Amorce
At InnoTrans 2026, Rail Logistics Europe, alongside its European partners, participated in a demonstration of Digital Automatic Coupling (DAC) in Berlin-Spandau. This marks a new milestone for this solution, to which RLE is contributing, and which is intended to support the digitization and automation of rail freight in Europe.
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At the HVLE site in Berlin-Spandau, more than 100 European and national institutional stakeholders, executives, and experts from the rail sector were able to experience firsthand the capabilities of Digital Automatic Coupling (DAC) under real-world conditions.
As a partner in the European research and innovation efforts focused on this solution, Rail Logistics Europe is actively contributing to its development, alongside members of the Trans4m-r project, which is being carried out in cooperation with Europe’s Rail.
Europe's Rail
Technology driving a more digital and automated freight industry
The DAC goes far beyond the automatic coupling of railcars. By integrating electrical and digital connections between vehicles, it serves as a key building block for developing new features and further automating operations.
The goal is clear: to help make European rail freight more connected, more automated, safer, and more efficient.
Europe's Rail
Rail Logistics Europe, a key player in this European transformation
The demonstration in Spandau confirms the gradual transition of research to a new phase of real-world testing of the technology as part of projects supported by Europe’s Rail and future pioneer trains.
This transformation cannot be carried out by a single entity. It requires a collaborative approach among rail companies, railcar owners, manufacturers, and European institutions.
Rail Logistics Europe, contributeur de cette transformation européenne (1)
By contributing its expertise as a freight operator to this project, Rail Logistics Europe is helping to develop a solution tailored to the sector’s operational realities and to prepare for its future deployment. Following InnoTrans 2026, this demonstration thus marks a new collective step toward a more digital, automated, and interoperable European rail freight system.