MEDWAY joins Eco_Road initiative in Aragon

The Eco_Ferro initiative is underway in the Aragon region with the aim of developing a digital platform to help decarbonise and reduce the carbon footprint of freight and passenger trains.

This project has the support of the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism and Next Generation funds from the European Union. Participating in the project are the consultancies Hiberus Tecnología and Switching Consulting, Aragon's logistics and energy clusters (ALIA and Clenar) and the freight logistics operator MEDWAY.

 The aim is to develop a digital platform that accurately determines the energy consumption of locomotives during operation in real time. The aim is to improve the energy efficiency of rail transport and promote the sustainability and decarbonisation of this mode of transport by reducing its carbon footprint and emissions.

 The Eco_Ferro project has the support of the 2023 call to support Innovative Business Groups (AEI) from the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism and funding from the European Union through the Next Generation EU funds.

Analysis and big data

This project will use Industry 4.0 technologies, cloud computing, big data, artificial intelligence and machine learning. With the information generated and managed through the digital platform, railway operators will be able to technically and financially control the energy consumed by a given locomotive on a given route, know the difference in costs between using an electric locomotive and a diesel one, forecast energy consumption and costs in the short and medium term and measure the electricity produced in regeneration.

 In addition, the project seeks to develop a digital tool to integrate the energy consumption variables of rail transport with the costs derived from the price of energy markets and their environmental impact. The aim of this tool is to improve consumption patterns and stimulate the decarbonisation of the system, achieving a reduction in these costs both economically and ecologically.

Logistics, energy and sustainability

For the development of the Eco_Ferro project, the logistics, energy and technology sectors of the Aragon region joined forces, all strategic sectors for the autonomous community and with international projection.

In addition to the experience provided by the Aragon Logistics Cluster (ALIA) and the Aragon Energy Cluster (Clenar) in their respective areas, also taking part in the initiative is the technology consultancy Hiberus - which will provide all the technological support for the project - and the company Switching Consulting, which already has extensive experience as an energy consultant in the railway sector, with clients such as Renfe, Metro de Madrid, Metro de Sevilla, Metro de Málaga or Talgo, among others. For its part, the freight logistics operator MEDWAY is providing the locomotive and equipment to carry out the measurements and collect data.

Stages of development

The Eco_Ferro project is in its first phase of development, with the expectation that new improvements and functionalities will be introduced to the digital platform over the next few years. The initiative is also scalable, allowing railway operators anywhere in the world to apply and develop this platform to improve the energy efficiency of trains and reduce their environmental impact.