Deployment of River Information Services on the Danube

DI Andreas Bäck, M.E.

via donau - Österreichische Wasserstraßen-Gesellschaft mbH
Donau-City-Strasse 1,A-1220 Vienna, AUSTRIA
Phone +43 (0) 50 4321-1609 fax +43 (0) 50 4321-1050
andreas.baeck@via-donau.org, www.via-donau.org

CONTENT

Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Definition of River Information Services (RIS)
3. Description of RIS Services
4. RIS core system concept and key technologies
5. e-transport applications
6. Legal Framework for RIS implementation in Europe
7. Status of RIS implementation in Europe
8. Summary
9. Authors’ biography
10. References

PICTURES
Figure 1: RIS Users and RIS Services
Figure 2: RIS core System
Figure 3: Electronic Navigational Chart of a section of the Austrian Danube
Figure 4: Display of actual traffic information at Electronic Navigational Chart
Figure 5: Ship-borne installations on vessel
Figure 6: Provision of Notices to Skippers (full text and XML coded)
Figure 7: RIS core System and e-transport applications
Figure 8: RIS Deployment in 9 Danube countries
DI Andreas Bäck, M.E. page 2

ABSTRACT

The provision of information services to support traffic and transport management (River
Information Services - RIS) will compensate the information weakness of inland waterway
transport. The deployment of RIS on the European inland waterway network will improve
safety, efficiency and environmental friendliness of inland navigation and in this way
contribute towards modal shift.

The technical concept of RIS was developed within several EU Research Projects. Within the
research project COMPRIS, a RIS test platform was set up on the Danube (Austria, Slovakia,
Hungary, Serbia and Croatia), which provided an interconnection of test centres. New
services were deployed and new users integrated. The operational tests started in the
beginning of 2005 and lasted 8 months in order to gain acceptance of the new RIS Services
among the users.

In order to promote the harmonised implementation of RIS in Europe, the European

Commission and European Council adopted the EU RIS Directive. The RIS Directive entered
into force in October 2005. It contains binding rules for onboard equipment and data
exchange as well as the minimum requirements for future RIS implementations. Austria is the
first country in Europe to comply with the EU RIS Directive with the implementation of
Donau River Information Services (DoRIS) by 1.1.2006. The system provides Electronic
Navigational Charts according to the Inland ECDIS standard including depth data and
Notices to Skippers electronically. Inland AIS transponders are used for vessel tracking and
tracing. Installed on vessels, they support the navigational decisions and provide actual traffic
information to the RIS Centre. On basis of predefined access rights, traffic information is
provided to governmental authorities (lock managers and shipping authority) for traffic
monitoring and management. Traffic information supports commercial users (port and fleet
operators) in planning logistics operations. Dangerous cargo reporting will be possible
electronically and enables the traffic authority to be prepared for calamities. After an
introduction phase supported by a national program to stimulate the installation of RIS
equipment on board of vessels, the Austrian government foresees the mandatory installation
and operation of RIS equipment.

With its measures, the Austrian government exceeds the minimum requirements of
the RIS Directive. To support other Danube countries in the development of RIS Services, the
TEN-T project IRIS Europe (Implementation of RIS in Europe) started in January 2006. It
aims at setting up interconnected AIS and electronic reporting infrastructures along with
additional services in the Danube region and this way supports the coordinated and
harmonised implementation of RIS in the Danube region.
DI Andreas Bäck, M.E. page 3

1 INTRODUCTION
Inland Waterways in all parts of the world provide a huge capacity for passenger and
cargo transport. With a few exceptions (St. Lorenz and Rhine river), this cheap,
environmentally friendly and energy efficient transport systems is underutilized (<10% or
even less than 1% of the available capacity in some regions). In view of the rising energy
costs, the existing bottlenecks of the main road infrastructure and lacking budget for new
constructions, actions are required at policy and private level to encourage a wide use of this
transport mode for cargo supply operations mainly. [See European Commission (1) for more
details.]

