On the right train to your desired destination
Split Train Operations at the Rhaetian Railway
One train, two destinations: Passengers traveling with the Rhaetian Railway may find themselves on what is known as a split train — a train that heads toward different final destinations. Seamless coordination between the dispatching and passenger information systems ensures that travelers board the correct section of the train and reach their desired destination comfortably.
Long trains – half empty: This is a common sight on less frequented routes and holds great potential for many transport companies. They only need the full train length up to a certain station. Beyond that point, given the low passenger numbers, operating personnel, rolling stock, and infrastructure becomes hardly economical. The renowned Swiss railway company Rhaetian Railway (RhB) is also familiar with this situation — for example, on the routes from Landquart to St. Moritz and Davos. Passengers heading to these destinations often begin their journey on the popular section between Landquart and Klosters, which leads to particularly high occupancy on this segment.
In the past, the Rhaetian Railway operated trains to Scuol and Davos every hour and at close intervals, which put a significant strain on the infrastructure. Additionally, passengers traveling to Davos sometimes had to change trains and accept longer journey times.
“On top of that, our passenger numbers are continuously growing, and we want to further improve our service with new connections at hub stations,” explains Reto Zünti, rail systems specialist at the Rhaetian Railway. “In light of these developments, we decided to introduce and gradually expand split train operations.”
Efficient Operation on All Routes
While trains normally run from one station to another, split trains start as a combination of multiple train units. At a designated station, they separate into two to four individual trains, each heading to a different final destination. On the return journey, the train sections are re-coupled at the same junction station to form a single train again.
At the Rhaetian Railway, split trains have been running on a scheduled basis since the end of 2022, departing from Landquart and separating in Klosters into sections heading toward St. Moritz and Davos.
The advantages are clear:
- Passengers traveling to destinations beyond Klosters no longer need to change trains.
- The Rhaetian Railway can also operate the route up to Klosters at short intervals with full train length, offering more seating capacity, while serving the sections beyond Klosters with shorter trains.
- This allows both high-traffic routes and those with fewer passengers to be operated more efficiently.
In the Right Place from the Start
In addition to challenges for operations planning — particularly when it comes to accurately assigning train sections to their respective destinations — split train operations place special demands on passenger information. Travelers need to be guided to the correct section of the train to remain seated comfortably throughout their journey. This requires precise and reliable guidance.
At a glance, passengers must be able to see in which platform sector their train car is located. To achieve this, the Rhaetian Railway relies on its integrated passenger information system from Peak Mobility. This system has been ensuring safe processes for many years, even independently of split train operations, and reliably guides travelers to their desired destinations — including through the use of multiple languages.
Sector-specific information in all media
For split train operations, modern displays are used that are designed to process and present large amounts of information and complex operational relationships. This includes visualizing trains sector by sector across all media, such as overhead displays at stations, the passenger app, or screens inside the trains.
Standardized symbols are also used, which are easily understandable regardless of passengers’ origin, age, or potential impairments. For example, the symbol for a split train shows a dot with two arrows extending from it.
Tobias Perini, Head of Operational Customer Information, also emphasizes the importance of separately—or individually—displaying the sectors for different destinations:
“If a train splits, for example, toward St. Moritz and Davos, there is a separate display for each destination and its respective route, including the relevant via-stations and special information. This type of presentation is clear and allows all passengers to board their train with confidence.”
Passengers can see not only the sector where they need to wait on the station displays, but also the different classes and features of the train composition — for example, where the dining car, family compartments, or bike sections are located. Inside the train sections, displays also show the respective destination throughout, so that in case of doubt, passengers still have the opportunity to switch to the correct section during the journey.
Fully Automated Interaction
The passenger guidance system is technically based on seamless interaction with the control system. Through an interface with the car management system, it receives information about train features as well as technical data — such as the length of individual cars. Based on this data, the system calculates the exact stopping position at each platform, which then serves as the basis for determining and displaying the sector occupancy.
Smooth operation of split trains is ensured in large part because both visual and audio passenger information are automatically adjusted in real time during operational changes — for example, in cases of shortened routes, train cancellations, or if coupling procedures are skipped.
On the Way to Strategy 2030
The introduction and expansion of split train operations, along with other planned operational scenarios, are key levers the Rhaetian Railway is using to achieve the goals of its “Strategy 2030.” These goals include continuous service improvements, attracting new customer groups, increasing service frequency, and enhancing availability.
In the long term, split trains will especially contribute to a more efficient use of personnel and an optimized utilization of infrastructure — ultimately providing the Rhaetian Railway with valuable economic advantages.
Economical Across All Routes
Serving Both Popular and Less Frequented Routes Efficiently:
The Rhaetian Railway masters this balancing act through split train operations. In planning and passenger communication, the Swiss transport company relies on its proven PSItraffic operations and passenger information system, benefiting from both the automated interaction and barrier-free communication across all media channels.
The RhB
Red trains winding through the stunning alpine landscape, crossing historic viaducts and passing through century-old tunnels: The Rhaetian Railway (RhB) is world-famous, with one-third of its network designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The smooth operation of RhB is thanks in part to a complex technical system — including the integrated dispatching and passenger information system PEAK.TMS by Peak Mobility.
With the introduction of split train operations, the Swiss railway company has taken another step toward optimizing the use of personnel and infrastructure while simultaneously enhancing the travel experience.
PEAK.TMS plays a key role in this, ensuring that passengers reliably reach their intended destinations — and enabling RhB to use its resources efficiently and sustainably, even on less frequented route sections.
