Marathon2Operation, a Shift2Rail project for radio communication and simulation of train dynamics for distributed power within long trains

The paper reports the main objectives of the European research project Marathon2Operation (M2O). This project aims to define the best train configurations with distributed traction and communication via GSM-R radio technology, compared to longitudinal dynamics and to demonstrate their safety through a safety analysis independently assessed. The analysis involves trains with two up to four traction units. The trains analyzed are randomly composed, considering different types of wagons and different mass distributions along the train, to be representative of the operational reality. The first results of the project allow identifying some families of distributed traction trains (these are coupled trains) that have a behavior of longitudinal dynamics (also considering the degraded operation, i.e. with radio problems) similar to that of some trains currently running.