Implementing the retrofitting plan for the European rail freight fleet

In 1998, the International Union of Railways (UIC) agreed on an Action Plan, proposing the retrofitting of the complete European rail freight fleet. Early 2003 the European Commission, Directorate General for Transport and Energy, commissioned the study reported here. The scope of the study was to supply an independent assessment of the conclusions of the UIC Action Plan and elaborate on implementation scenarios and funding options. The retrofitting of existing wagons, by an exchange of cast iron brake blocks with composition blocks, is the preferred option to achieve a substantial noise reduction. K-blocks have been homologated by UIC in 2003, but they require an expensive modification of the wagon. The opportunities for LL-blocks, an economically attractive alternative, are still being investigated to date. The retrofitting reflects some 600,000 wagons and, with an expected reduction of 10 dB(A), probably represents the largest single operation for traffic noise reduction ever. The process could best be combined with the maintenance cycle of freight wagons. In that case the process would require up to 10 years. Through a combination of funding options, the financial burden for wagons owners and freight operators could be softened.