Issue 3 2007, Past issues / 6 June 2007 /
On 15 April 2007, the RPM-RS-900 from the SPTIZKE Group celebrated its construction première in Germany. For the first time, the machine works to improve the formation, cleaning and recycling of ballast – all in a single machine complex. Renewing the substructure of tracks is now performed by 200 metres of state-of-the-art high performance technology. (more…)
Issue 2 2007, Past issues / 3 April 2007 /
Stations are the gateways to rail systems and they often act as the centrepiece of a city or a region. Their visual appearance and the services they provide are essential to customer satisfaction and have a major influence on the attractiveness of rail.
Stations are a key link in the travel chain and are increasingly developing into meeting points that offer a wide range of shopping and catering facilities, plus a choice of services designed to meet the needs of today’s traveller. From station parking and wireless Internet access to special services for holders of First Class tickets for DB’s long-distance services, customer comfort and convenience are available along the entire travel chain. Stations also play a key role in successful urban development, and German railway stations have come a long way since the beginning of the rail reform. Numerous stations have been rebuilt and modernised. The ‘Renaissance of Railway Stations’ which was presented at the Venice Architectural Biennial in 1996, signalled the start of the revitalisation of attractive travel and service centres. Over the last few years, several construction projects have been successfully completed in northern Germany – such as the central stations in Hanover, Kiel, Rostock and Oldenburg.
In northern Germany, Lübeck Central Station is the last major station revitalisation project to be completed within the framework of the station development programme that began in the mid-nineties. The station lacked the requirements of a modern, customer-friendly and barrier-free station and had to be brought in line with today’s standards in order to meet the demands of approximately 320 trains and 31,000 visitors a day. At a cost of roughly €45 million, it is now being transformed into an ultra-modern passenger station. The station had originally been built in 1908, based on a design submitted by Professor Fritz Klingholz of Lübeck-Büchener-Eisenbahn (LBE), to replace the station erected in 1851 near the Holstentor Gate, and became an important stopping point on the ‘Vogelfluglinie’ (flying bird line) that ran from Hamburg to Scandinavia from the 1960s. But it is not only the Lübeck Central Station that is getting fit for the future – the railway infrastructure in the district around Lübeck is also subject to an extensive modernisation programme.
With the reunification of the two German states in 1990, Lübeck moved from the border regions into the very heart of Europe. The railway infrastructure, which had been reduced to a small number of border crossing points, particularly after the Wall had gone up in 1962, had to be rebuilt. Reunified Germany still had to be unified again in terms of its railway infrastructure. Just a few days after the Wall came down, preparations began for a modernisation programme, the likes of which had never been seen before in the history of Germany railways. As early as November 1989, railway employees in eastern and western Germany got down to reactivating and upgrading the key rail links between the two parts of Germany. On 28 June 1990, in a statement on the state of the transport union, the two German ministers of transport presented a programme of nine projects to bridge the existing gaps and, in April 1991, the German government approved the programme of German Unification Transport Projects. A total of 17 ‘German Unification Transport Projects’ covered the upgrading and construction of approximately 2,000 kilometres of track. ‘German Unification Transport Project No. 1’ included the upgrading of the lines from Lübeck and Hagenow Land via Bad Kleinen and Rostock to Stralsund, to link up Mecklenburg-Vorpommern with the European rail network. The cost for upgrading the 242-kilometre line was in the region of €800 million.
Electrification of the Hamburg-Lübeck-Travemünde line has also been planned in order to cope with the continuing growth in traffic volume. The aim is to increase line capacity, reduce travel times, relieve road traffic and increase competitiveness. The project is divided up into six planning permission sections. Approval has been granted for three sections. Electrification is scheduled for completion in time for the timetable changeover in 2008, with double-track upgrade following in time for the changeover in 2009. Improvements that have been planned include doubling the single-track sections on the Schwartau-Waldhalle – Lübeck-Kücknitz line, the construction of a new converter station in Lübeck-Genin and the electrification of the Hamburg-Lübeck-Travemünde line, including the link to the Hamburg freight bypass line and electrification of some sections of the Lübeck docks rail network. As part of the electrification project, extensive work is also to be completed to provide the necessary gauge clearance, thus ensuring that sufficient space is available for the catenary. For this purpose, four new road bridges will have to be built. In other places, tracks under bridges will have to be lowered to make up for the limited height of the bridge structures. Electrification will not only provide the line between greater Lübeck and Hamburg with a much improved link to Germany’s electrified rail network and beyond. Freight transport in the Baltic region will also benefit. In addition to the catenary work required for the electrification project, modifications to the signalling and telecommunications systems also have to be completed. As a result of the poor subsoil conditions in the Schwartau and Trave River basin districts, pile foundations will have to be constructed in two areas to stabilise the track superstructure for a total length of 1.6 kilometres. Grouting is also required for a length of 300 metres to stabilise the subsoil.
