of the bogies.
Copyright (c) 2021 Daniel Šimšaj, Marián Moravčík, Michal Lacko
Results of Measurements and Simulations of Photovoltaic Feeding of Railway Vehicles in Conditions of Czech Republic
The first part of this paper describes measurements done on experimental vehicle of Faculty of Transport Engineering – these measurements were used for determination of conversion efficiency of sunshine into electric energy through photovoltaic panels mounted directly on the roof of the vehicle. Next part is focused on statistical processing of data about sunshine from four meteorological stations in Czech Republic. In the last part of this paper are presented simulations results of the drive of the two-source electric motor unit done according to counted efficiency of energy change and statistical data of sunshine. These simulations were done for railway tracks in Czech Republic, real energy impact of photovoltaic panels on the roof of unit was assessed.
Copyright (c) 2021 Petr Sýkora, Zdeněk Mašek
Design Modification of the Measuring Unit for Detecting Temperatures and Speeds on the UIC Flywheel Test Stand
The article deals with the design of the measuring unit used to determine the temperatures and speeds, which is used on the flywheel state of the UIC. The measurement of the speed of a railway wheel or a brake disc can be performed by two independent measuring methods. One of the methods proved ineffective. Therefore, it was necessary to make a structural modification to the connection of the ring head, which is used for measuring temperatures by means of thermocouples, in order to be able to connect a speed sensor to it in series.
Copyright (c) 2021 Andrej Suchánek, Jozef Harušinec, Pavol Šťastniak
The article is approaching and describing the implementation of static and fatigue test of the bogie frame for motor bogie frame for EMU (Electric Multiple Unit) based on ČSN EN 13749:2011. 24 hydraulic linear actuators (cylinders) were used for tests and were controlled by computer in real time together.
Copyright (c) 2021 Jiří Soukup, Radek Stuchlík
Research of Resistance of Movement of a Four-Axle Wagon with Various Wheels Designs
The article contains description of a mathematical model of the movement of a four-axle freight wagon on a rail track. With the help of mathematical modelling, studies of the running resistance of a wagon with wheels of various design schemes have been carried out. There are compared two wheel designs, namely the design of a traditional wheel with a monolithic production tread surface and the flange and the perspective wheel design, which allows independent rotating of support surface of the wheel and of its guiding surface, i.e. of its flange. Potential advantages of using the wheels of a perspective design scheme in a bogie of a wagon are revealed, which consist in reducing its resistance of movement.
Copyright (c) 2021 Stanislav Semenov, Evgeni Mikhailov, Ján Dižo, Miroslav Blatnický
Research to Increase Partner Protection of Tram Vehicles in the Event of an Accident with Cars
From a social point of view, there is a growing demand to increase traffic safety and reduce the consequences of tram and cars accidents. The research to increase the safety of trams, which is carried out at the Czech Technical University in Prague, aims to increase the active and passive safety of trams. Components and systems of active safety are design to reduce the risk of an accident. Components and systems of passive safety are design to minimize the consequences of accidents. One of the elements of passive safety is the partner protection (vehicle compatibility in the accident), which means an approach where the effort is to protect passengers inside and outside the vehicle. The article describes the conclusions from the partial research work on increasing the partner protection of trams in the event of an accident with cars.
Functional Safety Problematics of Vehicles in Relation to the Safety Related Requirements of the Safety Integrity Level
The article deals with current aspects of a significant part of the field of reliability, namely the issue of functional safety of railway vehicles in relation to the safety related requirements and system hardware architecture. This area is of course governed by a number of standards, but in this area and the application level, especially the standards EN 61508 and EN 50129. The fundamental steps related to the approval of vehicles and their components in terms of functional safety in this article have been described. Furthermore, the work with hardware architectures in connection to the safety related requirements of the safety integrity level SIL has been shown.
Copyright (c) 2021 Michal Richtář, Jan Famfulík, Jaromír Široký, Jakub Šmiraus, Jana Míková
Objectives of the Green Deal in the Field of Passenger Rail Transport and Their Fulfillment
The text deals with the effects of climate change in the field of passenger rail transport and describes the basic challenges in the transformation of passenger transport in the near future. The EU's emphasis on emission-free passenger transport offers great potential for the development of passenger rail transport, so the text describes the most important trends in the development of vehicles and their optimal use in the coming decades.
Vehicles and Infrastructure for Emission-Free Operation on Non-Electrified Lines
The transition of the Czech railways to fully emission-free operation is an objective necessity. And not only to save energy and emissions, but also to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of rail transport. It appears reasonable to do this by combining line and battery power to the vehicles. The renewal of the vehicle fleet needs to be coordinated with the development on the railway infrastructure side. With the conversion of track power supply from 3 kV to 25 kV, the development of line and point electrification and the introduction of ETCS on lines and vehicles.
Dynamic Behavior of Articulated Vehicle with Indirect Connection of Adjacent Sections
In this article are described partial results of analysis of the dynamic behaviour of two-section coach with common 3-axle bogie. The analysis is focused on running stability at higher speeds, compatibility with bridges, lateral dynamics in curve transition and forces caused in wheel–rail contact.
Copyright (c) 2021 Jan Plomer, Josef Kolář
The article deals with the issue of modelling air springs for use in multibody simulations. The reliability of the results of simulations fully depends on the correct parameter settings in simulation models. To set simulation models of air springs it is necessary to take into account mainly the parameters that determine their dynamic behaviour. In order to measure the dynamic properties of air springs, a test bench was designed and built in VÚKV. The introduction and the description of the test bench are parts of this article. The end of the article deals with the implementation of measured data into the simulation model of air spring and its validation.