The seamless integration of inland waterway transport into modern industrial supply
chains demands inland navigation to improve its services, reliability, ability to plan,
flexibility and traceability of operation - comparable with the existing services and operations
available on road transportation today.

European transport policy has made remarkable efforts in this respect in the last years.
Policy goals have been defined in the White Paper of the European Commission “European
Policy for 2010 - Time to decide”. Agreements have been accomplished at the level of
transport ministers, R&D activities have been increased with remarkable results available in
the area of intermodal logistics management as well as in traffic management and control. On
basis of these achievements, a set of measures at legal and commercial level were made to
achieve the policy goals of a more balanced use of the transport capacity on major inland
waterways in Europe as an integrated part in commercial cargo transportation.

2 DEFINITION OF RIVER INFORMATION SERVICES (RIS)

The provision of telematics information services (see Figure 1) to support traffic and
transport management (River Information Services - RIS) will compensate the information
weakness of inland waterway transport. [See Central Commission for Rhine Navigation (3)
for more details.]
The deployment of RIS on the European inland waterway network will improve
safety, efficiency and environmental friendliness of inland navigation. This way, the
modernization of inland navigation can contribute towards modal shift and facilitate the use
of inland waterways in Europe.
DI Andreas Bäck, M.E. page 4

Figure 1: RIS Users and RIS Services

3 DESCRIPTION OF RIS SERVICES

Fairway information service (FIS): FIS contains geographical, hydrological and
administrative data that are used by skippers and fleet managers to plan, execute and monitor
a trip. FIS provide dynamic information as well as static information about the use and status
of the inland waterway infrastructure, and thereby support tactical and strategic navigation
decision-making. FIS basically contain data on the waterway infrastructure only – excluding
data on vessel movements, and therefore consists of one-way information from shore to
ship/office. Traditionally, these services are provided through published Notices to Skippers,
TV and radio broadcasts, internet, VHF nautical information radio, e-mail subscription
services and fixed telephones on locks. Within RIS, this data is provided by electronic means.
[See European Commission (7) for more details.]

Traffic information service (TI): TI basically consists of tactical traffic information

(display of the present vessel characteristics and movements on a small part of the waterway)
and strategic traffic information (display of vessels and their characteristics over a larger
geographical area, including forecasts and analyses of future traffic situations).

Traffic Management (TM): TM is carried out by waterway administrations aiming

at optimal utilization of the infrastructures and assurances of the safe navigations. It is
realized by the means of:
DI Andreas Bäck, M.E. page 5

• Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) in areas with high probability of accidents by means of
shore based monitoring and interventions of operators in case of dangerous traffic
situations.
• Lock and Bridge Planning for reduction of waiting times and smoothing of the traffic
flow in areas with locks and movable bridges.

Calamity abatement service (CAS): CAS registers vessels and their transport data at
the beginning of a trip and updates the data during the voyage. In case of an accident, the
responsible authorities are capable of providing the data immediately to the rescue and
emergency teams.

Voyage planning (VP): VP includes the planning of transport time on basis of the
forecasted draught and the ETA (Estimated time of Arrival) of the vessel. Skippers and fleet
managers need fairway information for these planning activities.

Port and Terminal Management (PTM): Terminal and port operators need
Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) information in order to be able to plan resources for
terminal operations. ETA information of approaching vessels supports the overall terminal
utilization and allows smooth passage of vessels through the terminal facilities. As the result,
time for transshipment can be reduced. In case of insufficient terminal capacities, the terminal
operator can inform the individual skipper of his Requested Time of Arrival (RTA). All in all
a better slot management is possible as a result of the exchange of ETA and RTA data.