In addition to Lübeck Central Station, the railway station at the famous Lübeck-Travemünde seaside resort has been renewed at a cost of approximately €2.3 million. The station, which was re-opened in May 2006, is now spacious enough for the new Welcome Centre of Lübeck und Travemünde Tourist-Service GmbH. A complete facelift of the foyer at Travemünde Beach Station will transform it into a modern, customer-friendly station. The station has a history dating back almost 100 years and the project will also include the refurbishment of the platform roof – part of which has been designated as a protected building. The successful synthesis of historical building and modern facilities has given the beach station a new lease of life and created a delightful showcase of Travemünde. In the foyer, some of the brickwork has been removed from the semi-timbered walls and replaced by large areas of glass. The entire floor of the reception hall has been renewed, while retaining the original pattern, to provide the perfect finishing touch. In close cooperation with the monument conservation authorities, the commercial units have also been redesigned to provide a pleasant overall effect. On an area of approximately 240 square metres, new commercial units have been created and new toilet facilities provided. The new sales concept is designed to provide the customer with a new quality of service. The focal point of the station foyer is the new Welcome Centre of Lübeck und Travemünde Tourist-Service GmbH, covering an area of approximately 200 square metres. It provides a first-class tourist service for visitors to the Baltic Sea health resort. The overall concept, in addition to offering personal advice and booking services, also includes a service area with two Internet workstations and a lounge in which visitors can study the offers and brochures available. An information terminal has also been provided outside the Welcome Centre, which provides round-the-clock access to the information and reservation system operated by Lübeck und Travemünde Tourist-Service GmbH, including important information on Travemünde and the possibility of booking a hotel, at any time of the day or night. The historically protected roof covering the main platform area and the concourse roof have been refurbished. The platforms have been renewed and provided with seating, information display cabinets and litter bins. The lighting and the wayfinding system are also new, and the historical train departure indicator in the tower of the station foyer is in operation again. Each day, approximately 1,600 travellers and visitors use Lübeck-Travemünde Beach Station, which was built in 1912, with approximately 30 trains departing from and terminating at Travemünde daily.
Lübeck Central Station is thus in the middle of some extensive restructuring work being completed by Deutsche Bahn in northern Germany. The client for the station and for all the other construction work carried out on the stations is DB Station&Service AG, which is responsible for the operation of some 5,400 railway stations in Germany. Project management for the modernisation work is handled by DB Projektbau GmbH, which co-ordinates and controls many of the construction projects implemented by Deutsche Bahn AG. The complete renewal of Lübeck Central Station, the planning for which began in 2001, is broken down into three areas:
The passenger bridge, which is 100 metres in length and spans all the platforms, is to be completely rebuilt and, due to the planned electrification of the Hamburg-Lübeck-Travemünde line, will be raised by approximately 60cm. New commercial units on the bridge are also planned. The 21-metre wide bridge is split into a walkway 10 metres for the sales and service area. Access to the platforms are by the historical staircases. Additional stairwells and wheelchair-friendly lifts that can carry up to 26 persons have also been added.
The entire platform hall, with a length of 130 metres and a width of 85 metres, will be completely dismantled and rebuilt in its historical form using elements approved by the German monument conservation authorities. The roof covering the four halls has a total area of approximately 12,000m2, and over 2,200 tons of steel will be used for the construction of the platform hall.
