HaCon taps Indian Railways for timetable software

Germany's leading software and service provider for mass rapid transport system, HaCon, has evinced interest to work with South Eastern Railways, Eastern Railways and Kolkata Metro, in building a comprehensive integrated time table information system for each of these mass rapid transport systems.

The company plans to initiate talks with the Centre for the deal.

Speaking to Business Standard, Ing Volker Sustrate, managing director and partner, HaCon, said “We are very interested to do business with Indian Railways. Most of the state-owned European railways are our target customers. We have offered a proposal to South Eastern and Eastern Railways and Kolkata Metro for devising an integrated time table or database with our expertise and high-end products like HAFAS and TPS. South Eastern Railways has shown interest. We hope to materialize this deal and take it forward with the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS).”

CRIS, the central administrative authority responsible for floating tenders for all technology upgradation projects of Indian Railways had evinced interest earlier at HaCon's products also, Sustrate pointed out.

“We hope to make a breakthrough this year,” he said.

The company is at present building a train planning system (TPS) for rail-borne traffic for the entire French network.

HaCon, an 18 million euro company, specialises in time table construction and information systems with a range of high-end sophisticated products like HAFAS, RASIM, RADIS, TPS customised for different mass rapid transport system, be it railways, ships, flights etc.

HaCon's HAFAS, a comprehensive information system covering the scope of multi and inter modal passenger and freight transport, is the leading timetable information system for cross-transport application in the traffic sector in the European market.