To heat its buildings in winter in a climate-friendly way and cool them in summer, Deutsche Bahn also uses geothermal energy. A major advantage of this technology: geothermal heat is available at any time and in all weather conditions. It is already being used at the “Green stations” in Kerpen-Horrem and Lutherstadt Wittenberg, as well as at the station in Buchloe, Bavaria.
Infographic in a wintry railroad landscape: a red train on the left, a station on the right. A section of the floor shows a geothermal point heating system with a central heat pump. Red and blue pipes mark hot and cold medium and the direction of flow. Three methods are shown: 1 ground collectors with flat, serpentine pipes; 2 geothermal probe as a vertical borehole up to about 100 meters; three hydrothermal geothermal energy with groundwater between suction wells and seepage wells. The heat pump raises the temperature level, transfers heat to the soak well and returns the cooled medium to the ground or groundwater.
How geothermal energy works at DB
In pilot projects, switches are also protected against snow and ice in winter using geothermal probes, for example in Heimbach in Rhineland-Palatinate. This reduces energy consumption compared with conventional systems.
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