The four so-called central platforms will be renewed over their entire length of 320 metres each with an access height of 76cm. New seating, a new wayfinding system and a passenger information system round off the entire project. In the process, over 12,000m2 of new platform surface covering will be laid.
The rebuilding of the central station will be completed in 17 construction phases extending from May 2003 until July 2007. In phases 1 to 6a, a temporary arrangement was set up to take passengers across the luggage bridge; the station concourse, the passenger bridge and the track superstructures were removed. The reusable parts of the station concourse and the passenger bridge were stored temporarily in Lübeck Schlutup. In phases 6b to 17, the platforms were removed and then rebuilt, and the platform hall along with its foundations and the façade renewed. In February 2005, work on the construction of the new platform hall, passenger bridge and platforms began. The complete renewal of the central station was conducted, as is usual for Deutsche Bahn, with no interruptions to normal train services, since it is simply not possible to close down a railway station completely during an extended reconstruction stage. The civil engineering concept guaranteed that any 3 of the 4 platforms remained in service even during the reconstruction phase and that train services were organised to ensure that travellers experienced no timetable restrictions. Train stops that varied from one construction phase to the other were a particular challenge in terms of the information provided by the station staff, who handled the situation in an excellent manner. To provide access to the platforms and passenger information while construction was going on, the old luggage bridge was modified and equipped accordingly. The platforms were successively opened to passengers between May 2005 and July 2006. The opening of the platform hall and passenger bridge will take place in summer 2007.
Matthias Hudaff is responsible for large-scale infrastructure projects in the Hamburg metropolitan region and in Schleswig-Holstein. After completing his studies in civil engineering at the University of Hanover (TU), he was employed with Hamburger Verkehrsverbund, the Hamburg transport association, from 1992 to 1996 in transport planning and optimisation activities for Hamburg’s local transport system. From 1996 to 1998, he was involved in the completion of projects for Hamburg-Consult, including the transport strategy for the city of Bratislava, the integrated bus and rail network in Saarbrücken and the overall transport concept for the Hanseatic city of Rostock. He was head of the technical centre of the North branch of DB Station&Service AG from 1998 to 2000. And from 2000 to 2006, he was Project Manager for Rostock Central Station (€77 million), Kiel Central Station (€30 million), Lübeck Central Station (€45 million) and the S-Bahn link to Hamburg airport (€280 million).
Issue 2 2007, Past issues / 3 April 2007 /
In the middle years of this decade, the German rolling stock market was quiet. The big post-reunification boom in orders in the 1990s was followed by a lull, as the German government sought to rein in public spending and prepare Deutsche Bahn AG for privatisation.
The quietening of the market was reflected in the figures for Siemens Transportation Systems, the large German railway equipment manufacturer, where the home market accounted for over a third of sales in 2003. By 2006, this proportion had dropped below 15% as Asia and other regions grew in importance while Germany stagnated.
However, the German market is now experiencing a modest rebound, with the regional sector particularly strong. Illustrating this was an order confirmed with Bombardier Transportation on 19 February 2007, when DB signed a framework contract for the supply of 321 new Talent 2 electric multiple-unit trains to be used on the regional network throughout Germany. This order is valued at approximately €1.2 billion and deliveries will begin in 2009.
The Talent multiple-unit is a standard Bombardier design, with more than 450 trains in service in Germany, Norway, Austria and Canada. Trains vary from two to six cars in length, with different propulsion power options available, depending on the number of driven axles. There are up to two swing-plug doors on each side of the car and the internal layout can be altered to suit operator needs.
Orders continue to be placed for suburban EMUs. A consortium of Bombardier and Alstom Transport won an order worth €343 milion at the close of 2005 for 78×4-car EMUs for the Rhein-Ruhr S-Bahn, with an option for a further 72 units. The trains are due to be delivered between March 2008 and October 2010.
All 312 bodies are to be manufactured at Alstom’s Salzgitter plant, as are 156 end bogies. Also, 51 sets will be assembled there. Bombardier is drawing on factories from across Germany for its share of the order: electrical equipment will come from Mannheim and articulated bogies from Siegen, while Hennigsdorf (Berlin) will assemble 27 sets.
