HKX Issued a Press Release with Patronage Statistics

After one month of operations, at the end of August 2012 HKX issued a press release with patronage statistics. It indicated that tickets for many trains had been sold out, and that average ith the start of the 2013 timetable. we decided to see how the seat occupancy on services varied amburg-Koln-Ex ress open access passe gel' operation is faring. between 70 and 80 % and around 25,000 passengers were carried, this figure averaging around 190 per train. No services were cancelled, and 98 % of trains arrived at their destinations either on time or having accumulated delays of up to 15 minutes. There were no further such press releases, but later announcements indicated that passenger numbers had stabilised at around 25,000 per month, train occupancy has stabilised at between 60 % and over 90 % (depending on day and time of travel), many passengers are people who have not used trains before, and that some passengers have become regular travellers. The only announcement concern- ing financial issues was the one given when describing the start-up of operations, stating that the 2012 turnover was likely to be between 2 and 3 million EUR. But at present it is not possible to assess what the-commercial success of the service has been so far. As we reported in R 4/12, pp. 64 - 65, HKX started with one train pair per day on Mondays to Wednesdays, three trains on Thursdays, three pairs on but this was not possible at first, since During late autumn, the ex-ALEX carriages started to be proving so unreliable Fridays and Saturdays and five trains infrastructure upgrades were in progress that often there were not sufficient numbers available for HKX services. The upper on Sundays. Most services were pro- in that area during the summer and photo, taken on 22 November 2012, shows HKX train 1803 from Koln Hbf. vided using rakes of four Class Avmz'" autumn. Hopes were engendered of to Hamburg-Altona entering Koln Messe/Deutz. ES64U2-026 is topping carriages, built in the 1970s and incorporating a stop at Sagehorn from the two-car rake of ALEX stock and another Taurus is tailing it. The HKX designed for express services, on hire the December 2012 timetable change, reservation system specified that the train would be formed of three carriages. from Netinera Deutschland. These vehi- but so far this has not materialised. Since early November 2012 MittelrheinBahn Desiro ML EMUs have occasionally cles had become surplus to require- There are usually eight intermediate been used by HKX. The lower photo, taken on 16 November 2012, shows ments on the ALEX services. The rakes stops on HKX services, and a ninth, 460 017 forming a train which has just arrived at Hamburg-Dammtor were topped and tailed by two of the Hamburg-Dammtor, was made by some from Kotn. This train was booked as HKX 1801, but had to be re-booked as four ES64U2s hired from Ostseeland of the Thursday to Sunday extra trains. HKX 25501. This was because a new path had to be calculated for it, since the Verkehr (OLA), another Veolia Verkehr But Hamburg-Dammtor has now been type of train and its performance characteristics had been altered. subsidiary. The Thursday to Sunday eliminated from the 2013 HKX timetable frequency increase was possible thanks altogether. to the use of one six-car rake of push- The operator's main difficulty pull Marschbahn stock, hired from would still appear to be centred on Veolia Verkehr subsidiary Nord-Ostsee- rolling stock. There have been some Bahn (NOB). This rake is hauled by improvements, and some less positive another of the Eurosprinters. It has low developments. A variety of different car- floor accommodation interior and multi- riage types are used, and it still looks purpose areas for large items of lug- as though the entry into service of the gage and bikes, but being designed rakes of vehicles formed of ex-CBB for local services, it has rather basic Class 4010 trains- the operator's original seating for a long journey. hope - is not likely to occur in the near HKX's trains are operated under future. OLA's licence. HKX requests its train To increase the size of the carriage paths from DB Netz. OLA, in addition to fleet, HKX envisaged hiring some providing the motive power, supplies vehicles from Tobias Richter (a former the drivers, train managers and train Regentalbahn director, who is now head maintenance, the latter realised at the of National Express Rail's German Husum EWG (Eisenbahn-Werkstatt). office). these originating from services which is run by NOB. Initially HKX of FLEX Verkehrs-Aktiengesellschaft, employed a workforce of around 40. a privately run venture which operated Each train is staffed by two or three Padborg - Rensburg - Hamburg services passenger numbers and the rev~ue one or two DesiroML EMUs were hired stewards. in 2003. Currently, these carriages obtained being probably lower than from Koblenz-based operator trans Journey time from Kiiln Hbf. to are still being prepared for HKX at the envisaged receipts for these short- regio Deutsche Regionalbahn. The latter Hamburg-Altona is about 4 h 05 min for NETINERA Werke Nord in Neustrelitz ened trains. But by around early has a fleet of 17 of these on hire from 450 km, onlya few minutes slower than and it is hoped to have them available November 2012 the reliability of this Alpha Trains for operation on the Mittel- that offered by DB's InterCity services soon. stock declined rapidly and defects rheinBahn network and some are sur- and slower ICE services. HKX trains Though being only a provisional started being discovered, too frequently plus to requirements at weekends. Yet are limited to a top speed of 160 krn/h, measure, the ALEX first class carriages, for comfort. Vehicles have had to be more diversity appeared on 19 Novem- whereas the DB IC services can reach which only have 50 seats and are there- taken out of the rakes for attention, ber 2012, when just one double deck 200 krn/h. However these trains are fore very roomy, have been accepted and this results in shorter trains, and carriage was hired from Railpool. This routed via Dortmund and Bremen, well and helped to give HKX a good reduced seating capacity. is coupled into rakes of ALEX stock a slightly longer route than that followed image among those passengers using HKX was forced to seek yet more and its capacity is the equivalent of that by HKX trains. HKX originally planned to them. But the low seating density of supplementary stock. For a few week- of two ALEX carriages. It was planned serve Sagehorn, a suburb of Bremen, these carriages might also results in ends in Novemberand December 2012, to use this vehicle mainly between

