Hamburg Public Transportation: Safety and Comfort All Along the Way

The Reliability of Modern Communication Networks

Punctual departures, convenient connections. The reliability of transportation is a clear indicator of the reliability of a local public transport authority. For the one million daily passengers of Hamburg’s public transport operator, Hamburger Hochbahn, safety, information, comfort, cleanliness and service are just as important.

In the second half of 2003, the final section of Hamburg’s U1 subway line was connected to the new operations control system. This brought together all 46 stops and three line control centers into a single control system, one of the most modern of its kind. The system works to provide not only safety and security, but also important information required by the passengers of Germany’s second largest local public transportation authority.

Siemens AG supplies the communication platform on which the new third-party SBS control center and controller application is based. The application software and the communication platform KOMSYS U1 has been in use on parts of the U1 subway line since April 2002.

In April 2004, the communication system more than doubled in size with the integration of the 51 stops on subway lines U2 and U3. With the addition of the two lines, the entire network is now equipped with approximately 1,000 cameras, more than 120 monitors, over 250 audio connections and 250 interfaces for station computers. The system also provides more than 660 additional interfaces for potential end devices.

The project provided Siemens Programm- und Systementwicklung GmbH & Co- KG with the opportunity to develop a highly available, anti-redundant ATM network for applications in local public passenger transportation. End devices for video surveillance, acoustic information and digital data exchange can be connected to the ATM network using norm interfaces for the purposes of, for example, monitoring the infrastructure at stops and controlling destination displays. This creates a stable backbone for all the safety and information services that are important to the passengers of Hanover’s local rail system. Depending on requirements, the services are accessible at every stop as well as at decentralized control stations for the various surveillance sections.

Using an ATM communication network provides the rail system with high levels of availability and trouble-free operation. In addition, the network’s broad transmission bandwidth allows it to be easily expanded in the future.