Modular concept brings rail and road transport closer together

The German Aerospace Center (DLR), in collaboration with Siemens Mobility and European partners, has developed Pods4Rail, an automated mobility concept designed to integrate rail transport with road networks and cable car systems. The modular system pairs standardized capsules (pods) for passengers and freight with mobile carrier units equipped with mode-specific chassis, propulsion, power supply, and technical subsystems.

Supermodality and Automated Intermodal Architecture
Coordinated by Siemens Mobility, the project involved 15 participating organizations across seven European countries and received approximately three million euros in funding through the Europe's Rail Joint Undertaking and the Horizon Europe research program. DLR served as the primary research partner, contributing technical expertise from five institutes across rail and road vehicle development chains.

The central architecture rests on "supermodality," enabling seamless end-to-end transport across multiple modes without requiring passengers or cargo to transfer between capsules. In an operational sequence, a pod initiates transit on a road-based carrier in rural or capillary areas, transfers automatically to a rail carrier at a multimodal hub to traverse long-distance rail lines with other pods, and maintains the primary rail infrastructure as the system's high-capacity, energy-efficient backbone. The study also evaluated the physical and operational integration of cable car networks into the transfer framework.

Manuel Osebek, DLR project lead at the Institute of Vehicle Concepts, stated that the aim of Pods4Rail is to deliver door-to-door mobility where passengers and freight remain inside the same capsule throughout the journey while being transferred between carrier units as required. Beyond vehicle architectures, the research analyzed pod-to-carrier connection mechanisms, automation protocols, required ground infrastructure, and digital operating concepts.




User Requirements, Applications, and Business Scenarios
Initial research stages evaluated existing intermodal mobility systems and potential application domains, assessing technical performance parameters, user acceptance, accessibility, environmental metrics, and economic viability. DLR conducted user surveys and benchmarked existing vehicle concepts to define system requirements.

The project identified more than 20 potential applications and established eight business scenarios, spanning on-demand passenger transit on underutilized regional branch lines, parcel and express logistics networks, and mobile medical facilities. These operational profiles established the baseline technical specifications for pods, carrier units, automated handling mechanisms, and overall mobility management systems.

Technical Feasibility, Vehicle Systems, and Regulatory Alignment
DLR focused on translating system requirements into technically viable vehicle concepts, analyzing lightweight modular vehicle structures, thermal climate control within pods, energy consumption profiles, and physical chassis-pod interfaces. Research also addressed vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication, alongside traffic management integration.

In addition, DLR evaluated regulatory approval procedures, safety standards, and functional requirements across road and rail domains. These parameters guided the engineering design of passenger transport cabins, freight containers, carrier platforms, and automated locking and transfer mechanisms.

Follow-up Development and PREFER Initiative
The Pods4Rail framework provides a foundation for flexible infrastructure utilization and mode integration, particularly for demand-responsive services on regional branch lines. The project results establish the groundwork for component refinement and larger-scale testing to address regulatory approval, economic viability, and network integration. Further development will continue under the follow-up project PREFER (Pods and Regional Flexible Efficient Rolling Stock).

Edited by Romila DSilva, Induportals Editor, with AI assistance.