User:Anton B. Krüger/Advanced TrainLab

Deutsche Bahn AG's advanced TrainLab (aTL) are test trains for innovative technologies. The two test trains are intended to be available to the entire railway industry for experiments and to represent that spectrum of tests of innovative technologies that is not possible with DB's regular passenger or freight trains.

The advanced TrainLab
With the aTL, DB's Technology Division offers a reliable platform for testing innovative technologies. It consists of two class 605 ICEs (605 017 & 605 019), which were in service in long-distance passenger transport until 2017. The two test trains have no pantographs, as they have diesel-electric propulsion. They have a top speed of 200 km/h, consist of two middle and two end cars, and have a total length of 107 meters. In addition, some rows of seats inside them have been removed to make room for measurement equipment. Two server cabinets, in which modules can be installed as desired, were put in the two middle cars. The trains are equipped with numerous antennas and sensors as well as a data network. In addition, the 605 017 was equipped with sensors for obstacle detection and a platform on the roof of the train for more flexible arrangement as well as installation and removal of antennas. On the outside the trains look similar to the ICE T.

As vehicle owner and project manager, DB's technology division does not specify any specific technological development direction with the aTL, but has set itself the goal of covering as broad a spectrum as possible. For this reason, a wide range of technological research is possible on the aTL. For example, alternative fuels such as HVO biofuel, technologies for automating train traffic and possibilities for improving connectivity are currently being tested with the aTL. Since August 2021, 605 019 has been equipped with ETCS equipment from Stadler, which is currently in the approval process. On 605 017 there are technologies with which the automation levels 2-4 can be researched and tested. The aTL also offers cooperation with higher education institutions for research and development purposes.

== History == The two vehicles were used in long-distance passenger transport until 2017 and were parked in Mukran on the island of Rügen after their commercial operation was discontinued. At the end of March 2018, they were then transferred from there to an Maschinenbau und Service GmbH Ammendorf (MSG) plant. The vehicle ownership was transferred to DB-Systemtechnik on 09/01/2018 and MSG was acquired for vehicle maintenance.

The recommissioning of the first vehicle (605 017) followed soon after on 11/23/2018 with a trip from Halle-Ammendorf to Berlin Südkreuz. Shortly afterwards, the first successful test runs took place as part of "5G-ConnectedMobility" to test the functionality of network slicing on the Nuremberg-Ingolstadt high-speed line. On 02/08/2019, the aTL achieved national prominence with the presentation drive for Federal Minister of Transport Andreas Scheuer on the stability of the 5G network of 5G-ConnectedMobility between Nuremberg and Kinding.

Since then, the advanced TrainLab can be found on various routes of the DB-Netz railway network and other railway infrastructure companies. Test runs are particularly frequent in the Erzgebirge between Annaberg-Buchholz and Schwarzenberg (digital test field DB-Netz), in the Berlin area on the inner ring and the Stammbahn as well as on the tracks of RegioInfra in the Prignitz and the Mecklenburg Lake District. These lines offer ideal conditions for the advanced TrainLab, as they have little or sometimes no traffic. In addition, the aTL is approved to drive on all infrastructures of the DB network in order to among other things complete test runs at speeds of up to 200 km/h. The test track in the Erzgebirge is ideal for a wide variety of test scenarios because it has gradients, inclines, narrow radii, and both gated and ungated level crossings.

On 13 October 2019, the advanced TrainLab also toured the Neustrelitz port railway on its way to Prignitz for measuring and testing runs, the special feature being that the rail vehicles run on the road for stretches.

As part of a trial, the Berlin Goerzbahn was tested as a route for object and obstacle detection in an urban environment. Due to the 40 level crossings, some of which have no gates, on the 2.5 km long line and the nearby residential areas, the line has a special feature. For this purpose, test runs were carried out on the line at the beginning of 2021.

In August 2021, the second train (605 019) was also put back into service and has also been in service since then. This one is also called advanced TrainLab.

Weblinks

 * Das schnellste Labor auf Schienen Deutsche Bahn AG
 * Das advanced TrainLab der DB testet innovative Technologien Deutsche Bahn AG
 * ZEVrail-Artikel
 * ICE TD technische Daten