Meanwhile, an option was exercised last year for additional Class ET 425.2 four-car electric multiple units. DB signed a Euro 362 million framework agreement with a consortium of Bombardier and Siemens in 2001 which entailed the delivery of more than 80 of these trains.
The new call-off, worth €63 million, is for 13 additional trains: these are intended for suburban rail transport in the Hannover region, and are scheduled to be delivered from mid-2008. They should go into passenger service with the new timetable in December 2008.
As the consortium leader, Bombardier will manufacture nine of these Class 425.2 trains, while Siemens will build the remaining four. For its share of the contract, Bombardier will undertake the construction of the car bodies and final assembly of the trains at its site in Hennigsdorf; the bogies will be manufactured in Siegen, while the electrical fittings for the nine trains will be produced by the firm’s facility in Mannheim. The Siemens trains will be manufactured at that company’s Krefeld plant.
A total of 236 multiple-units from the 425 Series have been delivered since March 2000 and they are in operation in the regions of Hannover, Mannheim, Stuttgart, Essen, Magdeburg, Trier, Saarbrücken and Cologne. The Class 425s have a maximum speed of 140km/h and can accommodate 433 passengers, 204 of which seated. The four-car units are 67.5 metres long and 2.84 metres wide, and have an entry height of 798 mm.
Double-deckers were produced in factories in the former East Germany for many years and following reunification and the plants’ acquisition by Bombardier, suburban double-deckers have become a staple in that firm’s catalogue. DB operates a total of more than 1,400 Bombardier double-deck coaches, and Bombardier double-deckers are also in service in Israel, Denmark and Luxembourg.
DB placed an order last October for 42 more double-deck vehicles, which was valued at about €57 million. This represents the third option in a 2003 framework agreement that included an order for 298 double-deck coaches and options on another 300 vehicles. Delivery of the 298 double-deck coaches of the base contract is nearly completed, and another 49 vehicles were ordered in 2005 and 2006. The new vehicles are to be delivered during the second half of 2008.
The double-deckers will be built at Bombardier’s Görlitz site, while the Siegen plant will supply the bogies. Most of the 12 cab and 30 trailer cars of this Deutsche Bahn order will go into service on the Taunus route in Frankfurt-am-Main; three cab cars are envisaged for operation in South Hesse.
The local lines for which regional government is responsible have been generating a steady trickle of orders. Manufacturers have been scoring with orders for lightweight multiple-units.
A recent example is an order for 25×4-car Flirt electric multiple-units won by the Pankow (Berlin) factory of Swiss manufacturer Stadler. Angel Trains Europa, the Continental arm of the Royal Bank of Scotland’s rolling stock leasing subsidiary, is financing this €100 million order. The trains will be brought into service from the end of next year onwards by Keolis, which has the concession to operate regional services around Hamm.
Another company being supplied with rolling stock by Angel is trans regio Deutsche Regionalbahn GmbH, which signed a contract in January 2007 for the Mittelrheinbahn concession, a rail service on the scenic route between Mainz and Cologne. The concession will commence in December 2008 and will run for 15 years.
For the Mittelrheinbahn Angel is purchasing 16 Desiro ML electric multiple-units, worth approximately €70 million, from Siemens Transportation Systems. Work will commence on manufacturing the trains in July at Siemens’ works in Krefeld. The agreement between Siemens and Angel Trains includes an option for a further 84 trains.
This latest order takes the total fleet of passenger trains now managed or ordered by Angel Trains Europa, the Cologne-based German subsidiary of Angel Trains, to over 220 units altogether, comprising 60 electric multiple-units.
DB’s regional arm, DB Regio AG, has ordered 37 Coradia Lirex trains worth €160 million from Alstom Transport. This order includes an option for up to 42 additional trains. The electric multiple-units will be manufactured at Alstom’s site in Salzgitter and are planned to be delivered between mid-2008 and the end of 2011.
These trains will enable DB Regio AG to renew its train fleet on the Augsburg network in Bavaria. They will enter service from December 2008 onwards and serve the Munich-Augsburg-Ulm and the Augsburg-Donauwörth-Aalen/Treuchtlignen lines. The first Coradia Lirex trains were introduced in 2002, and Alstom has sold a total of 108 trains of this type in Europe (71 of them to Stockholm, Sweden).
