Railway Brake Systems: Framework, Requirements, and Solutions

About Raphael Pfaff

Raphael Pfaff is Professor of Rail Vehicle Engineering at the FH Aachen University of Applied Science. He also serves as a chair of Rail Vehicles at RWTH Aachen University since February 2025.  After an apprenticeship as cabinet maker he studied Mechatronics Mathematics and Control Engineering in Bochum Hagen and Coventry respectively. He gained his masters degree in control engineering in 2006 and joined Siemens as a system engineer in that year. In parallel he was  pursuing his PhD studies in part-time at Coventry University . In 2008 Raphael Pfaff moved to Faiveley Transport a railway company which is now part of Wabtec. There he started working as a brake system engineer e.g. for the Vectron locomotive and the new German high speed train ICE4. In 2014 he applied for a professorship role in rail vehicle engineering at the FH Aachen University of Applied Sciences where he is currently responsible for the undergraduate course in rail vehicle engineering. His research interests cover:  digitalization modeling and simulation prognostics and health management  of rail vehicles as well as the development of self-driving capabilities for railway shunting.