Yesterday the new railway testing and certification circuit in Bologna San Donato to the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Galeazzo Bignami, with the presence of President Dario Lo Bosco.
This is a new RFI laboratory that aims to be a point of reference in Europe for research, innovation and development in the transport sector.
Created by RFI, the leading company of the Infrastructure Hub of the FS Group, with an investment of 30 million eurosthe Circuit offers companies that build trains and infrastructure systems a certified environment in which to carry out tests for the approval of their products, a sector served until now only by the Velim circuitin the Czech Republic.
The new plant, born from the conversion of a disused portion of the former San Donato freight yard, is located on the outskirts of the city.
Connected but totally independent to the commercial railway network, it guarantees full operation and no interference with passenger or freight rail traffic.
Thanks to the investments made and the new Academy of the Infrastructure Hub, the Bologna San Donato Circuit is now able to offer companies manufacturing trains and railway technological systems the possibility of experimenting and testing both ground and on-board safety equipment, applicable to railway circulation and signaling.
In fact, they already are 10 large companies have signed contracts with RFI to test their products in Bologna San Donato.
Among the technologies developed by RFI present at the Bologna San Donato Circuit is the terrestrial drone: an autonomous vehicle which, at a maximum speed of 100 km/h, is able to ensure the safety of the line by detecting frontal and lateral obstacles.
An operator can remotely manage the drone’s pre-set mission, monitoring its progress in real time and intervening manually if necessary.
