IVU.rail at National Express

13 December 2015 was the big day: National Express took over lines RE 7 and RB 48 in North Rhine-Westphalia when the new timetable came into effect. 35 brand-new trains and around 130 employees now ensure that passengers on the Rhein-Münster­land route reach their destination on time and in comfort. Using the standard products of IVU.suite, IVU Traffic Technologies AG built the requisite IT infrastructure in no time, taking just four months from the start of the project to commencement of planning.

The schedules and staff rosters are being prepared with IVU.rail, while vehicles and staff are dispatched on a daily basis. The control-centre software IVU.fleet supports operational control, and IVU.realtime provides connected information systems with all real-time data. Finally, IVU.control manages all data relevant to the transport agreements such as infrastructure costs, punctuality and cancellations, and exchanges them with the client’s systems.

IVU’s all-round solution ensures seamless integration of all operational tasks. Numerous interfaces also allow integration of peripheral systems. “With the IVU system, we are getting everything from a single source”, said Wolfgang Schuster, Managing Director of National Express Rail GmbH. “We are particularly impressed by the software’s wide range of functions and modular structure. This allows us to expand the system flexibly and easily adapt it to the requirements of our growing network.” 

Based in Cologne, National Express Rail GmbH was established in spring 2012 as a subsidiary of the UK’s National Express Group. In April 2013, the company was awarded the contract for lines RE 7 and RB 48 in North Rhine-Westphalia, covering around 5,100,000 train kilometres per year.