Together with the Chair of Building Informatics and Geoinformation Systems and Geodetic Institute and the Chair of Structural Analysis and Dynamics the VIA is developing a concept for an international master's course, with a focus on Digitalization and Transport Infrastructure. It aims to purposefully train international students in those fields and thereby contribute to long-term skilled labor qualifications for the German job market. The research project F1100.8388000/AFP/2024/AC is funded by the Federal Highway Research Institute on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport. The responsibility for the content lies solely with the author.

From September 24 to 27, the International Trade Fair for Transport Technology - InnoTrans will take place in Berlin. The VIA will be represented at the joint stand of the Association of German Transport Companies (VDV) within the Research Center Railways (RCR). We are looking forward to your visit in hall 2.2, booth 410.

VIA's annual team event took place on 22 July in perfect weather. Some of us started the day in Aachen with a bike ride to the starting point of our hiking route in the Netherlands. We hiked a total of 11 kilometres through the countryside of Mechelen and Epen. We stopped for refreshments at the Gerardushoeve restaurant, where we enjoyed a delicious lunch together. An ice cream was also a must in the summer temperatures.

On June 18, 2024, we visited Frankfurt Airport with numerous students. First, a lecture on capacity management provided insights into the day-to-day work of transportation engineers at Fraport AG. This was followed by an airport tour were had an close-up view of the airport infrastrcuture in active operations. Afterwards, the apron control staff were observed at work and many questions were asked about the positioning of the aircraft and the operational procedures. The excursion ended with lunch together in the canteen. Many thanks to Fraport for the insights!

The traditional "Bau-WM" soccer tournament was a big success again this year! In hot temperatures, 14 institutes from the Faculty of Civil Engineering battled for victory in the soccer boxes. After many exciting games, our team Lokomotive VIA made it to the semi-finals - congratulations on a great fourth place! We are already looking forward to next year!

Tamme Emunds and Nils Nießen of RWTH Aachen University have published the peer-reviewed paper "Evaluating railway junction infrastructure: A queueing-based, timetable-independent analysis" in Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies by Elsevier. The paper can be downloaded here.

At the BMBF Innovation Forum "Civil Security" in Berlin, the Institute of Transport Science, together with the other project participants DB InfraGO AG, Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences and the Federal Police, presented the joint research project on security at train stations (SicaB) to the specialist public. The project exhibition provided an exciting exchange and a variety of opportunities for discussion. The project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (funding line "Anwender - Innovativ: Forschung für die zivile Sicherheit II").Further information: www.sifo.de.

Fabian Stoll, Nils Nießen, and Bastian Kogel have published the peer-reviewed paper "Radical timetable innovations in long-distance railway passenger transport: How might these affect railway passenger demand?" in the Journal of Public Transportation by Elsevier. The paper can be downloaded here.