Status: 11.10.2021 3:28 p.m.
The first fully automatic S-Bahn has started operations in Hamburg – with a system that is also to be used nationwide. Is that the future of local transport?
Anyone using the S-Bahn in Hamburg could in future be able to travel through the Hanseatic city completely autonomously. Today, four converted, automated S-Bahn trains started operating between the Berliner Tor and Bergedorf stations – initially for this week as part of the ITS mobility congress.
The route is 23 kilometers long and has been specially upgraded for this. The train can start, accelerate and brake independently. However, a train driver is still on site at the driver’s cab to monitor the journey and to be able to intervene in case of doubt. The train then travels to the siding on which the S-Bahn turns without any personnel.
90-second intervals possible
Passengers notice little of the innovation during the journey. However, the autonomous train is noticeable in the higher frequency on the route. This should make it possible for trains to be on the move with an interval of just 90 seconds. So far, more than double that number has been common on the route.
Autonomous trains are nothing new. For example, the subway in Nuremberg has been rolling over the tracks on two out of three routes for several years, computer-controlled and without a train driver.
The big difference to the S-Bahn in Hamburg are the systems: The U-Bahn runs in a so-called closed system. The S-Bahn uses an open system that can be used in the entire rail network and with all types of trains. Digitalization on the rails is a “key to the mobility transition,” said Richard Lutz, CEO of Deutsche Bahn.
Technology from Siemens
The technical basis for digital rail operations is the future European standard ATO (Automatic Train Operation) – combined with the European train control system ETCS (European Train Control System). The trains receive the control signals via radio. The technology comes from Siemens Mobility.
“With our technology, the train can transport 30 percent more passengers and improve punctuality,” says Siemens board member Roland Busch. The new S-Bahn should also accelerate and brake more efficiently – which ideally saves 30 percent energy.
Investments of 60 million euros
Siemens and the City of Hamburg have invested a total of 60 million euros in the digital S-Bahn, which is part of the DB’s Digital Rail Germany program. With the timetable change in December, the trains should go into regular operation. First they are then tested under real conditions. Further plans to equip the Hamburg S-Bahn by the end of the decade are already underway. In the future, the technology is to be used nationwide in regional and long-distance traffic.