Case Study: Swiss Federal Railway achieves real-time train tracking and improved punctuality with TIBCO Software

Pinpointing Train Locations for Better Scheduling with TIBCO Messaging

The Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) needed to modernize aging monitoring and control systems to increase capacity and improve punctuality without building new track. With trains required to run closer together and arrivals targeted within 90 seconds, SBB also needed precise, real-time train locations and the ability to simulate disruptions — tasks its legacy Pascal/UNIX systems could not handle.

After a proof of concept, SBB deployed TIBCO Messaging as the low-latency backbone of its new Rail Control System. The four-year, $51M project now routes about 7,000 messages/sec (≈1.7 TB/day) from 20 locations, supports 900 clients, and enables real-time forecasting and simulation; benefits include annual savings of CHF 3–5M, a one‑percentage‑point punctuality improvement to nearly 90% of trains within 90 seconds, and future potential energy savings of over $10M per year.

Swiss Federal Railway

Marcus Voelcker

Head of Traffic Management System IT program