Privacy Policy

Provider and responsible office within the meaning of the Data Protection Act

 

ASTRAN Business Consulting GmbH is the owner of several web properties including www.railmarketresearch.com and www.astran.de.
The following Privacy Policy shall govern the collection and use of personal information on each of these sites.

Rail Market Research is powered by:

 

 

1. Data protection at a glance

General notes

The following notices provide a simple overview of what happens to your personal data when you visit this website. Personal data is any data that can be used to identify you personally. For detailed information on the subject of data protection, please refer to our privacy policy listed below this text.

Data collection on this website

Who is responsible for the data collection on this website?

Data processing on this website is carried out by the website operator. You can find the contact details of the website operator in the section “Information about the responsible party” in this data protection declaration.

How do we collect your data?

On the one hand, your data is collected when you provide it to us. This can be, for example, data that you enter in a contact form.

Other data is collected automatically or after your consent when you visit the website by our IT systems. This is mainly technical data (e.g. Internet browser, operating system or time of page view). The collection of this data takes place automatically as soon as you enter this website.

What do we use your data for?

Some of the data is collected to ensure error-free provision of the website. Other data may be used to analyze your user behavior.

What rights do you have regarding your data?

You have the right at any time to receive information free of charge about the origin, recipient and purpose of your stored personal data. You also have a right to request the correction or deletion of this data. If you have given your consent to data processing, you can revoke this consent at any time for the future. In addition, you have the right to request at to demand the restriction of the processing of your personal data under certain circumstances. Furthermore, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority.

You can contact us at any time with regard to this and other questions on the subject of data protection.

Third-party analytics and tools

When visiting this website, your surfing behavior can be statistically evaluated. This is done mainly with so-called analysis programs.

Detailed information about these analysis programs can be found in the following privacy policy.

 

2. Hosting

We host the content of our website with the following provider:

IONOS

The provider is IONOS SE, Elgendorfer Str. 57, 56410 Montabaur (hereinafter referred to as IONOS). When you visit our website, IONOS collects various log files including your IP addresses. For details, please refer to the IONOS privacy policy:
https://www.ionos.de/terms-gtc/terms-privacy.

The use of IONOS is based on Art. 6 (1) lit. f DSGVO. We have a legitimate interest in the most reliable presentation of our website. Insofar as a corresponding consent has been requested, the processing is carried out exclusively on the basis of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO and § 25 para. 1 TTDSG, insofar as the consent includes the storage of cookies or access to information in the user’s terminal device (e.g. device fingerprinting) as defined by the TTDSG. The consent can be revoked at any time.

Job processing

We have concluded a contract on order processing (AVV) with the above-mentioned provider. This is a contract required by data protection law, which ensures that this provider only processes the personal data of our website visitors in accordance with our instructions and in compliance with the GDPR.

 

3. General notes and mandatory information

Privacy

The operators of these pages take the protection of your personal data very seriously. We treat your personal data confidentially and in accordance with the statutory data protection regulations and this privacy policy.

When you use this website, various personal data are collected. Personal data is data with which you can be personally identified. This privacy policy explains what data we collect and what we use it for. It also explains how and for what purpose this is done.
We would like to point out that data transmission on the Internet (e.g. when communicating by e-mail) can have security gaps. A complete protection of data against access by third parties is not possible.

Note on the responsible body

The responsible party for data processing on this website is:

ASTRAN Business Consulting GmbH
At Kiel Kanal 1
24106 Kiel Germany
Phone: +49 431 90881140
E-mail: info@astran.de

The controller is the natural or legal person who alone or jointly with others determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data (e.g. names, e-mail addresses, etc.).

Storage duration

Unless a more specific storage period has been specified within this privacy policy, your personal data will remain with us until the purpose for data processing no longer applies. If you assert a legitimate request for deletion or revoke your consent to data processing, your data will be deleted unless we have other legally permissible reasons for storing your personal data (e.g. retention periods under tax or commercial law); in the latter case, the data will be deleted once these reasons no longer apply.

General information on the legal basis for data processing on this website

If you have consented to data processing, we process your personal data on the basis of Art. 6 (1) a DSGVO or Art. 9 (2) a DSGVO, if special categories of data are processed according to Art. 9 (1) DSGVO. In the case of explicit consent to the transfer of personal data to third countries, the data processing is also based on Art. 49 (1) a DSGVO. If you have consented to the storage of cookies or to the access to information in your terminal device (e.g. via device fingerprinting), the data processing is additionally carried out on the basis of Section 25 (1) TTDSG. The consent can be revoked at any time. If your data is required for the performance of a contract or for the implementation of pre-contractual measures, we process your data on the basis of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b DSGVO. Furthermore, if your data is required for the fulfillment of a legal obligation, we process it on the basis of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. c DSGVO. Furthermore, the data processing may be carried out on the basis of our legitimate interest according to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO. Information about the relevant legal basis in each individual case is provided in the following paragraphs of this privacy policy.

