Germany: The digital automatic couplers from Voith will be used by the freight operator WLE, which owns the 120 km railway network near Lippstadt and transports around 1.4 mln tonnes of goods annually.
To equip its wagons, WLE has ordered 30 CargoFlex couplers and two hybrid couplers compatible with DAC. The deadline for the delivery is scheduled for this autumn.
A total of 15 WLE freight cars and one locomotive will be fitted with the digital couplers. By the end of 2025, the newly-formed pilot train is due to enter commercial service. The first four couplers are already delivered, and the operator has been testing them on two wagons since March.
Full-scale implementation of the DAC technology in rail freight transportation within the EU has been worked out for several years, though raising doubts from a number of players. Based on the results of four-month operational and bench tests, in summer 2024, Voith’s module was chosen as the DAC standard.
