The Stuttgart 21 project and the construction of the Stuttgart-Munich high-speed railway line have a major impact on rolling stock maintenance operations in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. The new maintenance concept requires a significant expansion of maintenance capacity in the Ulm region. One proposed solution was the construction of a new maintenance centre on part of the existing marshalling yard that was no longer required for railway operations.

Country

Germany

Client / Owner

DB Regio AG

Timeframe

2003-2005, 2007, 2009

Terminal type

Maintenance sidings

Problems and study goals

The design and location of the maintenance facility, the arrangement of its service modules (IRA - internal cleaning, ARA - external cleaning, refuelling, etc.), and the proposed operating concept all needed to be evaluated and refined before construction. The first simulation study focused on the operation of the Ulm maintenance centre and addressed the following questions:

  • Evaluation of the proposed placement of service modules.
  • Verification of the feasibility of the proposed timetable and rolling stock circulation plan
  • Assessment of maintenance sidings utilisation.
  • Estimation of staffing requirements needed to ensure reliable operation.
  • Identification of infrastructure bottlenecks.

Since the operation of the Ulm maintenance centre has a significant impact on the surrounding railway junction, and vice versa, the analysis could not be limited to the maintenance facility alone. It also had to include the marshalling yard, passenger station, and connecting railway lines. Follow-up simulation studies therefore expanded the original model to cover the entire junction. These studies focused on the operation of the railway node as a whole, with particular attention to passenger station and maintenance centre.

Study results

In the initial simulation study, a detailed model of the maintenance centre was developed to evaluate both the proposed infrastructure design and the planned operating concept. Various timetable scenarios, operating procedures, and staffing levels were analysed. The study identified the strengths and weaknesses of the proposed infrastructure layouts, verified timetable feasibility, and supported the estimation of staffing requirements.
 
During the follow-up studies, the simulation model was expanded to represent the entire Ulm railway junction, providing a detailed understanding of the interactions between the passenger station and maintenance centre. Various infrastructure modifications, including extensions to external stabling sidings, were proposed and evaluated. The passenger station was modelled in considerable detail, enabling assessment of projects such as the construction of a fifth platform and their impact on railway operations.
 
The simulation studies made it possible to evaluate and improve both the infrastructure design and the operating concept before construction commenced, helping to save substantial investment costs.