DZM Minden - RailCampus OWL

Mobility of the future
RailCampus OWL in Minden

Transformation through
research

The RailCampus OWL in Minden provides a Germany-wide network for future tasks – as a place for research, development and testing, and as a campus for study and further training.

The RailCampus OWL in Minden is a project location of the “German Centre for Future Mobility (DZM)”, which is supported by the Federal Ministry of Digitalisation and Transport (BMDV). At RailCampus OWL, a consortium of universities, Fraunhofer Institutes and companies is driving forward technologies for automated, rail-based mobility concepts. Interdisciplinary project teams are researching and developing the necessary basic technologies and identifying interfaces between rail-based mobility and other modes of transport. The aim is to help shape the transformation of transport in a way that is demand-driven, user-friendly for all travellers, climate-, environment- and resource-friendly, affordable, economical, intelligent and resilient.

Four DZM locations

RailCampus OWL is one of four DZM project locations with a focus on smart mobility.

The respective focal points of the DZM locations are:
→ Networked mobility – city, state and region as a functional unit (Karlsruhe)
→ Digital connectivity & innovative network technologies (Hamburg)
→ Digitalisation of climate-friendly rail transport through the development of innovative technologies (Annaberg-Buchholz and Minden)

The four locations are linked through a series of events such as conferences, seminars, and also summer and winter schools. These serve to promote communication in the political, economic and social spheres as well as cooperation between the locations. The aim is to exploit synergies and work together on cross-system aspects of future mobility.

DZM Locations >

The Minden location

The current DZM research project at Minden – with funding of €12.5 million and a duration of 36 months – is called enableATO: Enabling automated rail transport as a basis for sustainable, networked mobility in rural areas. New vehicle concepts, reopening of lines, and increasing interfaces between other modes of transport and the current rail system will play a special role in rural areas. This creates and requires cooperation interfaces with other DZM locations. The project will demonstrate and intensively investigate rail-based options. A model mobility hub is planned in the vicinity of the RailCampus OWL at Minden railway station.

Focus on vehicles

The RailCampus OWL in Minden has a clear focus on rail technology with an emphasis on vehicles. The RailCampus OWL aims to expand its networking with other research institutions and activities in the rail community. Specific exchange formats will be developed with the Smart Rail Connectivity Campus (SRCC) in Annaberg-Buchholz and the German Centre for Rail Transport Research (DZSF). Cooperation with other research institutions will be sought through joint national and European research and development projects.