The Mat4Rail and PIVOT projects take their first steps towards standardisation of composites and dissimilar joints for use in Carbody

The Horizon 2020 project Mat4Rail, financed within the Joint Undertaking Shift2Rail, has celebrated this February its first meeting of the Advisory Council on issues of standardisation. Held in the emblematic location of the Spanish Railway Foundation, in Madrid, co-organized between Talgo and CIDETEC, the Committee has counted with the participation of members of PIVOT complementary project of Mat4Rail in the call of members of S2R, members of Mat4Rail as well as external advisors of CEN.

In particular, PIVOT's project was represented by the work package leaders Eduardo de la Guerra from Talgo, Carlos Eraso from Aernnova, and Thierry Mointagné from Faiveley/Wabtec. Mat4Rail was represented by the project coordinator, Elena Jubete from CIDETEC, Markus Brede from the University of Bremen, Roland from IMADresden and Johan Sandström, from RISE. As for external consultants, both projects counted on the feedback of Geoff Matter-Chairman of the CEN TC 256 SC 2 Rolling Stock products, as well as Andreas Gross-from Fraunhofer IFAM responsible for the working Group 52 "Adhesive bonding in Railway" in the TC256.

In addition to presenting the results to date of both projects, in the field of new composites and joints for the railway sector, the productive event served to reach two important commitments:

• On the one hand both Mat4Rail and PIVOT committed to participate actively in a new standardization group within the CEN TC256 Committee for the implementation and approval of new materials in railway. The first meeting of this working Group was held on 21st of February in Brussels with participation of representatives from both projects.
• On the other hand, the representatives of CEN pledged to share with Mat4Rail and PIVOT a new standard for the development within the Working Group 52, of adhesive unions for the railway sector. It is the so-called standard in WI 000256799 "Adhesive bonding of rail vehicles and parts". CEN representatives will ensure that Mat4Rail and PIVOT have the opportunity to comment on the draft and incorporate the results of both projects before the final publication of such standard.
  

Congratulations to the members of Mat4Rail and PIVOT both for the active collaboration between complementary projects of Shift2Rail and the effort shown in order to achieve that the results of their projects serve to create new standards that contemplate the use of composite and adhesive joints for the carbody.