Issue 2 2007, Past issues / 3 April 2007 /
Ensuring efficient breakdown repair management for DB Netz AG means the guarantee of availability of the track system around the clock, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
The following premises are consistently applied for this:
In line with the reorganization of the breakdown repair management in the long-distance and conurbation network, the breakdown repair management was completely reorganized at the end of 2006.
The breakdown repair management in the network takes place through seven working areas, work preparation breakdown repair (AVE), which were set up in the operating centres of the branches or in their direct proximity. At the same time, the workplace breakdown repair coordinator was instructed in the network control centre in Frankfurt for extra-regional control. The aims of this decision prepared through the project ‘DB Netz AG control room’ were:
First experiences confirm that the intended improvements following reorganization have been effective in the breakdown repair process.
The faults were allocated to seven priorities. Priorities 1 and 2 represent the most stringent requirements of the breakdown repair personnel. Faults in priorities 3 and 4 are partly stackable in their remedying in accordance with the management posts. Priorities 5 and 6 enable breakdown repairs in many cases in systematic work shifts. Faults in priority 7 are one-off faults which generally do not require any special breakdown repair but with regard to repetition demand special observation.
Approximately 700 breakdown repair areas have been set up in accordance with the specialist domain at DB Netz AG for interference elimination. These are divided according to domains as follows:
In order to always guarantee the required intervention time of 30 minutes (LST in priority network) to 60 minutes (other specialist domains on other routes), three models are applied in practice for breakdown repairs. These are as follows:
In large, operationally important centres (e.g. Berlin urban railway) a 24-hour occupation of the LST specialist domain is guaranteed. Beyond the elimination of faults, these employees are familiar with inspection and maintenance work, which however can be interrupted at any time without negative effects on the operation. The locations are chosen in such a way that the required intervention time of approximately 30-45 minutes is always reached and in most cases even undercut.
A second model of a two-shift operation from 6a.m. to 8p.m. with ensuing on-call readiness has proven its worth especially for the specialist domains of running track and LST. The start and end of shift can be aligned with the actual local conditions and requirements via the evaluation of the fault occurrence from the SAP R/3 network.
For regions that are not as troubled and with less fault occurrences, breakdown repair is realized through on-call readiness. It should be noted here, however, that this is the most expensive form of breakdown repair with major effects on the planning of work. For this reason, this readiness version is in decline.
Breakdown repair of contact lines represents a special case. The network-wide breakdown repair concept has been optimized within the ‘Further development of contact line maintenance’ project and is being successively further developed.
A fault with the contact line occurs relatively seldom and is especially characterized by the fact that the restrictions in general for normal operating procedure are enormous and the resumption of operability can only be attained via a track vehicle and accompanying crew of some 4-5 contact line specialists. The entire breakdown repair of the contact line appliances of DB Netz AG is carried out with 36 fixed TVT locations throughout the country in defined action radii. In addition, supplementary motor vehicle readiness teams are in place in the network to ensure the initial ‘track earthings’ measure for the defective contact line appliance. If necessary, the track earthing can be carried out in emergencies by emergency managers who have been instructed in track earthing and who in addition request the breakdown repair TVT defined as a breakdown wagon. Especially for major faults, extra-regional use of breakdown repair TVT is foreseen. This requires central coordination through the breakdown repair coordinators of the network control centre.
Breakdown repair material is available according to the failure likelihood in the maintenance areas. Components and assemblies whose likelihood of failure is especially high are thus available, for example, in every signal cabin. Other components such as point mechanisms, large point parts, replacement tracks and so on are available as breakdown reserve in special stores or at central points in the maintenance location in defined type and number.
The contact line components that are principally required for primary breakdown repair are stored on the contact line repair vehicles (TVT) and carried at all times. Contact wire, other ropes and contact line auxiliary masts are stored on 25 contact line wagons and transported to the disturbance point when required.
Furthermore the supply of replacement materials is assured around the clock through DB’s own plants (Witten points works, Wuppertal signal works). This includes of course also the organization of logistics which is carried out via hauliers as well as transport with railway wagons. This ensures that important store materials can generally be made available throughout the country within 24 hours. Exact periods are also defined for the production of special parts (e.g. points parts for special constructions) which guarantee short-term delivery.
