TR@IN-MD : the Intelligent Railway Transport for Hazardous Goods MINARY Bertrand1, LOZAC'H Jean-Philippe2 1SNCF Freight Activity, Paris, France, 2SNCF Innovation & Research, Paris, Paris Abstract Hazardous goods traffic should rise up of 35 % until 2020. SNCF Freight Activity wants to enhance its presence and concurrence in a traffic that represented in 2002 16 millions of tons, which represents 5,9 billion tons kilometers. Due to the regulation hardening for such products, logistic operators must react by improving their process: a better monitoring, in particular with tracking and tracing, and developing innovative services for customers. The TR@IN-MD project aims to develop and experiment in real conditions an innovation system able to better manage the hazardous goods traffic by providing tracing facilities with GPS / GSM / GPRS (GALILEO pre-ready) balises and remote real-time diagnosis with the help of innovative sensors embedded on wagons. These on-board equipments will communicate with a new information system with specific MMI for the different needs of central and local railway actors. Services such as positioning and fleet management will be offered to customers. The system will be first experimented on about 30 wagons on national and international hazardous chemicals traffics during 2006-2008. The TR@IN-MD project is supported by the French Land Transport Research program PREDIT, and mobilizes the competences of a consortium of 9 partners lead by SNCF. Context of the TR@IN-MD Definition of the hazardous goods (HG) Hazardous goods are products or substances belonging, because of their nature or due to regulations, to the nine classes of hazardous goods. These substances or products are considered as dangerous during their transport due to possible consequences on mankind, environment, human property or environment [1]. Tendencies for hazardous goods transport Most transport means can be used for HG transport: the road, railway, waterway, pipes and air transport, while this last mean relates to only a very small quantity of this traffic. In 1998 was released a deep study of HG transport in France [2]. The inland traffic of HG in France was distributed as follows: the road transport for 60% of transported tons, railway 35%, inland waterway 5%. Thus, the modal share of railway freight in this sector is higher than its average share in the whole transport (20 %). Fret SNCF transported in 2002 16 million tons of dangerous goods, whom 40 % of liquid gas products, 38 % of chemicals, which represents 5,9 billion tons kilometers and nearly 300 000 wagons from / to 600 freight stations in France. Generally, the growth for the traffic of the HG is expected of 35 % to 2020. Hazardous goods regulations The hazardous goods task force of the Economic and Social Council of the UN regularly releases new versions of their recommendations for the HG transport, which take into account recent technical progress, appearance of new dangerous matters and new building materials, the needs for the modern systems of transport and, initially, the requirements for safety of people and property and environmental protection. Each transport mean covers particular constraints, there it exists own international legislations adapted from these UN recommendations (ADR for road, IMDG for the sea transport, IATA for the air, RID for railway). These international texts are converted into national legislation (in France, the "Arrêté RID" for rail transport). Lastly, for rail transport, SNCF defines and applies its own rules reinforcing the mandatory rules (eg: forbidden to cross HG with passengers train in tunnel; a operating centre for managing HG traffic in France called Presence Fret, specific following of freight trains containing HG, etc). RID regulation The RID regulation excludes certain objects and matters from transport and specifies the conditions under which the other hazardous goods are transported. More or less 3 500 products are authorized, with specific identification and coding. Figure 1: HG railway tank Figure 2: RID danger labels The safety and security of hazardous goods transport The reinforcement of safety during transport Safety and security are nowadays-constant concerns, which are in the heart of all debates. Transport operators must – and more and more - improve their control on the goods, which are given to them - particularly for HG transport that can generate serious accidents. Then the regulation of HG transport is complex, so that it strictly restricts the access to the freights and the safety of actors. Safety aspects The CNSIF study that the road countered 190 accidents and incidents on HG transport on the year 2000, including 46 with wounds due to the nature of the product, product leakage of more than 100l, gas explosion or fire. [3] In parallel, SNCF listed 29 major events over a 24 years period between 1976 and 2000, in majority fires, whom 5 on marshalling yards with consequences on underground and water. The SNCF sustainable