Protecting nature and wildlife are close to our hearts, which is why we are working to ensure that our land is a good home for flora and fauna. For example, we want to introduce even better vegetation management techniques.
To achieve this, we worked with external business partners to see how we could cut back plants growing under power lines in a way that promotes biodiversity. Evaluation of the results is ongoing, and once this is over, they will be put into practice in a pilot project.
Managing vegetation with the latest technology
Extreme weather conditions are becoming more and more common. Against this backdrop, we are working to improve how we monitor and handle the trees that grow next to our rail lines. Our checks make use of the latest technology. We work with start-up LiveEO to process satellite images, and artificial intelligence is then used to transform this data into digital maps of the vegetation growing along our lines. This gives us an overview of tree density, their height and their distance from the tracks, which enables us to make better vegetation management decisions and speed up the work of identifying trees that are likely to fall during a storm.
Research into insect conservation at stations
Our BALIN project sees us team up with external partners to study how we can make a positive contribution to protecting insect species by means of alternative forms of lighting. As part of the project, we are installing insect-friendlier light fixtures at stations, and some kind of special traps help us to study how they attract insects. The project receives funding from the German government's environmental ministry via a biodiversity project run by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation.
