Mobile office with WLAN: S-Bahn Hamburg sends ideas train on the route

Created: 09/29/2022, 17:26

By: Steffen Maas

Autonomous S-Bahn trains have been rolling in Hamburg since mid-September.

The “idea train” will soon join them.

Among other things, it offers WiFi.

Hamburg – Last year it was presented as a major innovation at the ITS World Congress for Intelligent Mobility, but from next week it will be rolling as a reality on the rails of the Hamburg network: the “Ideen Train” of the Hamburg S-Bahn.

It is one of four fully automatic trains in the large "Digital S-Bahn" project that the local transport company is developing together with Deutsche Bahn and plans to roll out in the coming years.

The autonomous trains were released onto the tracks on the S2 line in mid-September 2022 in a German premiere.

The "train of ideas" now brings even more advantages and special features - for example a "co-working area" with sockets, WLAN and space for laptops, as reported by 24hamburg.de.

“Co-working area” in the “idea train”: a foretaste of the future

The S-Bahn Hamburg calls the middle carriage of the “ideas train” “co-working area”, as the

first reported.

There you will find power connections, WLAN swings through the air and laptops and tablets can be placed on a work desk.

Everything you need if you want to use the commute effectively on a stressful day.

Three people fit side by side at a counter.

But the “co-working area” is only part of the “idea train” that is currently on its way back from the “InnoTrans” traffic technology trade fair.

Because that, in turn, is only part of the great future promise the transport company makes to passengers.

It is supposed to offer a preview of what traveling in Hamburg's train service will look like in the near future.

"Ideen Train" becomes an information train: passengers are informed better and faster

Because the “idea train”, which will be running from next week on the line between Altona and Bergedorf that has been converted for automatic trains, offers a few more changes that should become standard in the future.

A major topic here is better and faster information for passengers.

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Larger displays should offer a better overview, information about the route and possible connecting trains should be given in real time.

Better orientation shouldn't end on the train: Before passengers get off, they should be given directions to the next exit.

All of this is also available as direct information on mobile phones if required, and platform displays and passenger TV are also being upgraded.

Large information display, sockets, WiFi, work surface: This is what the co-working area looks like in the ideas train of the Hamburg S-Bahn.

This can be found in the middle carriage of the train, which can be seen from the outside by the corresponding marking.

© Deutsche Bahn/S-Bahn Hamburg

If you have specific questions, you can contact the S-Bahn Hamburg chat bot in the future: The service, which is to be constantly developed through machine learning, tries to help all passengers with individual problems.

"The 'Ideenzug S-Bahn Hamburg' makes the future tangible for passengers," says an S-Bahn spokesman to the

in a nutshell.

S-Bahn Hamburg: Digitization will probably cost around 800 million euros

The technology from the “idea train” and the automatic operation of the trains should soon become the standard.

The head of Hamburg's S-Bahn, Kay Arnecke, spoke of a "change of era" as early as the maiden voyage of the autonomous S-Bahn in mid-September.

With the new drive automation and the associated technology, up to 30 percent more trains could be used without building a meter of new track.

In addition, the trains should be more punctual and use less energy.

The "Digital S-Bahn Hamburg" project is part of the "Digital Rail Germany" project, with which Deutsche Bahn intends to bring its infrastructure, which is aging in many places, into the digital age in general by the coming decade.

The costs for the complete digitization of the S-Bahn in the Hanseatic city were estimated at around 800 million euros in a study.

The modernization and the construction of new interlockings alone require investments of 620 million euros.

175 million euros are estimated for the conversion of the current fleet.

By around 2030, the entire S-Bahn operation in the Hanseatic city should be digitized.

(With material from the dpa)