30-year-old operating system Windows 3.11 is still used

According to Neowin , a job posting on the German website Gulp.de revealed that the country's railway industry is still using Windows 3.11 (specifically Windows for Workgroups 3.11). Although the job posting was later deleted by Siemens Mobility - a company that provides services to the state-owned railway company Deutsche Bahn (DB), the content of this job posting was collected by local publication Heise Online .

Windows 3.11 is in use on Germany's ICE 1 and ICE2 high-speed trains

The job posting states that Deutsche Bahn is looking for a systems administrator with knowledge of legacy operating systems, specifically Windows for Workgroups 3.11. The administrator's stated duties are to handle updates and maintenance of the legacy system, which was released in November 1993. The posting states that Windows for Workgroups 3.11 supports the vehicle's display system, which shows the driver all important technical data in real time.

A report from Tom's Hardware suggests that the system is most likely used in ICE 1 and ICE 2 high-speed trains—trains from Germany's older ICE rail network that were built between 1989 and 1997. As Bild notes, 36 percent of Germany's long-distance trains were delayed in 2023, with delays of six minutes or more, although there's no indication that Windows 3.11 was to blame for the delays.

Siemens Mobility confirmed the authenticity of the job posting to Heise Online, explaining that trains and rail infrastructure have a lifespan of 30 years or more. The company assures its customers “the continued safe use of legacy systems that have been tested and verified to industry standards,” and says Siemens Mobility provides support and maintenance throughout the entire product lifecycle.

Siemens Mobility also added that newer systems are being developed using existing software products, even using artificial intelligence (AI). However, it wouldn't be surprising if those modern systems were still running Windows 10 or 11 in 2054.

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