Note on data transfer to the USA and other third countries

Among other things, we use tools from companies based in the USA or other third countries that are not secure under data protection law. If these tools are active, your personal data may be transferred to these third countries and processed there. We would like to point out that no level of data protection comparable to that in the EU can be guaranteed in these countries.

For example, U.S. companies are obliged to hand over personal data to security authorities without you as the data subject being able to take legal action against this. It can therefore not be ruled out that U.S. authorities (e.g. intelligence services) process, evaluate and permanently store your data located on U.S. servers for monitoring purposes. We have drawn attention to this Processing activities have no influence.

Revocation of your consent to data processing

Many data processing operations are only possible with your express consent. You can revoke consent you have already given at any time. The legality of the data processing carried out until the revocation remains unaffected by the revocation.

Right to object to data collection in special cases and to direct marketing (Art. 21 DSGVO)

IF THE DATA PROCESSING IS CARRIED OUT ON THE BASIS OF ART. 6 ABS. 1 LIT. E OR F DSGVO, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO OBJECT TO THE PROCESSING OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA AT ANY TIME FOR REASONS ARISING FROM YOUR PARTICULAR SITUATION; THIS ALSO APPLIES TO PROFILING BASED ON THESE PROVISIONS. THE RESPECTIVE LEGAL BASIS ON WHICH PROCESSING IS BASED CAN BE FOUND IN THIS PRIVACY POLICY. IF YOU OBJECT, WE WILL NO LONGER PROCESS YOUR PERSONAL DATA UNLESS WE CAN DEMONSTRATE COMPELLING LEGITIMATE GROUNDS FOR THE PROCESSING WHICH OVERRIDE YOUR INTERESTS, RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS, OR THE PROCESSING SERVES THE PURPOSE OF ASSERTING, EXERCISING OR DEFENDING LEGAL CLAIMS (OBJECTION UNDER ARTICLE 21 (1) DSGVO).

IF YOUR PERSONAL DATA IS PROCESSED FOR THE PURPOSE OF DIRECT MARKETING, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO OBJECT AT ANY TIME TO THE PROCESSING OF PERSONAL DATA CONCERNING YOU FOR THE PURPOSE OF SUCH MARKETING; THIS ALSO APPLIES TO PROFILING INSOFAR AS IT IS CONNECTED WITH SUCH DIRECT MARKETING. IF YOU OBJECT, YOUR PERSONAL DATA WILL SUBSEQUENTLY NO LONGER BE USED FOR THE PURPOSE OF DIRECT MARKETING (OBJECTION PURSUANT TO ARTICLE 21 (2) DSGVO).

Right of appeal to the competent supervisory authority

In the event of breaches of the GDPR, data subjects shall have a right of appeal to a supervisory authority, in particular in the Member State of their habitual residence, their place of work or the place of the alleged breach. The right of appeal is without prejudice to other administrative or judicial remedies.

Right to data portability

You have the right to have data that we process automatically on the basis of your consent or in fulfillment of a contract handed over to you or to a third party in a common, machine-readable format. If you request the direct transfer of the data to another controller, this will only be done insofar as it is technically feasible.

Information, deletion and correction

Within the framework of the applicable legal provisions, you have the right at any time to free information about your stored personal data, its origin and recipient and the purpose of data processing and, if necessary, a right to correction or deletion of this data. For this purpose, as well as for further questions on the subject of personal data, you can contact us at any time.

Right to restriction of processing

You have the right to request the restriction of the processing of your personal data. For this purpose, you can contact us at any time. The right to restriction of processing exists in the following cases:

If you dispute the accuracy of your personal data stored by us, we usually need time to verify this. For the duration of the review, you have the right to request the restriction of the processing of your personal data.
If the processing of your personal data happened/is happening unlawfully, you may request the restriction of data processing instead of erasure.
If we no longer need your personal data, but you need it to exercise, defend or enforce legal claims, you have the right to request restriction of the processing of your personal data instead of deletion.
If you have lodged an objection pursuant to Art. 21 (1) DSGVO, a balancing of your and our interests must be carried out. As long as it has not yet been determined whose interests prevail, you have the right to request the restriction of the processing of your personal data.

If you have restricted the processing of your personal data, this data may – apart from being stored – only be processed with your consent or for the assertion, exercise or defense of legal claims or for the protection of the rights of another natural or legal person or for reasons of an important public interest of the European Union or a Member State.

SSL or TLS encryption

For security reasons and to protect the transmission of confidential content, such as orders or requests that you send to us as the site operator, this site uses SSL or TLS encryption. You can recognize an encrypted connection by the fact that the address line of the browser of “http://” changes to “https://” and by the lock icon in your browser bar.

If SSL or TLS encryption is activated, the data you transmit to us cannot be read by third parties.

Objection to advertising e-mails

The use of contact data published within the framework of the imprint obligation for the purpose of sending advertising and information material not expressly requested is hereby prohibited. The operators of the pages expressly reserve the right to take legal action in the event of the unsolicited sending of advertising information, such as spam e-mails.

