Train travel may be a greener way to get from point A to B but it's often hampered by extreme weather events. Manufacturers, including China's biggest trainmaker, are using the world's largest wind tunnel to weatherproof their designs.
Johannes Pleschberger reports from Austria.
Johannes Pleschberger reports from Austria.
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00:00At very low temperatures, rubber components get stiff and break apart.
00:06Entire electronic systems can fail too.
00:12One part of our rain system, here we are controlling the water flow
00:16and can let it rain or make an ice rain as well.
00:22Gabriel Haller is the mastermind behind the world's only climatic wind tunnel
00:26that can fit an entire train.
00:28One click is enough to lower the temperature to minus 45 degrees Celsius
00:33or increase the wind speed to 250 kilometers per hour.
00:38We do not have to wait for the next extreme winter.
00:43We can simulate it.
00:45We are guiding the air through a fan, downstream,
00:49then to the test section and there we are testing the test objects.
00:54China's state-owned train manufacturer CRRC
00:57has been using the Viennese wind tunnel for over 10 years,
01:01most recently to test the windscreen wipers of its Bison locomotive.
01:06The multiple voltage freight train, which can operate on different countries' rail tracks,
01:11is to begin running in Hungary soon.
01:13It will be operated by a subsidiary of Austrian Railways.
01:18CRRC has big plans for Europe's competitive railway market.
01:22After basing its continental headquarters here in Vienna,
01:26China's biggest train producer has bought a locomotive production site in Germany
01:31and is now test-driving its Bison train in Hungary,
01:34ready for operation across Central and Eastern Europe.
01:39In 2023 CRRC and Vienna's RTA wind tunnel
01:43signed a memorandum of understanding to intensify future joint research.
01:48Research cooperation with CRRC is dealing with snow and ice accumulation on certain components
01:55and we can validate their research activities by doing real tests.
02:02In extreme weather, the proper functioning of pantographs,
02:06the train top apparatus which collects power from an overhead line,
02:09can prevent delays and line failures.
02:12Vehicle tests like the ones in the Austrian capital are essential not just for reliability
02:17but also for safety during adverse weather conditions.
02:20Johannes Blechberger, CJTN, Vienna.