Company

Bahnkonzept's measurement train run with Siemens Desiro HC
Bahnkonzept's measurement train run with Siemens Desiro HC

Bahnkonzept is a owner-managed private company of railway engineering based in Dresden, the capital of the German State of Saxony. The main activities of the company are directed upon the development of integrated software and data based solutions by the means of computer science industries and practical railway experiences carried out for infrastructure managers, railway undertakings and traffic management authorities.

Sophisticated and high-quality engineering services for the areas of infrastructure and operating data management of railway networks as well as railway-specific software development have been providing individual and sustainable solutions for railway companies and infrastructure operators. Engineers who have graduated from the Faculty of Traffic Science at the Dresden University of Technology and who went through additional training and certification process in various railway undertakings offer work in the fields of:

  • Railway Infrastructure Data including field collection of this data
  • Railway Infrastructure Design from Timetable and Operating concepts up to Comparisons of Variants
  • Management Consulting for Railway Undertakings and Infrastructure Managers
  • Training of Railway safety and operation managers
  • Conception, programming and vending of railway infrastructure related software
  • Railway data management and interfaces between different softwares (e.g. via railML®)
  • On-Rail Tests for Rolling stock for various train control systems like ETCS
  • Railway related research

We have more than 15 years of experience in providing a service nationally and internationally for different railway organisations: companies owned by the state and companies represented within the private sector, government authorities as well as engineering and consulting offices.

Selected Products

GPSinfradat

GPSinfradat-Logo

GPSinfradat provides an integrated hardware and software solution for GNSS- and video based infrastructure survey of railways. It benefits from all usual GNSS systems (like Galileo, Glonass/ГЛОНАСС, GPS, ...) and complementary inertial and radar sensors combined with special tracks lighting. The video system is made from a range of outdoor, high photosensitive and high-speed cameras. This long experienced hardware composition is combined with a software suite from an in-house development with a certified railML 2.2/2.3 export interface (railML's versions 2.5 and 3.2 will be supported from early 2023) . The efficient surveying and visualization of railway networks, signals and buildings in and on the track opens up new ways for the digitization of existing infrastructure making it more economical, quick and precise. All GNSS measurement data and infrastructure properties, such as track geometry, topology, signal locations and associated infrastructure elements, are recorded with high accuracy, enriched with video information and can be made available for further analysis or use in other railway-related applications via railML® or company-specific formats.

VIDINS.web

VIDINS.web track view (German version)
VIDINS.web track view (German version)

Engine drivers must know the railway line including special features of individual track areas and operating points of the railway network before driving independently. This guideline for route knowledge serves not only the safety and punctuality of the traffic on the network, but also the energy-saving driving and comfort. Instead of having to travel on other trains, VIDINS.web offers the possibility of acquiring track knowledge at any location via tablet and PC or in the training room. In addition to the videos from the driver's point of view additional information about speeds, signals and behaviour during the journey are streamed for the train operators training.

VIA

Search result page of VIA website
Search result page of VIA website

Public rail portals and network statements that provide infrastructure and operational data to utilities and planners are now industry standard. For operationally relevant information, VIA creates cross-references between the data from different sources and presents the information graphically with references to the daily business of the railways or planning offices. In addition, information on relevant structures on the line such as bridges/tunnels or level crossings is referenced geographically and shown in relation to the line kilometre. This provides planners and dispatchers with initial information and decision support around the clock that can be accessed via smartphones, tablets or PCs for checking ad-hoc passenger and freight traffic.

railML®

Logo of the railML® exchange format
Logo of the railML® exchange format

The industry standard for digital data exchange in the railway domain is based on XML. railML uses XML schemes to define how different computer programs can exchange structured data from the areas of timetable, vehicle, infrastructure and interlocking. Bahnkonzept is an active member of the railML community and participates in ongoing developments.

Railway Research

Bahnkonzept also contributes to the research projects VERSATO and EVIPOS funded by BMBF, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The research projects aims at linking of satellite data in order to achieve a higher locating accuracy of railway wagons and containers in the rail network. For this purpose, software systems and the necessary hardware are designed, prototypically implemented and tested in field trials in cooperation with various companies.

