"Course set for the digitalization of the rail sector?" - the key question the Federal Network Agency invited to the "Market Dialogue 2024" in Bonn on March 14, 2024.

Our lead developer Dirk Bräuer presented the perspective of German passenger rail transport companies, as our FBS timetable processing system is used by more than 75% of German rail transport companies with a public service function.

The focus of his presentation was the upcoming transition of DB InfraGO AG's train path ordering interface to "TTT" (TAF/TAP-TSI conformity), which was based, in part, on a survey conducted by iRFP among our customers: Despite all the opportunities and attractions that can be seen in a basically welcome interoperability of train slot ordering processes in Europe, the opinion from the perspective of German passenger traffic is rather skeptical. This may be due to the fact that international travel across German borders accounts for less than 1% of travel within Germany (in each case by rail) and that there is an existing and well-established interface for train slot orders within Germany. The fact that increasing complications are currently foreseeable at domestic German railway infrastructure borders (in the course of the change in the ordering system) is viewed critically. Since around 2/3 of the RUs advised by iRFP operate via domestic German railway infrastructure borders, a much higher proportion than via international borders, doubts that the advantages will outweigh the disadvantages of such a changeover are not entirely without foundation.

In this context, the question also arises as to which other European country has converted its entire national rail travel service to "TTT".