Contribution Company Stadler to Regeneration of Rail Vehicles in Central Europe
Introduction of the Stadler Rail company, inclusion of the Stadler Prague engineering office within the Stadler Rail group and information about implemented projects in Central European countries. A more detailed presentation of individual implemented projects of new rolling stock, information on interesting facts or specific individual projects, which were completely or at least partially processed in Stadler Prague.
An Evaluation of the Performance of Top-of-Rail Lubricants and Friction Modifiers
A relatively new trend in the management of the friction between the wheel and rail is the application of so-called friction modifiers or lubricants on top of the rail in order to optimise coefficient of adhesion. The aim of this paper is to present this issue and to demonstrate the possibilities of laboratory evaluation of performance parameters of top-of-rail lubricants and friction modifiers. Important implications for the prescription of their application are discussed.
Copyright (c) 2021 Milan Omasta, Radovan Galas, Martin Valena, Martin Hartl
Wheel Bearings with a Long Maintenance Interval as a Response to Extending Wheel Life
Railway bearings and wheels are very important components of a railway vehicle that is subject to relatively rapid wear, which requires maintenance. The operators of rolling stock focus on the reduction of maintenance cost and call for extending of maintenance interval. The extension of maintenance interval reduces the service cost but in other hand it creates the risk of bearing damage and wheel wear. This trend increases requirements on the wheel material and also on the complete bearing arrangement. The internal design of bearing must be modified and online condition monitoring of bearing behaviour during train operation is required as well. The paper is focusing on the importance of bearing and wheel maintenance planning and their harmonization.
Copyright (c) 2021 Ondřej Novotný, Jan Babka
Academic Licence of Software Tools Created for Education in the Field of Railway Vehicles at the University of Pardubice
A couple of software tools for use in the educational process in the field of railway vehicles are presented in this paper. Both of them were created as an academic licence at the Faculty of Transport Engineering of the University of Pardubice (Czech Republic). In the first case, the simulation tool “SJKV-V4N v. 1.0” was created in framework of the project “Competence Center of Railway Vehicles” of the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic in 2018. This software represents a particular version of the multi-body simulation tool “SJKV”, which was supplemented with a user interface, and nowadays it is available for non-commercial use by the students and academic staff for free. It is intended for realization of multi-body simulations of three pre-defined design concepts of four-axle railway vehicles under certain conditions. The second software tool – named as “RailCalc 2.0” – is intended for traction calculations, i.e., for the calculations of running times and energy consumption of defined trains on defined railway lines. This software represents a modified version of the program “RailCalc” created in framework of a bachelor thesis at the Faculty of Transport Engineering in 2020.
Copyright (c) 2021 Tomáš Michálek, Jaromír Zelenka, Zdeněk Fišr
Testing of Draw- and Buffing Gear Components on Dynamic Test Stand at the Faculty of Transport Engineering of the University of Pardubice
This contribution deals with tests of components of draw- and buffing gear of railway vehicles realized at the Faculty of Transport Engineering of the University of Pardubice, especially in framework of student’s projects and theses. In the beginning, the attention is paid to the tests of dynamic characteristics of elastomer suspension components of draw gears and buffers. The tests were performed in order to create a mathematical model of these components for application in multi-body simulations for investigation of longitudinal train dynamics effects, because a description of these components only by their static characteristics seems to be insufficient in certain situations. Besides to that, a preparation of tensometric screw coupling for measurement of traction forces is introduced in the paper. This measuring device will be applied especially in further research of running resistance of railway vehicles as well as at the experimental verification of results of the longitudinal train dynamics simulations.
Copyright (c) 2021 Tomáš Michálek, Pavel Jaroš, Jakub Vágner, Martin Kohout, Jiří Šlapák, Jan Pulda, Adam Bílek, Libor Výmola, Martin Staněk
The Significance of Reference Scenarios to Assess Aerodynamic Effects in Railway Application
The aerodynamics in railway application is a typical example of the topic that occurs on the interface between vehicles and infrastructure while both systems affect each other. The magnitude of effects is also determined by surrounding environment that represents atmospheric conditions or specific operational situations. During the analysis of aerodynamic effects, it requires a definition of reference conditions or scenarios to which the results are referred and in which context they are further compared or assessed. In experiment it is important to correct or transform measured data into this reference state. The article briefly describes examples of reference vehicles and infrastructure that are used in the assessment of aerodynamic effects on open track or in tunnel. There are shown reference scenarios relating to some aerodynamic topics, there is emphasized on specific questions in their application and shown examples of boundary conditions influence on the magnitude of some effects.
Motivation of Passengers to Preferences of Public Transport by Its Quality and Attractiveness
Definition of travel comfort. Rational and emotional relationships of passengers to transport systems and transportation. Harmony of public transport with emotions of a passenger. Emotional perception of a vehicle aesthetics, ergonomics of technical solution and transport process. Anthropological development of a human in the 20th and 21st century. Space and its perception by passengers, spatial requirements of seating. Systematic approach to minimizing the effects of vibration, noise, heat, light and indoor air quality on the comfort of the train occupant. Positive perception of public transport as a basic factor for exploiting a potential of extra-modal energy savings in replacing individual car transport with less energy-intensive and emission-free rail transport.
The Strength of Freight Wagon in the Past and Present
The paper deals with the issue of dimensioning of railway freight wagon car bodies. The current state of regulations and their real application is analysed. The requirements in the regulations are confronted with the knowledge gained during tests and assessment of an operational strength failures of freight wagon. Suggestions for changing of existing standards are given.
Electric Multiple Unit of Skoda 16Ev Series
The contribution deals with the description of the electric unit type 16Ev from the production of ŠKODA TRANSPORTATION a.s. / ŠKODA VAGONKA a.s. The electric multiple unit will be put into operation on wide gauge lines in Latvia. The train will be operated by the Latvian Railways (Pasažieru vilciens).