Digital automatic coupling (DAC) has been developed in the 2020s to replace the English
Buffers and chain couplings, initially in Europe.
It resembles the
Scharfenberg coupler with extra contacts to join electrical circuits (power, detection and control) and air hoses.
Advantages
* Longer trains up to 750m.
* Brakes remotely controlled like
ECPB
Electronically controlled pneumatic brakes are a type of modern Railway brake, railway braking system which offer improved performance compared to traditional railway air brakes.
Overview
Traditional train braking systems use pneumatic valves t ...
.
* Monitoring of train and wagon performance.
* Safety. No need for
shunter to climb between buffers.
Other systems
Couplings based on
AAR
AAR or Aar may refer to:
Geography
* Aar, a river in Switzerland, tributary of the Rhine
*Aar (Lahn), a tributary of Lahn river in Germany, descending from the Taunus mountains
* Aar (Dill), a tributary of Dill river in Germany, also in the bas ...
and
SA3 already have automated mechanical couplings, so do some of the advantageous features of DAC are lessened. These have a maximum draw gear load well in excess of that possible with the DAC, say 1800m instead of 750m.
Makers
*
Dellner
*
Knorr Bresme
Videos
* Demonstration of DAC 1
* Demonstration of DAC 2
See also
*
Railway coupling
A coupling (or a coupler) is a mechanism typically placed at each end of a railway vehicle that connects them together to form a train. A variety of coupler types have been developed over the course of railway history. Key issues in their desig ...
*
Railway coupling by country
The railcar couplers or couplings listed, described, and depicted below are used worldwide on legacy and modern railways. Compatible and similar designs are frequently referred to using widely differing make, brand, regional or nick names, which ...
* Shift2Rail
*
Knorr-Bremse
References
{{reflist
Rail technologies