Point Machine H715 in operation for Hamburger Hochbahn

Jens Böcker, 54, qualified as a mechanical engineer after training to become an engine fitter. He works for Hamburger Hochbahn AG (called Hochbahn for short). He has been an active member of the German railway society (Deutscher Eisenbahnverein e.V., DEV) for over 40 years. He and his family live in Norderstedt near Hamburg.

tram.news: How long have you been working for Hamburger Hochbahn, and what are your duties?

Jens Böcker: I have been working for the Hochbahn for 25 years now. I am currently working in the area of points and planning. Since 2001, I have been Division Manager for point-maintenance and permanent way. My duties include the maintenance work necessary on points to ensure smooth driving operations, and execution planning of maintenance projects in track construction.

tram.news: How important is public transport for Hamburg? What special features characterize the Hochbahn?

Jens Böker: Hamburger Hochbahn has been in existence since 1912. We currently operate four underground lines, whereby U1 is the longest line in Germany with a total length of 55.8 kilometres. The Hochbahn transports more than 250 million passengers by train and bus per year. In the inner-city area, a large part of the railway line runs on a viaduct. Underground and overground driving are governed by BOStrab.   

tram.news: How large is the line network and how many electrically-set points are maintained by you and your colleagues?

Jens Böcker: The line network comprises 260 kilometres of track and over 500 points, 40 per cent of the tracks are in tunnels.

tram.news: How did you experience the introduction of our point machine H715?

Jens Böcker: HANNING & KAHL presented the point machine to us theoretically and practically. My colleagues and I were able to see the point machine in operation here on our premises. We then planned a test installation on the depot in Saarlandstraße. Permission for installation and test operation was easily obtained from Hamburg ‘s technical supervisory authority (TAB) as approval for use had already been granted by Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) and the Swiss Federal Office for Transport (BAV), and SIL 4 certification had also been awarded. On account of the good maintainability of point machine H715 and the ease of manual operation, we decided to retrofit all points on our depot with this HANNING & KAHL point machine after further mandatory tests had been performed, and with extended approval from the TAB. 

tram.news: As an operator, what advantages do you see in the use of the H715?

Jens Böcker: One great advantage of the H715 is its modular structure with easily accessible individual components. For example, the top-mounted cover entry point for the crank used for manual setting. We can also use the existing perforation on the point machine bearing, which means that existing point machines can be quickly substituted by the H715. Product support by and communication with HANNING & KAHL function smoothly.

tram.news: What modernisation measures are planned for the coming years on the Hochbahn’s line network? 

Jens Böcker: First of all, I must mention our extensive program for interlocking refurbishment on Line U1. A number of bridges and stop stations, some of which are over 100 years old, are also being refurbished. Two line extensions are currently under construction/in the planning stage. Construction of the new, fully-automated U5 line is the biggest project, and another first for Hamburg.

tram.news: Which point-maintenance tasks do you perform yourselves and which do you outsource? 

Jens Böcker: Having been comprehensively trained by manufacturer HANNING & KAHL in the installation and maintenance of point machine H715, we do the annual inspection and service work ourselves. We overhaul the point-machine parts in our workshop in compliance with the manufacturer’s instructions. We also service and replace external point locks, check rails and other track components ourselves. Only some welding work on the tracks is performed by external companies.

tram.news: Thank you very much for taking the time for this interview. 

The interviewer for tram.news was Achim Schlink, Sales of Point-Setting Systems.