Bombardier “Banking” on New High-Tech Laboratory
Laboratory for Railway Technology, Mannheim, Germany © Bombardier Transportation
Germany: Bombardier Transportation has opened a new high-tech laboratory for railway technology in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg. The city is already the location of a production and engineering site for the company.
The laboratory will develop and test electronic train control (Train Control & Management System – TCMS) and signalling systems. The research programme also includes work on the digital network for communication between the train and track to improve safety on railways. These initiatives are key policies in the digitisation strategy of the German government and supported by the rail industry.
Winfried Hermann, Transport Minister, State Government of Baden-Württemberg, said:
“The laboratory for vehicle control and signalling technology that we are officially inaugurating here today in Mannheim offers all possibilities to make the rail transport of the future safer and more efficient. In Germany we are at the precipice of a dramatic technological revolution. Digitisation of railways will allow us to respond adequately to the automation of road transport and to secure competitiveness within Europe.”
Michael Fohrer, Managing Director, Bombardier Transportation Germany, said:
“Mannheim is a site with a long tradition that has for over 100 years been set apart by its pioneering spirit. The company is banking on this location. We are making targeted investments here in future technologies. With the high-tech laboratory we are vigorously driving digitalisation forward. What’s more, we offer an exciting career prospect in Mannheim for bright minds who want to work with us and shape the mobility of tomorrow.”
TALENT 3
The production and engineering site in Mannheim designed the batteries for Bombardier Talent 3-type train. The model is the first battery-powered train produced in Europe since the 1950s.
The battery facilitates quiet and clean operation on non-electrified sections of track.
The train will start tests in September 2018 and enter service during 2019.
