More capacity, greater reliability, higher efficiency and punctuality: In order to create the necessary capacity in the face of rising demand in local public transport, Hamburg’s S-Bahn operation is to be completely digitalised and automatised.
This will make Hamburg the first fully digitalised network in Germany. The Senate is planning to spend 285 million euros on this project. The federal government has already provided planning funds totalling 20 million euros for the necessary digital interlocking.
Hamburg’s S-Bahn is the fastest growing rail transport company in Germany. By 2030, the integration of the S4 and S6 as well as the extension of the S5 and the Hamburg cycle are expected to increase train traffic by 30 per cent. This means that once the measures have been completed, the Hamburg S-Bahn will be transporting 1.1 million passengers per day instead of the current 750,000 passengers per day. The aim is to handle this considerable increase in service, which will place a heavy burden on the network, with a higher quality than today. In order to meet this challenge, fully digitalised operations are required. The Senate has now taken a further decisive step in this direction.
Anjes Tjarks, Senator for Transport and Mobility Transition: ‘Our goal is for Hamburg’s S-Bahn to grow while improving punctuality and quality. Now that we have established the new S-Bahn network, we are taking the next decisive step: with the full digitalisation of the S-Bahn, we will bring the most modern system in Germany onto the rails and set it up for the future. Now that the Senate has already invested a lot of money in the expansion and upgrading of the S-Bahn infrastructure, primarily expanding the corridors to the south, the conditions are now also being created on the rolling stock side for fully digitalised S-Bahn operations. This is a strong commitment to the Hamburg S-Bahn and a major and worthwhile investment for passengers. Passengers travelling to Harburg will benefit in particular, as they will not only have a third line, but also the latest train control technology.’
Automatisation ordered for 25 vehicles
Now that the first four digital trains of the S2 line have been running on the section between Berliner Tor and Bergedorf since September 2022, digitisation has already been ordered for 25 vehicles of the 474 series and 64 further trains of the latest 490 series with digital technology have already been ordered, the next step is now being taken. The remaining 169 S-Bahn trains that have not yet been converted are now to be digitised. This project is being realised in line with the ongoing 425 million euro investment in the renovation and expansion of the S-Bahn corridors to Harburg/Neugraben and Bergedorf.
The digitalisation of the S-Bahn must proceed quickly, as line extensions such as the S4 to Bad Oldesloe, the S5 extension to Kaltenkirchen and the introduction of the S6 as the third Harburg line are imminent. The measures to Harburg are already being implemented and are scheduled for completion in 2029, as is the S6 to Harburg Rathaus and, in future, to Neugraben. The S4 East is scheduled to start in the direction of Ahrensburg in 2027. The Harburg corridor will benefit in particular from digitalisation, as the route expansion is equivalent to a new construction of the entire control and safety technology, in which a route in Hamburg will be completely equipped with ETCS Level 2 without signals for the first time. New signal boxes, the elimination of fixed signals and new digital train control and communication technology will ensure greater line capacity, making it possible to operate a third line. Digitalisation will allow up to 30 percent more trains to run on existing tracks. The Bergedorf corridor has been equipped with ETCS as part of the ITS Congress 2021, as operation with conventional control and safety technology was foreseeable here for several years. With Siemens as the system supplier, the four converted ET 474s are running here in ATO-over-ETCS operation. Further information can be found here:
https://digitale-schiene-deutschland.de/Digitale-S-Bahn-Hamburg
ATO over ETCS
The highly automated trains are responsible for starting, accelerating, braking and stopping. To do this, the trains must be equipped with the train control systems – Automatic Train Operation (ATO) and European Train Control System (ETCS). The four trains already in operation on the S2 line have been equipped with balise antennas, radars and ETCS and ATO computers; the infrastructure along the route has been upgraded.
In order to extend this system to the entire S-Bahn operation in Hamburg, a digital signal box is required so that the central area of the Hamburg S-Bahn network, which is used by all lines and vehicles, can also be expanded without signals. The new digital interlocking is to replace the existing interlockings in Altona and at the main station and will enable a higher frequency without the need for costly track and signal construction. Up to 30 per cent more trains will be able to run on the existing tracks. The conversion of the S-Bahn vehicle fleet should be completed by the end of 2029/beginning of 2030, as the aforementioned extension lines are also to be converted and the digital signal box put into operation by then. Only digitised vehicles can operate on the converted lines with a digital interlocking. Dual equipment for these lines (for ETCS and non-upgraded vehicles) is not economically viable.
The vehicles are made up of two vehicle generations (so-called ‘series’): These are 112 vehicles of the 474 series and 146 vehicles of the 490 series. The original plan was to replace the 474 series vehicles with a new 491 series by 2033. Their use will now be extended until 2037. The extension of the deployment of the then digitalised series will reduce the budget burden for the years 2023 – 2038 in the total contract volume by around 400 million euros on the basis of a static cost estimate for the calculated requirements of the originally planned procurement of new vehicles by 2033. This sum was calculated on the basis of a cost estimate of the financial requirements of the originally planned vehicle procurement of the new series by 2033.
The neighbouring states of Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony will also benefit from digitalisation, as will the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg. The reduction in disruptions and the increase in punctuality in the city centre also have a direct impact on all outer branches or even cause greater concern due to the sometimes longer intervals. Hamburg is taking the lead in planning the digitalisation of the S-Bahn and will continue to be in discussion with neighbouring countries.
06.02.2025