Breakdown repair materials which are not manufactured by Deutsche Bahn AG (e.g. cables) are made available through framework agreements. Here the counselling and ordering is arranged around the clock with transit periods of 24 hours for standard materials as well.
Over 99% of faults are independently rectified by the specialist teams involved. For complex faults, especially in the specialist domain LST, special knowledge is however useful. As well as the use of the system provider’s (Siemens, Alcatel) hotlines, there are specialists available on demand for the persons responsible for the breakdown repair from DB Netz AG (specially commissioned operators, practice trainers, those responsible for particular models, repair specialists of DB Netz AG or DB Bahnbau GmbH or from the area of the central headquarters of DB Netz AG).
There are constant qualification measures for the persons responsible for the breakdown repair through
The development of breakdown repair management is continually monitored and checked for its effectiveness by the organizational unit ‘Maintenance of the long-distance and conurbation network’.
For especially relevant faults, a causal analysis is drawn up by the breakdown repair coordinators in the primary network control unit in collaboration with the branch establishments and the resulting recommendations for action and are then worked out and communicated. The recommendations for action can contain, for example, improvements in the process chain, the monitoring and further development of components through DB system technology (TZF), training measures for the breakdown repair monitors and suggestions for the planning of larger maintenance measures or investments.
In the working area reporting/quality management, the development of the fault occurrence is analyzed nationally and in relation to branches in the monthly quality reports. Central points here are the number of faults according to assemblies, fault repair times, intervention times and trend developments. Negative trends are questioned and countermeasures are arranged.
The development of breakdown repair management since 2000 has led to a considerable reduction of faults, repair times and intervention times with a simultaneous reduction of costs. It has also been possible to considerably reduce the delay times per fault occurrence. This is our active contribution to more quality and greater availability of the track system to the benefit of our customers.
Klaus Stahl is the Manager for Process Maintenance at DB Netz. He is a very experienced expert in railway maintenance and he joined the company in 1970 and did several jobs in regional districts of DB Netz AG, such as construction worker or district manager for railway maintenance. In the year 2000, he joined the DB Netz Head Quarters in Frankfurt and since 2001 he is the responsible manager for process design and operation of railway maintenance.
Issue 1 2007, Past issues / 6 February 2007 /
Belgium, at the heart of Europe’s railway network, is a key link in what is to become a vast interoperable network of high-speed lines covering Europe. Infrabel intends to take every advantage of the opportunities this will offer. The high-speed line between Brussels and the Dutch border will be put at the disposal of the operators in April 2007; the link between Brussels and the German border is scheduled for December 2007. European Railway Review spoke to Jean Marie Raviart, Director-General Infrastructure of Infrabel, about the final phase in the Belgian high-speed project.
Industry Focus 2007, Past issues / 29 December 2006 /
The wheel/rail system is on the right way to ensure mobility for the future. To compete with road traffic, reliable track systems are necessary which require not only renewal of worn and fatigue stressed track components but also the introduction of optimized and newly developed system innovations as well as respective best practice maintenance concepts. Decisive for economic structures are the life cycle costs. However, it should be considered that higher investment costs can be equalized by lower maintenance costs.
Issue 2 2006, Past issues / 3 April 2006 /
The market for regional passenger transport in Germany has changed tremendously during recent years. Liberalisation began in 1996 with the law to regionalise local transport. New competitors emerged and quickly gained a substantial market share. Currently, however, the market is facing some major challenges. Competition is becoming more intense, the amount of tenders will soar while the government funding level will decrease. This will lead to prices going down, a challenge DB Regio and our competitors must meet.
Issue 2 2006, Past issues / 3 April 2006 /
Competition on Germany’s railways is working. In the time that Deutsche Bahn AG has been in existence there have never been as many train operating companies using the network as there are now. Never before have so many train-path kilometres been worked. Germany is a front-runner as regards the opening up of markets in European rail transport: 320 train operating companies have been licensed and are now running trains over infrastructure managed by DB Netz AG. We have a duty, therefore, to deliver compelling quality and prices for our customers.
