The man behind Dresden's main station: a look at Heiko Klaffenbach

The man behind Dresden's main station: a look at Heiko Klaffenbach

Dresden, Deutschland - Heiko Klaffenbach is a concise figure in the Dresden transport system. For 20 years now, as a manager, he has headed Dresden Central Station and takes care of the satisfaction of the travelers and the cleanliness of the system. Around 65,000 travelers use the main train station every day, which has changed a lot over the past two decades. Klaffenbach is responsible for a total of 152 train stations in Germany, supported by 74 employees.

With extensive training in the railway company, Klaffenbach brings valuable experiences from various positions within the Deutsche Bahn. The focus is particularly on the ongoing improvement of the train station. The comprehensive renovation, which began in 2000, was interrupted by the severe flood in 2002, but Klaffenbach was able to actively accompany 90% of the renovation process, with special attention to technical and structural issues. One of the largest investments was the fiber optic membrand roof, which was installed in 2006 and cost over 95 million euros.

responsibility and challenges

The Dresden main station is an important hub in the German rail network with 12,000 technical facilities and a commercial area of ​​14,000 square meters on which 40 shops are operated. Klaffenbach has set itself the goal of increasing the number of travelers at the train station to 100,000 a day, which implies the need for further improvements and the expansion of services.

Klaffenbach commutes from his place of residence in the Ore Mountains to Dresden every day, which gives him long working days. This devotion is evident in its active role in the further development of the station and the systematic optimization of travel satisfaction. In his function, he is not only responsible for the Dresden train station, but also for a large part of the train stations in Germany, which is an enormous challenge.

A look at the infrastructure

The train station is in the context of a far -reaching route network operated by DB Infrago, which includes more than 61,000 employees. The company is responsible for a route network of around 33,400 kilometers and manages 5,400 train stations. DB Infrago has set itself ambitious goals: The doubling of passenger transport and the increase in market share in rail freight transport from 19 % to 25 % are just a few of the challenges that are in front of them. The Germany cycle is to be implemented to optimize travel times for passengers.

The DB Infrago also plans to transform the 5,400 train stations into “future stations”, with support from almost 8,000 employees. This transformation is also urgently needed because the route network is three times longer than all German motorways and numerous infrastructure investments to adapt to the increasing requirements.

With these comprehensive efforts of Klaffenbach and his team, the Dresden main train station remains a central component of the German traffic infrastructure, which continues to develop in order to meet the needs of travelers.

Further information on the projects and goals of the Deutsche Bahn can be found on the website of DB Infrago .