Mixed traction

Trains in multiple traction often travel, depending on the fleet, with units that were built in different years by different manufacturers and, depending on the region, even with different operators or transport associations. For example, vehicles of the “Himmelstreppe” (Mariazellerbahn in Austria) are sometimes under way in seven-fold traction (five conventional trains plus two panorama vehicles). As long as the trains all have the passenger information system from FELA, all functions of the multiple traction can also be guaranteed with different vehicle types. In such a case, this is referred to as a pure multiple traction type in terms of the passenger information system. For many operations, however, there is also a need for so-called mixed traction in which trains with passenger information systems from different manufacturers are coupled together. This need arises especially when new trains are procured that are added as an extension to the existing fleet. Or in the case of refit projects, where individual trains are converted to a new system. The modularity and the many configuration options of the FELA passenger information system provide transport companies with a great degree of freedom in precisely depicting their specific situation and integrate third-party communication systems in mixed traction into the system via defined interfaces.