DEUTSCHE BAHN

Passenger information of the future

Enterprise systems

Deutsche Bahn (DB) is on the verge of a revolution: Digitization is changing the expectations of its customers, markets and technology. That is why the transport of tomorrow is being tested in DB’s in-house labs.

The customer of the future expects a travel experience that is easy, relaxed, personal and enriching. The digital information panels are the first visible result of the group project Passenger Information (VXR) and the sister project ‘Passenger Information of the Future’ by DB Station & Service. The two projects unite the objective of harnessing digital technology in the interests of customers.

This project lies at the centre of a complex environment:Operational infrastructure and management of DB networks, comprehensive passenger information at DB Station & Service, and the passenger service of DB and other railway operating companies (EVU).

With an agile organisation based on Scrum and the use of DevOps, the complexity of the task should be manageable. The CARDS+method developed at eMundo makes an important contribution to this and is used as a template for a project specific approach for agile documentation, closing a gap that Scrum has previously left open.

Deutsche Bahn

Challenges

One particular challenge is delivering software in short intervals at the required quality. A further challenge is the integration of a multitude of partner systems into a complex landscape belonging to DB and other railway operating companies that has been growing for 30 years. These partner systems supply the data for the time table and current operating data.
  • High level of reliability of the entire system, uninterruptable operation
  • High quality passenger information, in particular for calculating forecasts in the event of disruption to the operating schedule
  • News-focussed processing in near real time
  • Processing of large data volumes: approx. 30,000 trains + local public transportation
  • Non-discriminating provision of a consolidated timetable (open data)
  • Integration of all arrival and departure boards in Germany
  • Display and announcement management at station platforms
  • Indoor navigation in the stations to the platforms
  • Display and announcement management in the vehicles
  • Providing train personnel with up-to-date information (RIS Communicator)
  • Providing passengers with current information (DB Navigator)
  • Providing bahn.de with current information for its users

Technical Data

  • News-focussed architecture
  • Scalable microservices architecture
  • Storage of data in NoSQL databases
  • Storage of large data volumes for evaluation
  • Automatic deployment in the cloud
  • Monitoring and automated alerts
  • Documentation using Jira and Confluence

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