development report recalls that more than 95% of the HG events are incidents and that are "mainly of small leakages due to bad closings of bodies or defects of the material. Most of the times, they are "non-events" due to personal errors expressing at the same time the difficulties of the diagnosis and the great attention of this traffic". [4] Figure 3: loading of a gas railway tank The rolling stock used for the HG transport - in great majority of rail tankers - are very well designed and maintained versus the potential dangers. The relative weakness seems to come from the use of the bodies of the materials by operators along the logistic chain. Most frequent events concern in very little liquid drop leakages, odours or the release of the valves of safety - in the immense majority without consequences for the men and the environment, that can impact more or less the railway production (marshalling yard limitation, lines closing, etc). Security aspects After the events of September 2001, the RID regulation takes into account the freight security (new article call "1.10" released on July 1st 2005 classifies high risks products). In particular, it is recommend using supervision systems. SNCF anticipated this regulation reinforcement by setting up a safety plan primarily based on existing organizations and structures. Secondary, the TR@IN-MD project was developed, in order to reinforce requirements of the new regulation 1.10 and anticipate the future ones. The TR@IN-MD project Project organisation The TR@IN-MD project (le TRAnsport Intelligent des Marchandises Dangereuses) is promoted by Fret SNCF and driven by SNCF Innovation & Research, Rolling Stock and Engineering Departments. The planning runs on 36 months, from 2006 to 2008. The TR@IN-MD project is supported by the French Research Program for Land Transport (PREDIT) around a consortium gathering 8 other partners (CEA, SAPHYMO, INRETS, SOLVAY, ERMEWA-SATI, LIGERON, MARTEC, TEMEX) for a total budget of about 4,34 M€. Customers' requirements To keep in good position in the concurrence competition, Fret SNCF must be able to propose new services to its customers. They require information delivered 24 hours a day to be kept informed of the position, the state of their goods and the schedule of delivery. Today, there are solutions for the follow-up of whole trains (engines equipped with GPS-GSM equipment). But the follow-up of the single wagons is more difficult because they can be stationed out of a train (changing in marshalling yard, freight station...). In addition, the diagnosis of the state of the goods is particularly significant for the freight operator to be ensured of the good conditions until the handing-over of the goods (example: stability of the pressure in a gases tanks). SNCF requirements SNCF actors of the production, marketing, technique, safety and safety processes were consulted to establish the functions of the system TR@IN-MD. The interests can thus be divided in five axes: § To accelerate the treatment of the HG events, by providing reliable information to the actors. It is a question of precisely identifying the wagon, the goods type and the customer, the causes, the gravity level to make the operator concentrates on the management of the event. § To anticipate the consequences of an event and the re-establishment of transport planning, by visualizing as fast as possible the impacted freight resources freight (slots, engines, drivers, wagons) directly or indirectly touched by the event. § To reinforce the safety of transport, while ensuring the conformity and the state of the goods along its transport. This can be also contributing to clearly identify the responsibilities in case of an event. § To provide new services to the customers, initially the tracing and tracing of goods linked with the new products range of services provided by Fret SNCF. § To optimize the management of fleet of the wagons, by remotely diagnosing their state and studying a posteriori the movements to optimize the scheduling. All these functionalities must be available at the international range. Aims of the projects The TR@IN-MD project aims the implementation of an innovative supervision system of HG traffics, based both on on-board and ground equipments connecting the concerned actors. The functionalities provided by the system will integrate: § Real-time and delayed tracking and tracing information, relayed to internal SNCF actors and customers through the Fret SNCF customers Web portal. § Detection of abnormal movements or staying of wagons. § Information for the management fleet of wagon, with indication of the state empty or loaded and can be back analysed. § Real-time diagnosis of the wagon and its goods state (leakage or abnormal pression or temperature detection, detecting moving of bodies, etc). The TR@IN-MD project aims at providing: § A better quality of service passing by a new service offered to the customers, which should make it possible to the conveyor to collect new shares of market.