| version française | Deutsche Version |
| The Horber Schienen-Tage – an event with 30 years of exciting development... | |
... from a local discussion initiative into the most important German-speaking specialist symposium on the Rail topic which is open to everyone. In 1983, a few people interested in rail traffic met at the initiative of Kurt Bielecki in Horb in Southern Germany (near the Black Forest) to discuss railway issues. The state of the Deutsche Bahn (Federal German Railway) and the company's withdrawal from local presence caused a lot of concern at that time. Since then, every year in late November, the Horber Schienen-Tage organisers invite the interested public to learn, discuss and socialise with participants from the industry, trade associations, public transportation services, politics and science. People committed to transport policy – be it by profession or as volunteers – have the opportunity to speak with rail traffic professionals on the same level.
The Rail topic is not considered as an isolated issue and as an end in itself by the organisers of the Horber Schienen-Tage event, but as an essential part of our modern society. Rail traffic and technology may cause excitement, travelling should be fun. Critical questions are not off-limits.
Current examples are used to make long-term developments in traffic policy tangible. This helped to promote crucial strategic decisions in favour of rail traffic. Some achievements which today are taken for granted were introduced for the first time in Horb on the river Neckar. The first presentation of a BahnCard (railway pass) designed after a Swiss model resulted in an outcry at that time – today it is a part of everyday life. In 1990, Dr. Göbertshahn held a keynote speech related to regular interval service: "Unsere Bahn wird taktvoll" (Our railway adopts a regular interval timetable). A subject which was discussed controversially at that time, retrospectively marked the beginning of a strategic realignment of rail-based local traffic.
Questions regarding the sustainability of traffic could also be found on the agenda right from the start. Early claims featured the internalisation of external costs for all traffic systems. This is still an unresolved issue. Thus, the environmental impact of the different traffic systems is hardly comparable, the intermodal competition still suffers from distortion. Freight traffic and combined traffic, energy saving or alternative fuels, all these subjects can regularly be found on the agenda. For its commitment to sustainable traffic, the Horber Schienen-Tage event received the European environment award as early as in 1988.
The Horber Schienen-Tage have kept up a regular dialogue with politics. Virtually from the beginning, the municipality of Horb and the local deputies were involved in the dialogue. For more than fifteen years, members of the Deutscher Bundestag (German parliament), namely members of the traffic committee, have been involved in the discussions taking place at the Horber Schienen-Tage. At the same time, the dialogue with the industry could be intensified: at least one session for introducing new concepts and current products is scheduled every year.
The participants of the Horber Schienen-Tage pass a resolution every year in which they state their opinion on issues of current and long-term importance.
For a short overview of the history and the continued activity of the Horber Schienen-Tage,
refer to our
general flyer (0.7 MB, in German only) 
An in-depth look into the development,
success stories and contents of the Horber Schienen-Tage is given by our
Jubilee folder (in German) and further publications.
All publications are available in German only
... (click here to go to the overview)
