RailHub Duisburg

A new terminal IT by the deadline

Starting point

Kombiverkehr Intermodal Services took over operations at RailHub Duisburg. A completely new IT landscape for terminal operations had to be in place by the handover date: the system used until then could not be carried over, and the change of staff on the handover date ruled out both parallel operation and step-by-step training.

For a terminal of this size, that sets a high bar: train handling, yard management, lifting orders and truck processing interlock directly. If one of these processes fails, the whole terminal feels it.

Solution

smartTOS was introduced as a terminal management solution whose modules can be activated individually while sharing a common data set. For this project that meant: not every function had to be finished by the deadline.

• Five project phases, from kickoff through workshops and interface integration to go-live and hypercare
• More than 15 data interfaces connected to the partner systems involved
• Close coordination with the operator throughout the introduction phase, with regular workshops and feedback loops
• Deliberately step by step: train inspection initially continued on paper lists and was integrated into smartTOS after the first trains had been handled

Result

Go-live took place on schedule with the operator handover, without a single day of parallel operation. Today smartTOS covers the key workflows at RailHub Duisburg digitally: from train pre-notification through yard management to truck handling, the processes interlock, data is captured once and is available along the entire workflow.

The modular structure remains the basis for future growth: a graphical real-time dashboard and self-check-in for truck drivers are planned as the next modules.