GERMANY: Tram-trains operating around Karlsruhe are to be equipped with the DatNet operations control system from ETC Solutions GmbH, boosting the capability of the existing onboard Intermodal Transport Control System supplied by Karlsruhe-based INIT.
ITCS provides constant communication between moving vehicles and the operator’s central control room. Vehicles in service with Verkehrsbetriebe Karlsruhe GmbH and Albtal-Verkehrsgesellschaft are currently fitted with Mobile-ITCS running on INIT’s CopilotPC onboard computers. DatNet will run on this existing hardware, but provide additional functionality and improved data exchange with rail infrastructure manager DB InfraGO.
It will also support improved passenger information, such as vehicle-specific journey details for trains that divide to serve more than one destination, and details of interchange options at each stop. VBK and AVG will also be able to access more in-service data, helping with management of vehicles moving between VBK’s urban and AVG’s regional networks.
INIT is developing the required interface between DatNet and Mobile-ITCS for commissioning in 2025, using standards set by the transport operators’ association VDV.
Stadler is building 148 Citylink tram-trains for AVG and VBK as part of a joint framework agreement with four other operators signed in 2022; these vehicles will also be fitted with ITCS equipment from INIT.