Cargo and fleet Management (CFM): CFM basically comprises two types of
information: (1) Information on the vessels and the fleet; (2) Detailed information on the
cargo transported. RIS allow logistics applications such as fleet planning supports, ETA/RTA
negotiations between vessels and terminals, tracking and tracing, and electronic
marketplaces. Fleet managers and logistics service providers can use the STI (strategic traffic
image) to track and trace their fleet. It helps identify availability and position of all connected
vessels. This potentially results in optimized utilization of transport capacities within an
existing fleet. This fleet planning capability can even be extended towards a logistics data
pool among different companies.

Statistics (ST): RIS can be used to collect relevant inland waterway traffic and cargo
statistics. The data is generated on basis of the automatically received tactical and strategic
traffic information and enhanced by the governmental RIS users such as lock operators. This
data is mainly of interest to the waterway authorities for strategic planning and monitoring.

Waterway Infrastructure Charges and Harbor Dues (WHD): RIS can assist in
levying charges for the use of infrastructure. The voyage data of the ship can be used to
automatically calculate the charge and initiate the invoicing procedure.

4 RIS CORE SYSTEM CONCEPT AND KEY TECHNOLOGIES

The RIS core system (see Figure 2) comprises of three main segments:
DI Andreas Bäck, M.E. page 6

• Ship segment for the generation and exchange of the position and identification of the
vessel (tactical traffic information) and for the display of the traffic information at an
electronic navigational chart (tactical traffic image). Moreover, cargo and voyage related
data is entered into an electronic reporting application.
• Shore and national control segment for the reception of the tactical traffic information
from the vessels and the forwarding of the data to the national control center. The entire
RIS core system is managed by national control centre. Moreover, information services
are provided to the fairway users and the service user segment on basis of the traffic
information of the vessel’s in the ship segment, cargo and voyage related data.
• The shore based service users segment provides data for governmental bodies (authorities
of the ministry of transport, internal affairs, finance and others) and commercial (e.g.
cargo, fleet and terminal operators) service users, which can obtain information services
from the RIS System through defined interfaces and considering pre-defined access
rights.

open/
standardized
interfaces

open/
standardized
interfaces

MOI responsible for immigration control

MOF responsible for customs control
open/
MOT responsible for traffic safety and traffic
standardized
management
interfaces

Figure 2: RIS core System

The set up of RIS Systems requires the use of the following RIS key technologies, of
which all are based on open interface specifications and international standards:
• Electronic Navigational Charts (ENC)
DI Andreas Bäck, M.E. page 7

• Vessel Tracking and Tracing Systems (Inland Automatic Identification System -

Inland AIS)
• Electronic Ship Reporting
• Notices to Skippers (NtS)

Electronic Navigational Charts (ENCs) provide geographical, hydrographical and

administrational information of waterways electronically. Electronic Navigational Charts
(ENC, see Figure 3) are coded according to the Inland ECDIS (Electronic Chart Display and
Information System for Inland Navigation) Standard. This was adopted by the Central
Commission for Rhine Navigation (CCNR), the Danube Commission (DC), PIANC and
United Nations – Economics Commission for Europe (UN-ECE).
After high interest of the United States (US Coast Guard and US Army Corps of
Engineers) and intensive discussions with the Russian Federation, the Inland ECDIS Standard
is also about to be brought into the maritime fields as an amendment of the maritime ECDIS
standard. Current activities show that there will be a good chance to bring the inland ECDIS
approach into the next edition of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) ECDIS
standard. As a consequence Inland ECDIS will not be just a European approach, but used
world-wide. China, Egypt, Brazil and other countries with significant navigable waterways
have already expressed their interest.

Figure 3: Electronic Navigational Chart of a section of the Austrian Danube

Vessel Tracking and Tracing by means of the Automatic Identification System

(Inland AIS): An AIS uses dynamic digital broadcast radios carried on vessels. AIS
automatically broadcasts relevant information about the vessel at regular intervals (typically
every two seconds on inland waterways). These data are received and integrated by other
Inland AIS transponders (vessels or shore stations), which can be displayed as real-time
navigation data on a radar or Inland ECDIS (Electronic Chart Display Information System).
DI Andreas Bäck, M.E. page 8

Even without shore based infrastructure, vessels, which are equipped with transponders and
viewers, get a detailed overview of the traffic situation within their radio range. [See Pfliegl
(9) for more details.]

