Awakening enthusiasm for railway as early as preschool

This was the motto of an excursion by preschool children from the "Kleiner Globus" kindergarten to the TU Dresden's Railway Operation Laboratory on May 30, 2024. The six to seven-year-olds first learned why the braking distance of a freight train is as long as the distance from the kindergarten to the university and why trains cannot turn as easily as road vehicles. Then, using the model trains, they were able to experience why signals are needed and what a interlocking is. Finally, each child was allowed to move a switch lever on the mechanical interlocking or set a route on the electronic interlocking. The Chair of Air Transport Technology and Logistics also offered a tour of the flight simulator to provide an insight into other transport systems.

To round off the excursion, Heike Schmiedel from the Association of German Railway Engineers (VDEI) handed over two "BahnSpielBoxes" to the kindergarten. The boxes contain railroad-specific toys and books worth 500 euros. The boxes were sponsored by the CERSS Kompetenzzentrum Bahnsicherungstechnik.