Hamburg's Rail Operator Continues to Roll Out RFID

When Hochbahn implemented the TagMaster solution in 2004, it did not want to replace its Amtech deployment, which includes 185 RFID interrogators and is still operable and stable. As such, it tagged all 800 of its railcars with both Amtech and TagMaster tags so that they could be used on any of Hochbahn's lines, regardless of whether that line has readers from TagMaster or from Amtech. Currently, the company continues to mount both manufacturers' tags on any new trains it puts into service. Hochbahn, in fact, keeps Amtech tags on hand for that very purpose.

Hochbahn's Uwe Schümann

According to Schümann, Hochbahn did not investigate the use of a different type of automatic-identification technology for the current expansion, since the company has been satisfied with its RFID-based system from TagMaster.

"RFID doesn't require much maintenance, and it works well," Schümann states. "It was very important for us that the tags on the trains didn't require a lot of maintenance, because they're very hard to get to once installed."

TagMaster worked with Funkwerk IT and Hochbahn to develop a sturdy plastic housing for the readers, in order to protect them during construction along the train line.