The use of Inland AIS can reduce language barriers, since a major part of the
information is exchanged in code format electronically. Reducing language barriers is
important as for instance the Danube passes on its 2400 km through 9 different countries, in
which 8 languages are spoken. Vessels that may not be visible by on-board radar systems can
be identified by Inland AIS (e.g. in cases of river bends, dikes).

When a shore-based Inland AIS network is installed the actual traffic information of
the vessels (vessel’s position, identification, timestamp,…) can be obtained by the competent
authorities in the Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Finance and
National Statistics Office. Traffic Information can be also shared with commercial users in
order to facilitate processes in terminals and of cargo and fleet operators (see Figure 4).

Figure 4: Display of actual traffic information at Electronic Navigational Chart

The Inland AIS standard, which was elaborated by the European expert group for
tracking and tracing, was approved by the Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine
(CCNR) at European level. The formal recognition by by international bodies will be the next
step.
DI Andreas Bäck, M.E. page 9

Figure 5: Ship-borne installations on vessel

Electronic Ship Reporting: Before the start of a voyage or before entering another
administrational area, information on the voyage and cargo (especially in case of dangerous
cargo) has to be provided from the skipper to the traffic authority. This mandatory measure
shall ensure proper preparation of search and rescue and calamity abatement activities. In the
past, the data are mainly received by VHF voice communication or by fax depending on
national legislation.
In order to ease the administrational processes related to the reception and distribution
of the reports, systems for Electronic Ship Reporting were introduced to operation in Europe
since the mid-1990s.
The standard for Electronic Ship Reporting in inland navigation defines the interface
between the ship borne application, which transmits the reports and the application on shore,
which receives the reports and forwards this to the relevant stakeholders.

Notices to Skippers (NtS): The provision of administrative information on the

waterways (e.g. navigation restrictions due to the rehabilitation of a lock) by the fairway
authorities to the fairway users suffers from language barriers. In the past this was done
mostly in national languages on basis of announcements on the black boards of the
administrations. Understanding the importance of these messages for safety of navigation
drew to the conclusion that these messages should be provided to in an electronic way to all
interested parties, language independent, not only for people navigating the rivers, but also in
a machine readable XML-format for usage in voyage planning applications. For this reason,
an European expert group elaborated a standard for language independent as well as XML-
coded provision of three message types:
• Fairway related messages
• Water-level related messages
DI Andreas Bäck, M.E. page 10

• Weather and Ice Warnings

A request screen for the Notices to Skippers enables the fairway user to query on
basis of different criteria (see Figure 6). The fairway user can select the geographic region of
the notice, the timeframe of validity and the type of message. Depending on the user’s
selection, the messages are provided in any language either in full text or XML coded. Coded
messages can be processed further by applications such as voyage planners. In case of
restrictions of the fairway, another route can be chosen and the voyage rescheduled.

REQUEST

TEXT

RESPONSE

XM L CODED

Figure 6: Provision of Notices to Skippers (full text and XML coded)

5 E-TRANSPORT APPLICATIONS

e-transport applications (see Figure 7), which are currently under development in
Europe, use the basic information services of the RIS core system and provide advanced
services such as
• ETA – Estimated Time of Arrival Calculation
• Update of Electronic Navigational Charts (ENC)
• Hull and Vessel Inspection Data Exchange
• Waste Management
• Electronic Crew Declaration
• Electronic Goods Manifest
DI Andreas Bäck, M.E. page 11

Electronic crew
declaration

Electronic goods
manifest

Waste
Management

Hull Data
Exchange

ETA – Estimated
Time of Arrival

ECDIS Update

Figure 7: RIS core System and e-transport applications

ETA – Estimated Time of Arrival Calculation: The exact estimated time of arrival
is especially important for resource planning at locks, bridges and control stations. On basis
of the traffic information, considering locking schedules and voyage plans, the ETA can be
estimated precisely.

