DB Cargo UK chose CORYS as its partner for a novel mobile training facility. And the challenge was a significant one: CORYS had to think outside the box to design and configure a set of simulators that could fit inside a UK trailer while still providing the necessary functionality for operators, trainers, and trainees.
As the ETCS rollout advances, UK operators are taking steps to keep up with increased training needs. DB Cargo UK came up with an ingenious solution: a mobile training facility to take the classroom to the learners, avoiding the travel time and expenses associated with bringing drivers to a central training facility.
While the project is unusual, it is not the first time CORYS has integrated its simulators into a mobile environment. This time, however, CORYS had to work with a local UK-based company, selected independently by the customer, on the trailer. The project was complex, and the two companies had never worked together before.
Ingenious design for a highly optimized space
CORYS and Cosby Suppliers Limited rapidly shifted into high gear together, collaborating brilliantly to find creative solutions to problems like limited space and a pop-up roof. The people at Cosby – which designs and builds trailers for TV broadcast and Formula 1 racing teams – drew on their extensive experience to recommend clever small-space solutions like three-position ultra-light simulator stations that lower when in use, lift completely to create an area for non-simulator training sessions, and lock in place halfway up to allow the pop-up roof to be closed when the trailer is on the move.
As for CORYS full scope simulators, they were longer than the width of the trailer. But CORYS engineers were able to modify the chassis, shaving off 20 centimetres behind the driver’s seat. The smaller simulator fits inside the trailer without perceptibly altering the realism of the cabin. Additional space had to be found for the electrical cabinets, too – a quest that led to practical add-ons like storage drawers for spare parts and headsets not found in standard-sized simulator setups.
Space wasn’t the only challenge. CORYS had to find connectivity solutions that would allow the mobile training facility to synchronize and transmit data, working tirelessly with DB Cargo UK and local telecoms operators to identify a suitable 4G-5G solution. “DB CARGO and CORYS worked together – and with Cosby, whose expertise proved vital to the project – to create a mobile training solution ideal for any region where drivers are geographically dispersed or where travel to a central training location is cost-prohibitive or impractical,” said Damien Granjon of CORYS.
The fully equipped mobile training facility was delivered in July 2024 and is ready to roll.
