Poland will host a new round of Digital Automatic Coupling (DAC) tests in Poznań from August, focusing on whether coupler heads and draft gears from different manufacturers can be combined safely and reliably. The 12-week campaign is the next stage of the EU-backed FP5-DACtiVate project.
The tests will involve Polish research institute Łukasiewicz–Poznański Instytut Technologiczny and PKP S.A., the parent company of the PKP Cargo, both of which are taking part in DAC testing for the first time. Preparations were discussed at a recent Berlin workshop for the EU-backed DAC testing project FP5-DACtiVate, where the Polish partners reviewed lessons from earlier campaigns, including work carried out in Görlitz this spring.
According to project partner Rail Swedenthe Poznań programme will focus on the project’s “Mix and Match” concept, under which the coupler head and draft gear are treated as separate components connected through a defined interface. This allows components from different manufacturers to be combined, rather than requiring a complete coupler from a single supplier.
The approach is intended to make maintenance, spare-parts management and the transition from screw couplers to DAC more flexible. Testing in Poland will include hump-yard impact and failure-mode trials, with the project bringing together DAC suppliers Dellner, Knorr-Bremse, Voith and Wabtec. However, the specific coupler-head and draft-gear combinations to be tested in Poznań have not yet been disclosed.
From bench tests to track trials
FP5-DACtiVate is a testing-focused complement to the wider FP5-TRANS4M-R programme. Putting existing designs and specifications through the additional trials needed before pre-deployment, its work covers coupler safety and component interchangeability, wagon onboard units, and hybrid-coupler integration on mainline and shunting locomotives.
The Poznań results will feed into a risk analysis and validation plan for Mix and Match configurations, with a public test report due before the project ends in December 2026. Formal certification and authorisation fall outside FP5-DACtiVate’s scope. Coordinated by Deutsche Bahn, the 10.7 million euros project involves 21 partners and has received 5.9 million euros in EU funding.