Update of Electronic Navigational Charts (ENC): Actual geographical,

hydrographical and administrational information influences the navigation (loading capacity
is determined by the available draught,…). To provide actual information to the skippers, the
updates of the Electronic Navigational Chart must be communicated to the fairway users.

Hull and Vessel Inspection Data Exchange: The identification, type of hull,
capacity and dimensions of vessels are essential for most RIS services. This data is stored by
the national registration authorities and must be exchanged across administrational borders.
Moreover, the river state control has the obligation to enforce the proper technical state of
vessels. Therefore, the vessel inspection data has to be exchanged among the administrations.

Waste Management: Despite inland navigation being an environmentally friendly

mode of transport, bilge oil and other ship’s waste has to be disposed properly. The waste
management service enables the skipper to register for disposal and enables the authorities to
monitor proper handling of ship’s waste.
DI Andreas Bäck, M.E. page 12

Electronic Crew Declaration: This application enables the shipmaster to register the
crew and passengers and to communicate this data to the immigration authority on
beforehand. The authority can examine the declared people on board and follow the
movement of the vessel prior to the arrival at the border control station. Due to the electronic
cooperation the immigration control process can be streamlined and the waiting time for
passengers and crew reduced.

Electronic Goods Manifest: The electronic goods manifest contains all relevant
voyage and cargo related data. This data can therefore be used for transport management
(information to all commercial stakeholders on logistics processes) and governmental
activities related to the transport processes (e.g. customs and statistics declarations). Resource
planning at e.g. customs control stations and at transshipment points can be enhanced based
on the pre-notification.

6 LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR RIS IMPLEMENTATION IN EUROPE

Many of the current existing RIS applications have been developed independently of
each other. Data exchange and communication needed to be harmonized on a European level
in order to facilitate the interoperability of the entire system. This leads to a strong request for
further co-ordination and harmonization. The self-regulatory approach pursued so far by the
Member states was no longer sufficient and called for a legal framework at European level,
which has to be observed by all the European Member states.

Apart from the European Union there is no institution which can establish the legal
and technical framework conditions for a successful European implementation of RIS.
Because of this, the European Commission released the “Directive1 of the European
Parliament and of the Council on harmonized River Information Services (RIS) on inland
waterways in the Community”. [See European Commission (8) for more details.]

The EU RIS Directive aims at an European-wide framework for the implementation

of the RIS concept in order to ensure compatibility and interoperability between current and
future RIS systems at European level and to achieve effective interaction between different
information services on waterways. By this, European suppliers of equipment will be
encouraged to produce hardware and software for RIS at reasonable and affordable costs and
to perceive European RIS technology as a market opportunity.

Formalization of EU RIS Directive

• Adoption of European Commission’s proposal by European Ministers of Transport
(October 2004).
• European Parliament agreed to the EU RIS Directive (February 2005).
• The EU RIS Directive was adopted on 29th of September 2005.

1
The instrument of Directives of the European Union are comparable to federal acts of the
Administration of the United States.
DI Andreas Bäck, M.E. page 13

7 STATUS OF RIS IMPLEMENTATION IN THE DANUBE COUNTRIES

Austria was the first country in Europe to comply with the requirements of the EU
RIS Directive with the implementation of RIS in Austria by 1.1.2006.

The implementation of RIS in Austria required the following steps:

• Adoption of the legal basis towards RIS
• Establishment of a competent authority for RIS
• Implementation of RIS System in Austria
• Measures to encourage the acceptance of information services among commercial service
users [See via donau (5) for more details.]
• Coordinated implementation of additional RIS Services

Adoption of the legal basis towards RIS and establishment of a competent authority
for RIS: The implementation of River Information Services required the determination of an
authority responsible for the implementation, operation and provision of information services.
via donau, the publicly owned infrastructure operator for the Austrian Danube, was assigned
to become the RIS authority. Moreover, the roles and responsibilities for RIS were defined by
means of a new inland navigation act.

