Article: Technical Article: Brevo App – Digital Assistance for Securing Rail Vehicles Against Unintended Movement
The safe securing of rail vehicles is an essential daily task in railway operations and a key safety requirement. Until now, railway personnel such as locomotive drivers, train attendants, wagon inspectors and shunting staff have relied on tabular procedures specified in the braking regulations (Ril 91501 / VDV Publication 757). The Brevo App developed by DB Systemtechnik digitalises these requirements and guides users step by step to determine the required holding force and the number of securing devices, such as wheel chocks or rail skates.
With the Brevo App developed by DB Systemtechnik, the required holding force and the number of securing devices can be calculated digitally based on gradient, vehicle weight and the number of wheelsets. Tables, formulas and flowcharts from the regulations have been transformed into an intuitive application. Users simply enter the key parameters and immediately receive a regulation-compliant recommendation for the required holding force and securing devices. The process is logical, transparent and quality-assured.
Intermediate values and special cases that are not explicitly covered in the tables can also be calculated easily. This improves safety, saves resources and increases transparency in railway operations.
The app is available for Android devices (smartphones and tablets) running Android 5.0 or higher and can be downloaded free of charge from the Google Play Store. An iOS version is currently being planned.
Further background information, technical details and practical examples of the Brevo App can be found in the technical article published in the January/February 2026 issue of ETR - Eisenbahntechnische Rundschau, which is available for download on this page.
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