AKN automates personnel dispatch using IVU.rail

Berlin, 10th February 2026 | AKN Eisenbahn GmbH, a long-standing customer of IVU Traffic Technologies AG, continues to embrace digitalisation. Since last year, the company has benefited from automatic personnel dispatch (APD) alongside tried-and-tested IT solutions for planning and dispatch.

With its dense regional network and large vehicle fleet, AKN is a key stakeholder in short-distance rail passenger transport in northern Germany, particularly in Hamburg and the neighbouring area. The rail company has used IVU Traffic Technologies’ integrated standard software, IVU.rail, for many years to manage operation planning and personnel dispatch.

A change to the collective agreement meant that, starting in 2025, individual annual duty rosters would have to be drawn up for each individual employee in transport services for the first time. Thanks to advanced automatic personnel dispatch in the existing IVU software, AKN was able to implement these new requirements on time. APD takes into account all individual requests, work-time regulations, rest times, as well as qualifications, allowing a significantly more efficient shift distribution. On this basis, the software generates tailor-made duty suggestions at the touch of a button and recognises connections that would be almost impossible to map in a manual planning process.

“Introducing automated personnel dispatch was a real step forward for us. A particularly positive feature is how efficient and flexible planning is now. By automatically considering individual shift requests, we are able to tangibly improve working conditions for our colleagues on driving duty. The new system not only reduces our planning team’s workload, but also ensures a higher level of satisfaction,” says Ronny Peldschus, Head of Dispatch at AKN Eisenbahn GmbH.

“The project with AKN shows what a difference digitalisation and automation can make. We are delighted, as a long-term partner of AKN, to accompany them on this path and set new standards for future-oriented regional transport together,” adds Oliver Grzegorski, Managing Director of Rail at IVU Traffic Technologies.

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