Success Stories

ICS & Hitachi Rail: Success in track safety

tamara.minhas@ics-gmbh.de (Tamara Minhas) — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 10:58:43 GMT

Success Story: Track safety that creates trust - ICS makes rail infrastructure safe, traceable and future-proof

Background: Safety where it counts - on the track

What does safety in rail traffic really mean?
Not just systems that work in the laboratory. But safety where it really counts: out on the track. Where trains run every day. Where people are on the move. Where technology, topography, climate, standards and operations come together.

Hitachi Rail supplies state-of-the-art signaling systems: powerful, modular, internationally applicable. They consist of central interlocking cores, operating units, field element control systems and track vacancy detection systems. However, a signaling system alone does not make a safe route. Only precise, data-supported safety verifications turn it into an approved railroad operation.

And this is exactly where our work begins.
ICS GmbH does not safeguard products - we safeguard rail operations.

SCiP Digitalization: Efficient automotive supply chain | ICS

tamara.minhas@ics-gmbh.de (Tamara Minhas) — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 10:49:06 GMT

The automotive industry faces the challenge of efficiently organizing its highly complex supply chains. As a proactive pioneer in the automotive industry, Mercedes-Benz Group AG is setting new standards in the efficient design of highly complex supply chains. In order to meet this demand, the company has launched Supply Chain integrated Planning (SCiP ) - an innovative system with a large number of modules that work together seamlessly. SCiP optimizes the entire supply chain of components, from the supplier's delivery to the production facility and back again. SCiP is an integral part of forward-looking and resource-saving planning.

DRK Aalen: How to implement control center security at an early stage

tamara.minhas@ics-gmbh.de (Tamara Minhas) — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 10:41:01 GMT

Successful introduction of information security: The DRK-Kreisverband Aalen e.V. secures its new control center sustainably

The DRK-Kreisverband Aalen e. V. is planning to build a new control center and was faced with a fundamental question: Does the control center have to be secured like a critical infrastructure (KRITIS)? Even though the German Red Cross as a rescue service has not yet been officially classified as a critical infrastructure, the DRK-Kreisverband Aalen e. V. decided at an early stage to act proactively and comprehensively secure its future control center.

ICS & Hitachi Rail: Trust in railroad technology

tamara.minhas@ics-gmbh.de (Tamara Minhas) — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 10:25:53 GMT

Success Story: 60 years of ICS & Hitachi Rail -
Continuity, competence and joint responsibility
for rail safety

The beginning of a partnership with vision

The collaboration between ICS - Informatik Consulting Systems GmbH and today's
Hitachi Rail dates back to the 1970s. At that time, the former company
SEL (Standard Elektrik Lorenz), one of the leading electronics companies in Zuffenhausen, was looking for partners to support safety-critical rail technology. Franz-Josef Winkel, one of the early IT pioneers, approached ICS GmbH with an inquiry - the start of an
extraordinary partnership.

This partnership outlasted all company transitions:

1980s: Takeover of SEL by Alcatel
Later: Integration of the Alcatel rail technology division into Thales
Since 2025: Takeover by Hitachi Rail - today operating as Hitachi Rail GTS Deutschland GmbH

Despite changing names and structures, one thing remained constant: the collaboration with ICS - for decades with the same teams, contacts and values. Structures
and processes were adopted 1:1 in every transition phase and continuously
further developed. A rare degree of continuity and trust.