Digital S-Bahn Hamburg

With a regular-interval timetable and plans for additional lines, Hamburg’s S-Bahn service will be significantly enhanced for passengers over the next few years. To create the extra capacity needed for these service improvements, S-Bahn operations must be digitalised. In July 2018, Hamburg entered into a partnership with Deutsche Bahn and Siemens Mobility to do just that. The pilot project for Hamburg’s Digital S-Bahn showcases how new technologies can help improve the performance of local public transport in growing cities. During the 2021 ITS World Congress, Hamburg will start highly automated rail operations on the 23-km-long section of S-Bahn lines S2 and S21 between Berliner Tor and Aumühle. At its core, the project tightly integrates rail infrastructure with rail vehicles by leveraging the European Train Control System (ETCS) and automatic train operation (ATO) system.