AERRL’s view on current and future obstacles to the full deployment of DAC for locomotives.
AERRL wants to express its commitment to the DAC Common Sector Statement signed in 2023 and what it stands for. This paper is intended as a way to showcase our worries and raise awareness of what we believe are and will be the obstacles to a full DAC deployment for locomotives.
Contrary to the EU carbon neutrality targets, the market share of rail freight is today declining. A strong push for innovation and digitalization is therefore needed to stop and invert this trend. Coordinated deployment of technologies such as ERTMS and DAC is considered the main pillar of this transformation. AERRL members today represent 64% of the locomotive leasing market in Europe . Lessors are today major investors in the railway sector and catalysts of innovation. We, therefore, welcome the uptake of interest in the Digital Automatic Coupler (DAC) project and its positive development. Nonetheless, there are some points of concern for locomotive keepers that we would like to address collaboratively.