DB E.C.O. Group

The DB E.C.O. Group offers DB Group’s engineering, consulting and operations know-how from a single source. These include DB Engineering&Consulting (DB E&C), DB International Operations (DB IO), infraView, ESE and inno2grid.

• DB E&C has been entrusted with preliminary planning for the expansion of the Gäu railway (Gäubahn). The key element is the two-tube, single-track Pfaffensteig tunnel, which will connect the Gäubahn in the east-west direction to the subterranean Stuttgart Airport long-distance station that is under construction. Spanning a length of about 11.5 km, it will be one of the longest railway tunnels in Germany.
• In Arnstadt, DB E&C is planning one of the most modern green logistics hubs in Germany for DB Cargo. The logistics hub gives about 120 companies quick access to rail.
• DB E&C, as part of a consortium, was awarded the contract for the modernization of the Duisburg central station. The main construction work, such as the renovation of the station building including the roof and the basic renewal of the platforms, began in August 2022. DB E&C assumes technical leadership and, together with its partners, supports all construction monitoring services alongside environmental and geological services.
• The project for planning the Latvian section of Rail Baltica, Vangazi — Salaspils — Misa, has entered the next phase. DB E&C’s plans include a combined road and railway bridge. There are only four bridges in the world where the track for a high-speed line and a freeway are combined.
• DB E&C is working to ensure that the new ICE maintenance depot in Dortmund Port can start operations in 2027.
• The BIM implementation is progressing further. In 2022, BIM shall arrive on-site with the first projects. BIM standardization across the entire production chain remains a focal point. Since 2018, almost 600 BIM projects have been processed, some 250 of which are still in the portfolio.

• Canada: As the leading partner in Canada, DB IO assumes joint ventures planning and operation and maintenance of rail passenger transport in the metropolitan region of Toronto. The 450 km network line is to be fully modernized and expanded. With a volume of operations and maintenance totaling a double-digit number in billions of euros, this is the most important transport project in Canadian history.
• Uruguay: The consortium DBCC Transport, managed by DB IO, was commissioned with the operation of a freight transport line in Uruguay in 2020. Mobilization has now begun in full and the qualification of operational staff was carried out in 2022. The project is currently considered one of the most important economic programs in Uruguay.
• India: In India, DB IO beat out the competition for a major order for the first national high-performance transport project and will take over the operation and maintenance of a regional rapid transit system. The project will connect the metropolises of Delhi, Ghaziabad and Meerut with an 82 km line. The order volume is in the three-digit million euro range. After full operation, which begins in 2023, up to 900,000 passengers are to be carried on a daily basis.
• Egypt: In a joint venture with the Egyptian company Elsewedy Electric (EE), DB IO was commissioned to operate infrastructure and vehicles for high-speed, regional and freight transport in Egypt, as well as the maintenance of stations and depots. The new transport network, also known as the “Suez Canal on rails,” will connect the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, and is set to herald a new era in Egypt’s passenger and freight rail transport. The order value of the largest rail project in the history of the country is in the single-digit billion euro range. The start of operations is already scheduled for 2025.

• Together with DB E&C, infraView is expanding the digitalization portfolio in the area of planning, construction monitoring and commissioning. Automated image processing and BIM modeling of observation data are enabled through the UAS platform Drones2BIM, and processes are digitalized and accelerated using the eBTB digital construction diary and commissioning tool IBN Infra. The use of AI is developing into another core area. Automatic object recognition and visual inspections of existing plans, infrastructure and vehicle components supported manual tasks and opened up potential for automation.
• infraView supports the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) and its infrastructure monitoring by expanding its cloud platform for rail condition monitoring (RCM). RCM is a predictive maintenance product that uses rail sensor technology for infrastructure monitoring. The measurements are stored in large data centers and processed using AI techniques to assess the condition of the infrastructure.

• ESE is further expanding its conformity assessment activities. The ESE test laboratory has been certified according to DIN EN ISO/IEC 17025. In its test laboratory and its activities in the field of expert services, ESE makes a significant contribution to the successful commissioning of driverless metro systems worldwide.
• ESE is largely involved in securing future vehicles with autonomous driving functions. On behalf of the commercial vehicle line of business of a German automobile manufacturer, ESE ensures the correct functioning of vehicles with autonomous driving functions. This is the technological basis of future autonomous on-demand mobility solutions that will be able to make a contribution to the shift in the mode of transport and mobility in rural areas through the optimization of mobility chains in the future.