OTM’s QA leadership strengthened Deutsche Bahn’s AC Trasse billing system, securing stability for critical rail infrastructure

By introducing automation, structured regression testing, and compliance QA, our expert raised test pass rate from 82% to 98,5% and prevented 92%+ of critical bugs before release, stabilizing one of Germany’s key infrastructure platforms.

Client
Europe’s largest railway operator with around €45B annual revenue, 320,000 employees, and operations in 130+ countries
Engagement
Outstaffing by Time & Material, started 2023, ongoing till March 2026
Team
1 FTE, QA Engineer (Test Design)
Project
AC Trasse - billing system for train path, facility use & ancillary services
Assurance
Socially insured, EU-based and fully compliant

Client goals

Deutsche Bahn’s AC Trasse is a mission-critical billing system used across DB Netz AG to invoice train path, facility usage, and related services. With its direct impact on Germany’s rail infrastructure, even minor inaccuracies or defects could affect financial flows and operational continuity. To secure long-term stability and improve release predictability, the client needed to elevate its QA capabilities beyond what the internal setup could support:

  • Operational risk: As a core infrastructure platform, the system required reliable validation to prevent incorrect billing or failed releases
  • Capacity gap: The existing setup lacked structured regression testing, automation, and dedicated QA ownership to support frequent releases
  • Expertise need: Advanced skills in test design, test data management, backend validation, and automation frameworks were necessary to ensure accuracy at scale
  • Sustainable quality: The client aimed to build a stable, repeatable QA process with clear documentation and long-term maintainability

Deutsche Bahn didn’t just need additional QA capacity, rather a senior expert who could bring stability to a critical infrastructure system, ensure predictable release quality, and build a long-term, structured QA practice.

OTM solution

OTM suggested Sergij, a QA Engineer specializing in test design and compliance testing. From day one, he took ownership of stabilizing and optimizing the QA process.

  • Introduced regression testing and organized stable release validation cycles
  • Combined manual and automated testing with large data volumes, ensuring billing accuracy
  • Migrated early Postman automation to Karate and ThunderClient frameworks
  • Performed backend validation using pgAdmin and OpenLens tools
  • Created and maintained test cases, tracked defects, and improved hand-off quality

What impressed the client most was Sergij’s ownership, transforming an unstructured environment into a reliable QA operation with measurable results.

Results

Coverage

100%

of test automation owned and maintained by our expert, covering all core billing modules

Quality

98,5%

tests pass rate achieved, up from ~82% baseline when engagement began in 2023

Prevention

92%+

of critical bugs caught before release, thanks to automation and close QA-Dev cooperation

Continuity

2,5

years on the project, with 3 extensions

Each iteration now closes successfully, with minimal blockers. The client’s PM is fully satisfied, and cooperation keeps extending

Meet our Expert behind this case

Sergij Kobsar, QA Engineer (Test Design), joined Deutsche Bahn’s AC Trasse project in 2023. Fluent in German and English. He’s responsible for test compliance, regression design, and automation framework maintenance.

Sergij represents our model of long-term, compliant, and performance-driven QA engagements, ensuring quality and stability for mission-critical enterprise systems.
What I value most is the project’s balance: realistic workload, stable process, and trust-based communication. OTM always supports quickly and clearly when it matters.

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