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Rail Articles

Driving DB forward with superior rolling stock

6 June 2007 | By Joachim Mayer, Head of Rolling Stock, Technology & Procurement, Deutsche Bahn AG

Deutsche Bahn AG's €30 billion core business consists of mobility services around railway transportation as well as a worldwide network of logistics in freight including rail business in Europe. In addition, DB operates a network of approximately 35,000 track-kms and offers further services such as station management, heavy maintenance and…

Railroad simulation using OpenTrack

6 June 2007 | By Daniel Huerlimann, CEO, OpenTrack Railway Technology Ltd and Andrew Nash, Researcher, ETH IVT

OpenTrack is a user-friendly railroad network simulation program. It is a microscopic model that simulates rail system operations based on user defined train, infrastructure and timetable databases. OpenTrack can be used to evaluate and test infrastructure plans and operating schedules in order to optimise network and timetable design. It can…

ETCS Level 2: success for the Swiss Federal Railways

6 June 2007 | By Arnold Trümpi, Head of Business Unit ETCS, SBB

Since March 18 2007, the European Train Control System (ETCS) has been in full operation on Switzerland’s backbone of the railway network. The newly built Mattstetten – Rothrist line between Bern and Zurich is the core of the Rail 2000 concept. The new 42km section is used by 242 passenger…

Consultancies thrive in 21st century railway world

6 June 2007 | By James Abbott, Technical Editor

Consultancy firms are currently working on a diverse range of projects in the railway industry. This November, the final section of High Speed One will open. This is the UK’s first high-speed rail line, formerly known as the Channel Tunnel Rail Link. With the completion of the route, Eurostar trains…

More than just a product

6 June 2007 | By Andreas Michnik, Senior Expert, Heitkamp Rail

The fact that the slab track is more than just a product becomes apparent if the subject matter is approached from the perspective of the internationally active track construction company Heitkamp Rail, a subsidiary of the Dutch Heijmans group of companies.

Successful première of the RPM-RS-900

6 June 2007 | By Dipl.-Ing. Ingo Wiermann, Engineering Director, SPITZKE AG

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…

Understanding the Norwegian challenges with climate change

6 June 2007 | By Mr. Trond Børsting, Civil Engineer in Construction, Norwegian Technical School of Civil Engineering

In an interview for the Global Railway Review, Mr. Trond Børsting, a Civil Engineer in Construction at the Norwegian Technical School of Civil Engineering, explains that Jernbaneverket (the Norwegian National Rail Administration) will be placed under greater strain because the future is likely to bring increased precipitation which has forced…

High-speed trains: from power car to distributed traction

6 June 2007 | By Dr. Ing. Ansgar Brockmeyer, Head of the Trains division, Dipl.-Ing. Thomas Gerhard, head of Group Technology, Dipl.-Ing. Edzard Lübben, Head of Sales and Marketing subdivision of Projects High Speed and Intercity Trains, Dipl.-Ing. Manfred Reisner, Head of Sales and Marketing subdivision of Passenger Coaches and Dipl.-Ing. Monika Bayrhof, Personal Assistant to Divisional Management Transportations Systems Trains, Siemens Transportation Systems

Over recent years, the level of satisfaction among train passengers has continually increased thanks to new attractions offered by high speed trains. Attractive travel times and additional services in the trains are designed to increase the competitiveness of the rail. Building on experience with the trains of the ICE series…

The SF 500 high-speed bogie

6 June 2007 | By Mr. Christian Küter, Product Manager for Bogies, Siemens Transportation Systems

The Velaro E from Siemens Transportation Systems is the fastest series-produced train in the world. One of the reasons why the ‘supertrain’ is so successful, is due to the SF 500 high-speed bogie developed and produced in Graz. It sets new standards in terms of flexibility of use, passenger comfort…

Ankara-Istanbul high-speed train line project

30 April 2007 | By Mustafa Cavusoglu, Deputy General Director, TCDD

The Ankara-Istanbul High-Speed Train Project is the first high-speed train line of Turkey and is being realized in two phases – the first being the 251km Sincan-Inönü section and the second being the 158km Inönü-Köseköy section. The 24km Ankara-Sincan and 56km long Köseköy-Gebze sections will be completed by being tendered…

The DB Netz operational ‘boom’ continues

3 April 2007 | By Dr. Volker Kefer, Chairman of the Board of Management for DB Netz AG

In an interview for the Global Railway Review, Dr. Volker Kefer, Chairman of the Board of Management for DB Netz AG, explains the companies operational techniques and also discusses future development plans to ensure that DB Netz AG is a company that performs successfully.

ProNetz – a new strategy that cares

3 April 2007 | By Oliver Kraft, Head of Network Investments, Long-Distance and Conurbation Networks on the Board of Management, DB Netz AG

DB Netz AG is responsible for the entire track infrastructure of Deutsche Bahn. The track network, which encompasses more than 34,000km, is the longest in all of Europe. It is presently used by approximately 350 rail transportation companies. There are approximately 39,000 train movements each day in combined passenger and…

Current GSM-R situation in Germany

3 April 2007 | By Klaus Müller, Project Manager of GSM-R, DB Netz AG

In 2005, Deutsche Bahn AG became the first transport undertaking in Europe to implement the new standard for digital train radio on the GSM-R system platform (Global System for Mobile Communications – Rail). DB AG is thus pioneering the technological transition from the older analogue communications facilities to the new…

Transforming Lübeck

3 April 2007 | By Mr. Matthias Hudaff, Spokesman and Technical Director of the Hamburg Project Centre, DB ProjektBau GmbH

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.

Rolling stock orders for DB

3 April 2007 | By James Abbott, Technical Editor, Global Railway Review

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.