Selected Customers

Selected Bahnkonzept customers
Azərbaycan Dəmir Yolları
Aserbaijan Railways
ADY Baku   01/2015-02/2015 Aserbaidschan
Infrabel Infrabel   04/2012-02/2014 Belgien
Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD);
now: VALE Brasil
CVRD / Valé Vítoria   12/2004-02/2006 Brasilien
Empresa de los Ferrocarriles del Estado EFE Santiago de Chile   01/2006-03/2012 Chile
SNCF Réseau
(former Réseau ferré de France)
SNCF Réseau   08/2013-03/2015 Frankreich
Systra Systra   07/2007-02/2015 Frankreich
International Union of Railways
Union internationale des chemins de fer
Union internationale des chemins de fer   03/2012 - ... Frankreich
SETRAG Transgabonais
Trans Gabon Railways
Setrag Libreville   07/2007-12/2007 Gabun

Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure
Bundesministerium für Verkehr und digitale Infrastruktur

Bundesministerium für Verkehr und digitale Infrastruktur   12/2013-12/2015 Deutschland

Daimler
Mercedes-Benz Plant Rastatt

Mercedes-Benz   10/2016-12/2016 Deutschland
German State Railways / DB Netz
Large-scale projects division
Regional division East
Regional division South-East
Regional division South-West
DB Netz   11/2006 - ... Deutschland
German State Railways / DB Regio
Erzgebirgsbahn
Regional division Bavaria
Suburban railway Central Germany
Suburban railway Frankfurt/Main
Suburban railway Munich
Suburban railway Stuttgart
DB Personenverkehr (Regio & Fernverkehr)   06/2006 - ... Deutschland
Express Rail Link Maintenance Support
Express Train Kuala Lumpur Airport (KLIA)

KLIA Ekspress Rail Link Kuala Lumpur   02/2009-11/2010 Malaysia
Jernbaneverket Jernbaneverket Oslo   11/2013-12/2016 Norwegen
Lokomotion Lokomotion München   02/2015-07/2017 Österreich
Всероссийский научно-исследовательский институт железнодорожного транспорта
Russian Railway Research Institute (NIIAS)
RZD Moskau   04/2012-08/2012 Rußland

ومقرها مدينة الدمام، استقلت
Saudi Railways Organisation

SRO Dammam   10/2012 - ... Saudi Arabien
Matterhorn Gotthard Railway Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn   03/2006 - ... Schweiz

Swiss Federal Railways
SBB Cargo Deutschland

SBB Cargo Duisburg   06/2009-08/2012 Schweiz

Remark: We will connect to our main contact project partners in the customer companies on request.

Professional Article

Integrated Engine Drivers Training for German High Speed Line VDE 8.2

A lot of railway lines will be build or renewed worldwide so that the engine driver will find them unrecognizable. For safe operation usually the engine driver and train staff have to be trained about the common properties and peculiarities of the line and stations before the first usage of the line.

Tight agendas for the construction works don’t give time for a direct training of the staff on the line, which usually means that the engine drivers have to run on the line several times with a trainer. Due to this reason it’s needed and mostly also cheaper to visualize the railway lines by modern video equipment and to show additionally important infrastructure data like signals, tunnel escape routes or lower pantograph sections. With the track video the engine drivers have the possibility to run virtual on the new or rebuild lines to gather the called route knowledge (Streckenkunde). Together with this aim also information about economic or customer friendly operation like energy optimized driving or best stopping places at a platform can be given. There is no need for multiple rides on the line anymore for the locomotive drivers.

By the example of the new opened Erfurt – Halle/Leipzig high-speed railway line the best practice to obtain the route knowledge by using of track video data and other digital documentation will be explained below.

The Erfurt – Halle/Leipzig high-speed railway line is Germany’s first line the the European Train Control System (ETCS Level 2) without any physical main or distant signals on a slab track which started operation in December 2015. The line can be operated with a maximum speed of 300 kph (190 mph). This line consists of six long brigdes, including Europes longest railway bridge, the bridge over the valley of the rivers Saale and Elster with a length of 6,5 kilometers, as well as three tunnels with the tunnel beyond the Finne ridge with a length of 6,97 kilometers. Especially the new cab signalling of the ETCS train protection system is a huge challenge for the engine drivers.

In close collaboration with the Infrastructure manager DB Netz and the Railway undertakings like DB Fernverkehr and others a route guide (German term: Streckenprospekt / line leaflet) was developed to achieve route knowledge for the engine drivers together with the track video. The line leaflet shows all the constructional and technical properties of the line like line standards, equipments, operational modes, connections to existing infrastructures, operation control points and stations. Additionally detailed graphics and sketches with ETCS enabled routes, schematic track plans of the stations et cetera were provided.

Thereby a safe and economically efficient way of achievement of a comprehensive route knowledge for the engine drivers following the DB’s corporate policies (rule 492.0755) was made by the intelligent combination of conventional training material with geographic localised track video. Only with the interaction of line leaflet and track video the engine drives had the opportunity to become familiar with all the technological innovation, operating specialities and processes of the Erfurt – Halle/Leipzig high-speed railway line

Since December 13th, 2015 the Erfurt – Halle/Leipzig high-speed railway line is in daily passenger operation at complete satisfaction of operators and customers. An expansion of this successful digital learning process to other German projects is still designated and therewith on the way towards an accepted code of practice.