In just a few weeks, it will be again: the 5th International Railway Symposium Aachen will take place at the Eurogress in Aachen from November 19 to 20, 2025. With scientific presentations and practical lectures covering all aspects of the railway system, it offers the ideal forum for discussing current issues, challenges, and possible solutions. We expect around 250 experts from industry, science, and public authorities to attend. Registration information can be found at the following link.
We look forward to seeing you!

In September 2025, the institute for transport science organised further training courses on "Planning", "Operation" and "Railway safety and signalling technology" for CFL employees.

Starting this semester, RWTH Aachen University is launching the DB Bahn:Klasse! program in cooperation with Deutsche Bahn. This two-semester study-related program is open to bachelor's students from the third semester onwards as well as master's students in engineering and natural sciences. Participants gain exclusive insights into Deutsche Bahn's projects and work environment, take part in excursions and specialist events, and benefit from individual mentoring provided by experienced project mentors. The goal is to combine theoretical knowledge from university studies with practical experience and to specifically prepare students for careers in the railway sector.
Further information is available at the following Link.

This year, the members of the Association of University Professorships of Railway Engineering (VUE) once again gathered for their traditional autumn meeting. The event was hosted by the Research Division for Rail-Based Transport Systems at TU Wien under the direction of Prof. Bernhard Rüger. The meeting provided professors and their research staff with an excellent opportunity to exchange ideas on current research projects and activities. A presentation by ÖBB Infrastruktur AG and a visit to the Vienna Climate Wind Tunnel rounded off the event with an engaging and insightful program.

Our colleague Alexandra Benz was awarded the Springorum Commemorative Coin at this year's RWTH Graduation Ceremony. Each year, the proRWTH Association honors outstanding graduates who have completed their studies with distinction. The award is presented to the top ten percent of graduates from each faculty.
We warmly congratulate her on this achievement!

In the Journal of Rail Transport Planning & Management, Tamme Emunds and Nils Nießen introduce an innovative approach for evaluating the performance of railway stations independently of timetables.

The model is based on a continuous-time Markov chain and, for the first time, enables a holistic analysis of entire railway stations-a valuable tool for infrastructure operators for planning and decision support.

The open-access publication in the special issue on RailDresden 2025 can be downloaded here.

Mr. Gonçalo Soares Roque passed his doctoral examination on August 04th, 2025. The title of his dissertation is: "Estimating the Environmental Impacts of Aircraft Operations around Airports: A novel Framework and its Application ". The Institute of Transport Science congratulates quite cordially!

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Nils Nießen, together with Pengling Wang, Yutao Ye, Andrea D'Ariano and Pieter Vansteenwegen, has published a new article entitled "Fare system selection and line planning for new suburban rail lines considering the supply-demand interactions" in the journal Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Research Part C: Emerging Technologies.
You are cordially invited to read or download the article. Access is free of charge until 23.08.2025.