First steps of the Mat4Rail and PIVOT projects for standardisation of composite materials and dissimilar bonds for use on rail car bodies

The Mat4Rail project, part of the Horizon 2020 programme and funded under the Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking, held its first Standardisation Advisory Board meeting in February.The meeting was held at the Madrid headquarters of the Spanish Railway Foundation (Fundación de Ferrocarriles Españoles) and was co-organised by Talgo and CIDETEC.Also as part of the S2R initiative, the Committee included members of the PIVOT project, together with external counsellors from the European Standardisation Committee (ESC)’s different working groups.

In addition to a presentation of the results of both projects so far with regard to new materials and joints for the rail sector, the event also enabled to two major commitments to be achieved.

Firstly, both Mat4Rail and PIVOT committed to active involvement in forming a new standardisation group as part of the CEN TC256 Committee for implementation and approval of New Materials for the rail sector.This working group’s first meeting was held in late February in Brussels and attended by representatives of both projects.

Secondly, the ESC’s representatives undertook to share a new development standard with Mat4Rail and PIVOT, within working group 52 for adhesive bonding for the rail sector, EN WI 000256799 “Adhesive bonding of rail vehicles and parts”.  

In short, the meeting was a total success, made patent by both the active collaboration on complementary Shift2Rail projects and the Mat4Rail and PIVOT partners’ effort to ensure that the results of their projects will enable the creation of new standards contemplating the use of new materials – more specifically, composites – and dissimilar adhesive bonds for rail car body structures.