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Behind the occupancy views is a comprehensive capacity management system. This means that customers can find a seat faster and rail transport becomes more efficient.

Digitalization to lean back: Deutsche Bahn (DB) is introducing real-time load factor displays on the first routes in regional transport. Information about the use of the wagons is determined and communicated directly to the passengers on the platform, on the vehicle and via the app.

Behind the occupancy views is a comprehensive capacity management system. This means that customers can find a seat faster and rail transport becomes more efficient. If travelers deliberately board unoccupied carriages, trains can depart more punctually. As a result, the capacities in the rail network can be better utilized. The whole system is ready and will gradually go live in the coming months.

The occupancy display on the platform takes place in a three-stage traffic light logic or personal pictograms for the respective wagon. This way customers can see where they can position themselves in order to better find a car with free seats. The displays will first be used on trial routes of the Hamburg S-Bahn and the Stuttgart S-Bahn network. Regional traffic between Hamburg and Lübeck will start in February. The S-Bahn in the Rhine-Main area will be added in April and parts of the Berlin S-Bahn from May. By the end of 2024, more than 1.500 DB Regio wagons, a quarter of all DB trains in regional transport, will be able to represent the occupancy rate throughout Germany.

"With the intelligent occupancy display, we make the daily life of our passengers noticeably better. We can only make more people enthusiastic about climate-friendly rail if local transport is convenient and reliable."

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Delays in boarding and disembarking are the main reason for overruns and therefore delays. With the new system, passengers are better distributed over the platform and trains can depart more punctually. In addition, the occupancy display via the app helps travelers to choose less crowded trains for their journey. The new system also brings advantages for operations: the transparency of passenger flows and the utilization of trains means that train traffic controllers can better coordinate train traffic in the future.

Depending on the vehicle type, the number of passengers is measured using different technical approaches. For example, counters are used in the door area or light sensors that scan the load in the passing wagons. The system processes the data in seconds and then forwards it to travelers as occupancy information.

In Stuttgart, lines S6, S60 and S62 are currently running with capacity indicators, in Hamburg lines S21 and S31. Between Hamburg and Lübeck, the journeys with the RE8, the RE80 and the RB86 will be provided with the advertisements from February. In the Rhine-Main area, DB will be rolling out the system on the entire S-Bahn network from April. In Berlin, the roll-out will begin in May on the Stadtbahn line between Jannowitzbrücke and Zoologischer Garten stations and will gradually be expanded thereafter, according to the Deutsche Bahn.

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