20 Railvolution Photo: Christoph Grimm

Thursdays and Sundays, but in fact it feasible, but in the end they were not. was instead used practically regularly Things will not improve in this respect between Mondays and Wednesdays, when the former Class 4010 stock whereas at weekends the Marschbahn enters service, because it will not be push-pull rake and Desiro ML EMUs permitted to use the driving trailers for ..... were preferred. Dependence on the their designed purpose. ~ ";!-.. double deck carriage is so consider- HKX stated initially that it would first able that when this vehicle suffered attract a regular passenger base and a defect on 18 December 2012 it was then implement slight fare increases. -, . .' ~ decided to cancel both two services So far, fares haveremained, on average, "".,".~.. •..:..~. that day. at the same level as in the summer. The result of using the Marschbahn The operator's reservationsystemshows stock with a Eurosprinter and the trans in December 2012 fares of between Two ex-Class 4010 carriages being moved by low-loader from Poznan to regio EMUs at weekends resulted in 18 and 68 EUR (between 0.05 and Delitzsch on 8 December 2012, pausing for a rest in a lay-by, the use of energy-saving modern trac- 0.15 EUR/km) offered for the run from tion, and a reduced need for locomo- K61nto Hamburg - the same as during by road from Poznari to Delitzsch. RDC stating that customers were found im- tives. Greater seating capacity was the summer. A single fare of 23 EUR Deutschland has confirmed that it is still mediately, and that train occupancy has available, too, but at the expense of can be obtained by booking about up the owner of the stock, and still plans been very good to extremely good since comfort - considerably so, since the to two days in advance, and choosing to use it for its operations. Initially 43 the very beginning. This would appear seating configuration of the Desiro MLs a day of the week when passenger carriages from the Class 4010s were to be proof that the fares and the product is even more cramped than that of the numbers are generally lower. Using acquired, and to start up the Hamburg are right - and therefore have generated Marschbahn stock. Less important, but a DB Sparpreis ticket bought up to to K61n service HKX planned to use a market which makes the service also playing a part, is the diversity of two days before departure the fare is some of them to form three six-car viable. There would appear to be enough the fleet, which would certainly appeal 49 EUR, when booked longer in rakes. travellers who are price-sensitive, but to camera-toting railway enthusiasts, advance it can be obtained for as little In spite of all the difficulties, it would not strictly bound by time constraints, but it is questionable whether this cha- as 29 EUR. The standard second class appear that patronage of the HKX to fillthe trains. They play by HKX's rules, racteristic is effective to woo the aver- single fare is 86 EUR, so BahnCard service is being maintained. Fares are in other words. Surveys indicate that age travelling public, who would gene- 50 holders can obtain a single fare held at levels which are very competi- many of these passengers are young, rally be looking for a strong corporate from 43 EUR. tive with those offered by DB and the and many are women travelling in small image, both in terms of train type and However DB also charges a seat train capacity offered (and thus which groups or alone, considered to be a part livery, clearly distinguishing HKX trains reservation fee of 4 EUR, and on HKX has to be filled up) is negligible com- of the travel market which in the past from those of the incumbent DB and seat reservations are free. HKX tickets pared with the total capacity offered did not frequently opt for rail travel. But other operators. can be purchased by Internet, phone, on the route by DB, with hourly operated only time will tell whether HKX is con- While the Desiro ML units were an or on board the trains. Negotiations with direct services formed by considerably ducting its business in a manner that is interim measure, it is hoped to retain other potential ticket vending agents longer rakes. economically sustainable. the double deck carriage for a longer (municipal public transport operators HKX itself considers its entrance period of time. Moreover, once Tobias were envisaged) bore first fruit on into the market as quite successful, Petr Kaderavek, Karl Kaufung Richter's carriages are ready, it is hoped 2 January 2013. From that date it be- to step up service frequency, pos- came possible to buy tickets via Rhein- sibly by February 2013, but no date bahn's vending points in the station SPICE For CAF Power & Automation has yet been officially announced. At and city of Dusseldorf. Itwas expected Over the final four months of 2012, and following an implementation and present the trains formed of ALEX stock that the geographical range of Rhein- assessment period which lasted several months, CAF Power & Automation was are still being topped and tailed by bahn sales points of HKX tickets would awarded the ISO/IEC 15504 certificate, based on Maturity Level 2 of the ISO/ Tauruses,this being necessary because expand in the future. IEC 12207: 2008 Process Model. This is also known as the SPICE - Software at the termini there is insufficient time Earlier in 2012 HKX confirmed that Process Improvement and Capability Determination. It provides an intemational between arrival and departure for a lo- its agreement with H. Cegielski - FPS model for the improvement and evaluation of development and maintenance comotive to run round the rake of stock of Poznari for the refurbishment of the processes for information systems and software products, and also enables and thus to handle the train on its own. Class 4010 stock has been termi- evaluations to be carried out using maturity levels, the manufacturer having While at Hamburg-Altona run-rounds nated. A German company is to com- initially chosen Level 2, corresponding to Project Management, but aiming are virtually impossible, at K61nHbf. it plete the work, and since November to achieve Level 3, Adapted Processes - Standards. was initially hoped that they would be 2012 the carriages have been moved CAF

