Pilot Implementation of First Digital Signalling System in an urban area (DKS - Digital Node Stuttgart)

ongoing

The Digital Node Stuttgart (Digitaler Knoten Stuttgart - DKS) is a pilot scheme within the starter package of the Digital Rail for Germany (Digitale Schiene Deutschland) Programme of the Federal Ministry of Transport (BMV). The DKS is among the first European projects to introduce ETCS-only signalling and the first ever project in Germany to deploy fully digitized train control and safety systems on a large-scale urban node. The project funded under the CEF Program aims to deploy ERTMS Level 2, Baseline 3, including GSM-R and digital interlockings, on Building Blocks 1+2 of the DKS, equivalent of 106 km double-track. When put into operation this digital infrastructure will allow more than 1700 trains per day to run on its core network infrastructure. A key goal of the DKS project is to maximize the network’s performance. Thanks to the reduced headways and further optimisations in the traffic management, considerably higher number of trains will be able to run through the city center during peak-hours. Similar performance gains are expected in the entire urban area of Stuttgart. The project is located on the urban node of Stuttgart. Building block 1 covers the suburban train (S-Bahn) system, including its core (Stammstrecke) and adjacent tracks, such as the S-Bahn route to the Stuttgart airport. Building block 2 covers most of the “Stuttgart 21” project’s infrastructure, including the new main station, parts of the Stuttgart-Ulm high-speed line and the new lines and stations at the Stuttgart airport.