Implementation of RIS System in Austria: The Austrian RIS system provides

Electronic Navigational Charts according to the Inland ECDIS standard including depth data
and Notices to Skippers electronically. Inland AIS transponders are used for vessel tracking
and tracing. Installed on vessels, they support the navigational decisions and provide actual
traffic information to the RIS Centre by means of 23 Inland AIS-base stations. Traffic
information is provided to governmental authorities (lock manager and shipping authority)
for traffic monitoring and management. Dangerous Cargo reporting will be possible
electronically and enable the traffic authority to be prepared for calamities.

Measures to encourage the acceptance of information services among

commercial service users: From 2006 on, the governmental service users (Ministry of
Transport, Internal Affairs and Finance and National Statistics Office) use the information
services. In order to encourage commercial service users such as skippers, fleet and terminal
operators to make use of the benefits of RIS, measures were started for a rapid introduction
and wide acceptance of RIS.

As the first step as many users as possible shall be convinced to equip their vessels
voluntarily, in the following phase the equipment will be obliged by the authorities.
• via donau provides Inland AIS transponders to the fleet operators and skippers on basis of
a usage contract with attractive conditions.
• The Austrian Ministry of Transport, Innovation and Technology is planning to make
carriage and operation of AIS transponders on the Austrian Danube obligatory, starting
from the beginning of 2007.

Coordinated implementation of additional RIS Services within the project IRIS

Europe: European research projects confirmed the need for additional RIS Services.
DI Andreas Bäck, M.E. page 14

Consequently, several governments implement those in a joint project (Implementation of

RIS in Europe, in short IRIS Europe) in 2006 and 2007 with financial support from the
European Union. This project focuses on services to enhance inland navigation across
country’s borders. RIS Services providing traffic and transport data exchange and calamity
abatement support will be validated by means of interlinked pilot installations. In the Danube
countries IRIS Europe will bring information services for inland navigation a major step
forward.

The Implementation of RIS on the Danube

Figure 8: RIS Deployment in 9 Danube countries

Current Status of RIS Implementation in other Danube countries:

• The Bavarian (Germany) waterway administration provided official Electronic
Navigational Charts for the Main-Danube Canal and the German Danube. Their
vessels are equipped with Inland AIS and Inland ECDIS viewers with radar map
matching. Electronic ship reporting will be available according to the provisions of
the EU RIS Directive.
• The Slovak Navigation Authority installed Inland AIS and Inland ECDIS viewers on
their vessels and set up a RIS test centre in Bratislava. Official Electronic
Navigational Charts are expected to be available end of 2006. The full
implementation of shore based AIS infrastructure, Notices to Skippers and Electronic
Ship Reporting on the Slovak Danube is expected mid 2007 (IRIS Europe).
• The Hungarian Ministry of Economy and Transport nominated the RIS operator and
installed a Calamity Abatement Centre in Budapest. The shore-based AIS
Infrastructure on the Northern Danube was completed in November 2005 and will be
completed on the entire Hungarian Danube end of 2006. Within IRIS Europe
Electronic Ship Reporting and Notices to Skippers will be implemented by mid 2007.
Official Electronic Navigational Charts will be available according to the provisions
of the EU RIS Directive.
DI Andreas Bäck, M.E. page 15