DB Netz AG guarantees the safe, reliable and punctual completion of around 35,000 train movements a day in passenger and freight operations. The basis for these operations is provided by a network of lines that is almost 35,000 kilometres long, that contains almost 80,000 switches and crossings, over 800 tunnels, more than 29,000 railway bridges and around 5,400 signalling installations. A total of more than 9,000 employees regularly inspect and service all facilities. Any faults identified are remedied forthwith as part of either corrective repairs or scheduled maintenance.
Issue 2 2006, Past issues / 3 April 2006 /
The increasing change in traffic towards rail, the opening of the market in European railway traffic and the increasing responsibility for providers of railways make heavy demands on the quality and the availability of the rail infrastructure.
Effective and efficient maintenance concepts are sought after more than ever. New ways, innovative processes and technical solutions are the focal point of the current development and define its aim and purpose, because the operators of the railway infrastructure expect the providers of the railway infrastructure to offer attractive, sophisticated concepts and maintenance procedures.
Since 2005, DB Netz AG has implemented a special sustainability programme for maintenance services in Germany comprising primarily the measures for the mechanised maintenance and reprofiling of tracks and switches. Factors for success and conditions for the optimal utilisation of the resources are, on one hand, the precise planning of measures (e.g. lines defined with kilometer accuracy, large uninterrupted sections) and the optimal use of the periods of track possession on the other. For railway infrastructure providers like the Bahnbau Group, this means developing and using innovative technologies adapted to the current requirements. The Bahnbau Group, consisting of the DB Bahnbau GmbH, the Deutsche Bahn Gleisbau GmbH, the Deutsche Gleis- und Tiefbau GmbH, the Mobile Oberbauschweißtechnik GmbH and the Ingenieur-, Brücken- und Tiefbau GmbH takes up this challenge.
Issue 2 2006, Past issues / 3 April 2006 /
Travelling, shopping, dining – Berlin Hauptbahnhof (Berlin Central Station) opens its doors at the end of May as Europe’s largest crossing station.
Right on time for the FIFA World Cup Germany 2006™, Europe’s largest and most modern crossing station will be connected to the network on 28 May: Berlin Hauptbahnhof – Lehrter Bahnhof. Not only does Berlin gain a worthy welcoming structure for travellers and visitors, but the capital city of Germany acquires a ‘Central Station’ for the first time ever. It is located in the new centre of Berlin, in the immediate vicinity of the Federal Chancellery, the Reichstag and the Brandenburg Gate. This impressive transportation structure rounds off the ensemble of new and historic buildings in the Government Quarter. Berlin Hauptbahnhof will not only be a landmark for the city, it will also significantly shapes the image of the international mobility and logistics service provider, the Deutsche Bahn (German Railway).
Issue 2 2006, Past issues / 3 April 2006 /
In 1995, Deutsche Bahn decided to amalgamate and extensively automate its train scheduling and interlocking control operations by creating seven dedicated competence centres.
The objective of the restructuring was to meet the need for comprehensive modernisation of the interlocking systems especially those used in the east of Germany, whilst at the same time realising major increases in quality and substantial levels of staff rationalisation. This marked the birth of Deutsche Bahn’s operations control centres (OCCs).
In 1994, Deutsche Bahn AG was created through the merger of the former West German Bundesbahn and the East German Reichsbahn. From the point of view of train dispatching, it was only natural that the fifteen regions created by the merger should be transformed into the seven DB operations control centres. To capitalise on the very positive experience gained in the first half of the 1990s with computer-aided train monitoring, the operations control centres were designed to have responsibility for larger areas with a reduction in the total number of organisational interfaces requiring process coordination and synchronisation.
Issue 2 2006, Past issues / 3 April 2006 /
As part of its restructuring and modernisation programme, Deutsche Bahn AG optimised its sales concept in the passenger transport sector. The strategic goals were to increase revenues and reduce costs, while at the same time securing quality.
DB has substantially increased its local and long- distance transport revenues over the last few years. The continuing positive trend is driven by both the acquisition of new customers and the consistent exploitation of the market potential.
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