Travel On German and Dutch
Railways
n
Some Features And Oddities
I travelled on the German and Dutch railway systems during July. I travelled by ICE (Inter-City Express) and EC (Euro City) and IC (Inter City) during the day, and so could notice certain things keenly. These countries have large and active railway systems in addition to elaborate highways. Following is my report for the readers of IRAS Times: -
1) The thing, which struck me most, was the smooth ride even at speeds
of 160 kms to 200 kms. This, no doubt, is due to their continuously welded
track and coach features. Rather rarely, at turnouts and points, there was a
rumble or rough ride. One could easily check the speed because there were speed
indicators at the two ends and in the middle of each coach.
2) In each coach, there was an electronic public display system, which
gave the destination, the next halt, the route, the present time, and
occasionally, the speed of the train. In addition, special happenings, like
rerouting of the train (due to unforeseen contingencies, like a section being
not available for reasons like an accident) were also displayed regularly. The
PA system announced these features in two or three languages. The PA system
even tells about the connections available at the next stop and the platform
number for the connecting trains.
3) The ICE, EC, and IC trains have a telephone, and fax facility for
passenger use on payment. They also have a restaurant car. A trolley service
also caters to passengers in ICE and EC trains. The rates are just about 20%
higher than static units.
4) One remarkable feature, which IR can emulate for Rajadhani and
Shatabdi trains, is the copy of the specific train’s timetable, which is placed
on each seat in the form of a folder. It contains the scheduled timings of
arrival and departure at each of the stops, the connections, their platforms,
and their timings at the stop, the facilities available at that stop, the
distance between the stops, and a lot of other information. There are a few
advertisements on this folder, which should be meeting a part of its cost.
5) To give an idea, Koln station handles some 1000 trains per day, and
there are hardly any railway personnel to be seen, except drivers, guards (for
some trains), and conductors. A very high degree of automation exists. Each
platform has electronic indicators (of the type available at our large
airports), which are maintained fastidiously up-to-date, and they are an
immense help for knowing which train is to arrive, its scheduled stops,
destination, and type. The passenger ticket, when it serves as a reservation
ticket also contains the number of the coach (not A1 or A2, but the digits),
and the seat or sleeper number. On the platform, there is a display of the
train marshalling, which gives the exact location of the coach. (This is
another feature that we can emulate). Of course, there is the PA system, which
I found to be distinctly better than the British one.
6) The station buildings have either very modern type of structures, or
have old, historic structures (many of which one sees in the World War II
movies), carefully preserved and maintained with modern amenities included.
7) All the level crossings were remotely controlled and had only half
width barriers, which speaks of the road discipline observed.
ODDITIES: -
A few special
features and peculiarities were noticed as follows: -
1) Not even one goods train crossed our trains on the double line,
though I could see large and busy marshalling yards with goods trains. It seems
they move their goods trains in the night, and/or on specially laid bypass
lines.
2) On a very large number of stations en route, they do not have
separate through lines as IR have, and fast trains run through platform lines
at speeds around 150 kms. (or more), while one can see passengers on the
platform (and the station staff), no doubt being subjected to the noise,
vibrations, and dust. This surprised me and when I discussed this with a German
(they are remarkably well informed on their railway systems), he, at first,
refused to believe this and said this does not happen at high speeds. When I
pointed out that ICE travels between Koln and Frankfurt non-stop at an average
speed of 191 kms. and has several stations without through lines, he kept
quiet.
3) The other, and bigger, surprise was that there is no fencing off of
the high-speed track except at, say, 30% of the track, mostly at or near cities
and factories. Even accepting that the social discipline in these countries is
high (and there are no cattle which get run over), this appears to me to be an
unsafe feature, considering the high speeds of trains.
4) ICE and EC trains have only fully reserved accommodation, but
sometimes, there were tourists sitting in corridors with their luggage,
obviously without accommodation. I felt puzzled as to how this was permitted.
5) There is a high degree of centralised control of facilities. In one
case, none of the toilets on the train was working, and the train staff said
they could not rectify it. My own impression is this had something to do with
centralised controls.
I shall be happy if
readers of IRAS Times respond with their comments on the Message Board.
S.M.Singru