A Huge New Home For FV-Dosto EMUs A new 123 million CHF depot to house the FV-Dosto EMUs (see R 5/12, p. 32) is currently being built at Ziirich-Herdern. The depot hall will be 420 m long, accommodating one kilometer of tracks and a covered tloorspece of 13,000 m2, Equipment will include cranes, roof-level platforms, high staging, catwalks, WC emptying equipment, warehousing and staff facilities, and suchlike. The roof will be equipped with 4,000 m2 of photovoltaic panels. The depot is in a prominent location, and will be seen by thousands of train passengers each day on a busy main line. BothSBB and the city council were keen to ensure that the huge building was pleasing to the eye, and a facade which appears to be three-dimensional was designed. This facility, on which work started on 16 March 2012 with the boring of the first holes for the foundations of no fewer than 770 supports, will be the largest of its kind on the SBB network. Work on site preparation took three months, six months were required for basic construction activities, including the erection of the steel framework of the building. Fitting the cladding will now take around four months, and finally nine months will be required for fitting out and equipping the depot. Butthis is no tranquil greenfield site! The new depot is being built on land between an existing depot building and tracks which are in regular use, and the movement of trains has had to continue uninterrupted. At the height of site preparation some 1,000 t of excavated soil and waste had to be cleared from the site, daily, by rail. The building is scheduled for completion by the end of 2013 and it should be ready for work in early 2014, sharing the facilities with other types of train, such as IC 2000 rakes. But this will not be the only new SBB depot. Between now and 2023 the operator is planning to invest over one billion CHF in new maintenance facilities for the trains, at locations such as Basel, Olten, Oberwinterthur and Yverdon.

SBB Personenverkehr

22 Railvolution