• The Croatian Ministry of Sea, Transport and Tourism initiated the provision of
official Electronic Navigational Chart, Notices to Skippers and the installation of a
RIS center in Vukovar. Shore based AIS infrastructure is available on the entire
Croatian Danube and Electronic Ship Reporting for the entire Croatian Danube will
be completed by mid 2007.
• The Serbian Ministry of Capital Investment plans to implement River Information
Services in close cooperation with the Agencies of the European Union in 2006 and
2007.
• The Bulgarian waterway administration currently prepares Electronic Navigational
Charts. A RIS project with European co-financing is under preparation.
• The Romanian Naval Authority implemented RIS on the maritime Danube (160km)
and installed several RIS Services until March 2006. The system extension to the
entire Romanian Danube is expected the before end of 2008.
• The Ukrainian state organization Delta Pilot currently operates 3 Vessel Traffic
Service (VTS) Centers. Official Electronic Navigational Charts were provided. The
installation of Electronic Ship Reporting, Notices to Skippers and Inland AIS shore
infrastructure is expected according to the provision of the EU RIS Directive.

In order to facilitate the RIS implementation in all other Danube countries, cooperation
started in 1999 at various levels:
• At technical level in order to find a common understanding of the system concept, the use
of key technologies and the international data exchange among the RIS operators.
• At political level in order to harmonize the national project plans for RIS
implementations.
• At financial level in order to subsidize the national RIS implementation projects with
funds from the European Union in order to upgrade the Trans-European Transport
Network (TEN-T). [See European Commission (2) for more details.]

By means of these measures, the cooperation of the different Danube countries is assured
and it can be expected that seamless and harmonized information services are implemented
on 2400 km of the Danube in nine different countries by the end of 2008.
DI Andreas Bäck, M.E. page 16

8 SUMMARY

The traditional market segments of inland waterway transport (bulk and liquid cargo,
waste) will not increase significantly, so policy goals of a more balanced use of the available
capacity of the integrated land transport network (road, rail, waterways and maritime) will
not be achieved. Measures have to be taken at policy and operational level to encourage
significant changes in transportation planning of industrial supply chains. Logistics services
of inland waterway transport have to be improved to a level competing with road
transportation.
Implementation of River Information Services has the potential to cope with the
challenges ahead. With the introduction of information services, inland navigation can
improve its information weaknesses and become safer through additional services. Moreover,
the logistics processes of inland navigation and at transshipment facilities can become more
efficient by means of increased transparency, traceability and enhanced cooperation of
commercial and governmental processes.
The European Union facilitates the implementation of River Information Services by
means of an legal act, which is binding to all EU member states, the so-called EU RIS
Directive. Austria will be the first country in Europe to comply with the requirements of the
EU RIS Directive from 1.1.2006. Cooperation at political, technical and financial level has
been taking place, so that River Information Services are expected to be installed on the
entire navigable Danube (2400km) in nine Danube countries by the end of 2008.
DI Andreas Bäck, M.E. page 17

9 AUTHOR´S BIOGRAPHY
Andreas Bäck graduated at the Technical University of Vienna – Study of electrical
engineering, with focus on automation and control engineering – with an degree as Dipl.-Ing.
Moreover, he holds a Master of Engineering of the University of Colorado at Boulder in
Engineering management.
His employment experience includes the research and market analysis of cost
modeling systems at Bosonics LLC, Boulder, CO. Since 2000, he has been working for via
donau- Österreichische Wasserstraßen-Gesellschaft mbH as project manager for the
elaboration of the tender description for River Information Services in Austria, leading the
development of logistics interfaces for RIS in an European project. For the last three years, he
was the responsible project manger for piloting and enhancing River Information Services on
the Danube within the EU Research project COMPRIS. Andreas Bäck is member of the
Austrian society of Electrical Engineers and PIANC Austria.

Jürgen Trögl graduated at the University for Applied Sciences in Vienna – study of
electronics with focus on telecommunications – with a degree as Dipl.-Ing. (FH).
Since 2000 he has been working for via donau – Österreichische Wasserstraßen-
Gesellschaft mbH as project manager responsible for the technical specification and
coordination of the implementation of RIS in Austria.
Jürgen Trögl is member of the European Expert Group for tracking and tracing and
chairs the Young Professionals section of PIANC Austria.
DI Andreas Bäck, M.E. page 18

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