Tracker noses of the DLRG local group Haan e.V. in training at the eurobahn in Hamm-Heessen on 21 May

Düsseldorf, 16 May 2023 - On Sunday, 21 May, from 10:00 to 15:00, the eurobahn workshop in Hamm-Heessen, Sachsenweg, is literally getting down to business. The DLRG local group Haan e.V. (Mettmann district, North Rhine regional association) will be using the trains and outdoor area of the eurobahn workshop as a special training venue for the first time. This is a special training location for mantrailer training. Where the 62 Stadler Flirt1 electric railcars of eurobahn are usually maintained and prepared for operation in 24/7 shifts on the tracks, the pit or the lifting platform, six dog-human teams will be practising for rescue operations on Sunday in parallel with the workshop operations. The teams from DLRG Ortsgruppe Haan e.V. will search in and around the trains for people who have previously left tracks in the complex surroundings of the trains and the track area. "We are delighted to be able to provide the DRLG Ortsgruppe Haan e.V. with this training venue for the first time and to benefit from this cooperation ourselves," says Lukas Hagemann, Head of Health, Quality, Safety and Railway Operations at eurobahn.

Invitation to the photo session

Members of the editorial team are cordially invited to the photo session on Sunday, 21 May 2023 to find out more about the exercises. Please send your registration by 19 May 2023, 12:00 noon, to presse@eurobahn.de

More and more mantrailers are being used in rescue work. The dogs' exceptionally good sense of smell is used to pick up and follow the trail of a missing person via an odour article and, ideally, to find them. DLRG Ortsgruppe Haan e.V. currently has eleven dogs and their handlers undergoing mantrailer training. During training, the dogs do not just have to learn to smell or track, but to follow human tracks in a wide variety of environments, situations and visual or acoustic environmental stimuli. The training process continuously builds up complexity. Forest and green areas with soft surfaces and low ambient noise and contamination form the start of the training programme. This is followed by a gradual change to the urban landscape with different surfaces, such as soft ground in the form of grass and hard ground in the form of tarmac surfaces. This is followed by areas with more and more noise, gradients, different levels and contamination from other people or animals. Depending on the team and training interval, the training takes between three and four years and culminates in passing the DLRG operational test. The dog handlers in various disciplines must also undergo continuous further training.

The police are responsible for deciding which resources to use in missing persons cases. The DRLG is one of the aid organisations called in by the responsible State Office for Police Services - LZPD for short - in the event of a missing person search.

The main area of operation for mantrailers from aid organisations is people suffering from dementia or Alzheimer's disease who have left their homes or residential facilities. Young people who escape from residential groups or suicides who want to take their own lives for psychological or physical reasons.

"The extensive transport network in urban centres plays a major role in the search for missing persons. More and more missing persons are using local transport vehicles. It is extremely difficult to specifically incorporate these scenarios into training," says Andrea Weich, mantrailer trainer at the DRLG local group in Haan e.V. "We would like to thank eurobahn for this first-time opportunity, which will enrich our training in terms of operational relevance and advance our rescue dog work," continues Andrea Weich.

As part of its own disaster and safety training programmes, eurobahn has been cooperating with the police, fire brigade and other rescue services for years. "Safety and responsibility do not work in railway operations without close, cross-company cooperation," adds Lukas Hagemann, Head of Health, Quality and Safety.