The solution to achieve
FERROVIA 4.0 involves the development of new digital and high-tech components for the different aspects of the railway industry, particularly focused on sustainability, energy management, and digitalization.
Main mission
With the strong experience of the MCG teams in this area, MCG transportation will have an active contribution to the development of:
- A new generation of heated, independent, and self-regulating flooring that will work at low voltage, a characteristic that makes this solution safer and with less constructive requirements from the electrical point of view and routine testing.
- New ceiling panels or modular partitions, with the integration of sensors and new features, and using sustainable materials in terms of thermal and acoustic insulation. A solution that continues the MCG transportation work in the Iris project.
- A new structure for a suburban train seat will be designed by the FERROVIA4.0 consortium. An area in which MCG transportation demonstrates experience in developing the seat for trains of the Modseat project.
The project has as main objective the development of different components, tools, and systems that will be tested on real infrastructures oriented towards the economic and ecological sustainability of the railway system, reducing operational and maintenance costs and providing support to management decision making assets and to the creation of security platforms.
It is also the ambition of the project to ensure that cybersecurity technologies and methodologies are incorporated into the structure of information and communication technologies of the railway system, in order to avoid unwanted intrusions.
The latest news
MCG contributes to the advancement of the Ferrovia 4.0 R&D project
MCG is now in charge of several key tasks in the Ferrovia 4.0 R&D project, with MCG Transportation development teams strongly contributing to the progress of the processes.
Ferrovia 4.0 project relies on the national mobilization of several entities and companies that will reply to the technological and market challenges of the current and future railway sector.
The consortium working group has already defined the suburban train profile as the “target” of this development. Technical specifications have been detailed for each subsystem, with MCG intervening in the design of the vehicle’s pavement and partition.
The environment for the interior of the carriage has also been conceptualized, whose mission is to demonstrate the Portuguese capacity in fields of design and production of railway interior systems, prioritizing aspects such as functionality, interactivity, and comfort – the “experience felt by the passenger”.
Sustainable materials will be used (recyclable and reusable), incorporating smart components and optimized energy management.
MCG’s ‘specialty’
The irradiation heating technology to be used in the floors developed in this project is one of the points where MCG intervenes the most, with the main objective of lowering the risk of critical system failure and improving the ratio between usable area and heated area.
In this segment, MCG is currently prototyping the Magic Box, an innovative management system that will allow for the energy control of heating. It will be possible to reduce consumption and monitor several parameters without any field instrumentation.
More than that, the Magic Box will provide the customer with real-time control of the entire heating system, enhancing the comfort levels of users. This system and its functionalities represent a huge qualitative leap compared to the current system usually applied in the current Transportation market.
Ferrovia 4.0 project consortium is led by EFACEC Engenharia and is complete with MCG and all the companies that integrate the Portuguese Railway Platform cluster.
1 | HEATED FLOOR SYSTEM WITH MAGIC BOX CONTROLLER
2 | INTELLIGENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR HEATING AND ENERGY CONSUMPTION
3 | CONCEPT MODULE SEATS – INTERACTIVE AND SUSTAINABLE
4 | MINIMAL CONCEPT PARTITION WALL – ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
Consortium composition
MCG, Almadesign, Evoleo Technologies, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto, INEGI – Instituto de Ciência e Inovação em Engenharia Mecânica e Engenharia Industrial. Infraestruturas de Portugal, S.A., InovaMais, Instituto de Investigação e Desenvolvimento Tecnológico em Ciências da Construção, Instituto de Soldadura e Qualidade, Instituto Politécnico do Porto, Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Lisboa, Instituto Superior Técnico, ISEP – Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto, IT – Instituto de Telecomunicações, Laboratório Nacional de Engenharia Civil, Mota-Engil, Nomad Tech, PFP- Associação da Plataforma Ferroviária Portuguesa, Solvit, Universidade de Coimbra e Universidade do Minho.
Project website
Full sheet
Project title:
FERROVIA 4.0
Project code:
POCI-01-0247-FEDER-046111
Main goal:
Strengthen research, technological development, and innovation.
Intervention region:
Center, Lisbon, North
Beneficiary:
EFACEC Engenharia e Sistemas, S.A.
Start date:
2020-07-01
Date of the conclusion:
2023-06-30
Total eligible cost:
8.445.654,40 EUR
European Union financial support through the FEDER:
4.187.734,77 EUR
Co-financing
