China's biggest train producer and world's largest wind tunnel go big

Train travel is often subject to delays or cancellations due to extreme weather. 

To reduce this risk, China's biggest train producer, CRRC, is set to conduct snow and ice research at the world's largest wind tunnel 'RTA' in Vienna.

"The research cooperation with CRRC is dealing with snow and ice accumulation on certain components," RTA's technical director Gabriel Haller told CGTN Europe. 

"We can validate their research activities by doing real tests."

CRRC and Vienna's RTA wind tunnel signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2023 to intensify future joint research.

In extreme weather, the proper functioning of pantographs, the train-top apparatus which collects power from an overhead line, can prevent delays and line failures. 

Wind tunnel mastermind

Vehicle tests like the ones in the Austrian capital are essential, not just for reliability but also for safety during adverse weather conditions. At very low temperatures, rubber components get stiff and break apart. Entire electronic systems can fail too.

"We do not have to wait for the next extreme winter - we can simulate it," Haller added. "We are guiding the air through a fan downstream then to the test section and there we are testing the test objects."

Haller is the mastermind behind the world's only climatic wind tunnel that can fit an entire train. One click is enough to lower the temperature to minus 45 degrees Celsius or increase the wind speed to 250 kilometers per hour.

China's state-owned train manufacturer CRRC, which is the biggest in the world, has been using the Viennese wind tunnel for over 10 years - most recently to test the windscreen wipers of its Bison locomotive. 

The multiple-voltage freight train, which can operate on different countries' rail tracks, will begin running on Hungarian tracks soon. It will be operated by a subsidiary of Austrian Railways.

CRRC has big plans for Europe's competitive railway market. 

After basing its continental headquarters in Vienna, China's biggest train producer has bought a locomotive production site in Germany and is now test driving its Bison train in Hungary, ready for operation across Central and Eastern Europe.