For the train classification of the future: another milestone in automation

DB Cargo is actively shaping the future of rail freight transport and is working with project partners to develop the fully automatic hump locomotive (VAL) to series production readiness.
VAL technology makes it possible to combine trains more efficiently for onward transportation. This strengthens  competitiveness of single freight car transport and makes rail freight transport even more attractive as an environmentally friendly means of transport for the sustainable logistics of the future. 

With the development of the fully automated hump locomotive, we are opening another chapter in the digitalization and automation of rail freight transport. This creates more profitability for DB Cargo and more operational quality - and thus fully contributes to the DB Group's S3 turnaround program.

Dr Sigrid Nikutta, Member of the Management Board for Freight Transport at Deutsche Bahn AG

In the marshaling yards, freight trains are broken up, wagons are sorted and put together to form new trains. Until now, this has largely been done manually. In future, fully automatic hump locomotives will take over this task. Their automation technology is being developed to series maturity in collaboration with the two Bosch subsidiaries Bosch Engineering GmbH and ITK Engineering GmbH.

Innovative technology for switching

The VAL uses state-of-the-art sensor technologies to make switching efficient. It combines 4D lidar for precise object recognition, cameras for reliable detection of signal positions and a highly accurate geolocation system that enables millimetre-precise localization on the digital map. The system works on the basis of deterministic algorithms. 

Future-oriented use of the fully automatic hump locomotive from 2028

Following successful prototype tests at the Munich North classification yard and the official start of series development in October 2024, the VAL will gradually be deployed in DB Cargo's most important marshaling yards in single freight car transport from 2028. 
The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV) as part of the "Future Rail Freight Transport" funding program.

The fully automated hump locomotive VAL is a technological innovation and stands for change in rail freight transport. With projects such as the VAL, DB Cargo shows how automation, intelligent software and sustainable logistics solutions can make single freight car transport more economical, efficient and environmentally friendly.