 

4. Data collection on this website

Cookies

Our Internet pages use so-called “cookies”. Cookies are small data packets and do not cause any damage to your end device. They are stored either temporarily for the duration of a session (session cookies) or permanently (permanent cookies) on your end device. Session cookies are automatically deleted at the end of your visit. Permanent cookies remain stored on your end device until you delete them yourself or until they are automatically deleted by your web browser.
In some cases, cookies from third-party companies may also be stored on your terminal device when you enter our site (third-party cookies). These enable us or you to use certain services of the third-party company (e.g. cookies for processing payment services).

Cookies have various functions. Many cookies are technically necessary, as certain website functions would not work without them (e.g. the shopping cart function or the display of videos). Other cookies are used to evaluate user behavior or display advertising.

Cookies that are necessary to carry out the electronic communication process, to provide certain functions that you have requested (e.g. for the shopping cart function) or to optimize the website (e.g. cookies to measure the web audience) (necessary cookies) are stored on the basis of Art. 6 (1) lit. f DSGVO, unless another legal basis is specified. The website operator has a legitimate interest in storing necessary cookies for the technically error-free and optimized provision of its services. If consent to the storage of cookies and comparable recognition technologies has been requested, the processing is based exclusively on this consent (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO and § 25 para. 1 TTDSG); the consent can be revoked at any time.

You can set your browser so that you are informed about the setting of cookies and only allow cookies in individual cases, exclude the acceptance of cookies for certain cases or in general and activate the automatic deletion of cookies when closing the browser. When deactivating cookies, the functionality of this website may be limited.
If cookies are used by third-party companies or for analysis purposes, we will inform you about this separately within the framework of this data protection declaration and, if necessary, request your consent.

Contact form

If you send us inquiries via the contact form, your data from the inquiry form including the contact data you provided there will be stored by us for the purpose of processing the inquiry and in case of follow-up questions. We do not pass on this data without your consent.

The processing of this data is based on Art. 6 (1) lit. b DSGVO, if your request is related to the performance of a contract or is necessary for the implementation of pre-contractual measures. In all other cases, the processing is based on our legitimate interest in the effective processing of requests addressed to us (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO) or on your consent (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO) if this has been requested; the consent can be revoked at any time.
The data you enter in the contact form will remain with us until you request us to delete it, revoke your consent to store it, or the purpose for storing the data no longer applies (e.g. after we have completed processing your request). Mandatory legal provisions – in particular retention periods – remain unaffected.

Paypal

We use the online payment service PayPal on our website. The service provider is the American company PayPal Inc. The company PayPal Europe (S.à r.l.et Cie, S.C.A., 22-24 Boulevard Royal, L-2449 Luxembourg) is responsible for the European area.

PayPal also processes your data in the USA, among other places. We would like to point out that, according to the opinion of the European Court of Justice, there is currently no adequate level of protection for the transfer of data to the USA. This may entail various risks for the legality and security of data processing.

As a basis for data processing with recipients located in third countries (outside the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, i.e. in particular in the USA) or a data transfer there, PayPal uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46. para. 2 and 3 DSGVO). Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) are templates provided by the EU Commission and are intended to ensure that your data comply with European data protection standards even if they are transferred to third countries (such as the USA) and stored there.Through these clauses, PayPal undertakes to comply with the European data protection level when processing your relevant data, even if the data are stored, processed and managed in the USA. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here:

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de
For more information on the standard contractual clauses and on the data processed through the use of PayPal, please refer to the privacy policy at
https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/ua/privacy-full

Request by e-mail, phone or fax

If you contact us by e-mail, telephone or fax, your inquiry including all resulting personal data (name, inquiry) will be stored and processed by us for the purpose of processing your request. We will not pass on this data without your consent.
The processing of this data is based on Art. 6 (1) lit. b DSGVO, if your request is related to the performance of a contract or is necessary for the implementation of pre-contractual measures. In all other cases, the processing is based on our legitimate interest in the effective processing of requests addressed to us (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO) or on your consent (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO) if this has been requested; the consent can be revoked at any time.

The data you send to us via contact requests will remain with us until you ask us to delete it. revoke your consent to the storage or the purpose for the data storage no longer applies (e.g. after the processing of your request has been completed). Mandatory legal provisions – in particular legal retention periods – remain unaffected.

 

5. Analysis tools and advertising

IONOS WebAnalytics

This website uses the analysis services of IONOS WebAnalytics (hereinafter: IONOS). The provider is 1&1 IONOS SE, Elgendorfer Straße 57, D – 56410 Montabaur. Within the scope of the analyses with IONOS
among other things, visitor numbers and behavior (e.g. number of page views, duration of a website visit, bounce rates), visitor sources (i.e. from which page the visitor comes), visitor locations as well as technical data (browser and operating system versions) are analyzed. For this purpose, IONOS stores the following data in particular:
Referrer (previously visited web page) requested web page or file browser type and browser version operating system used device type
Time of access
IP address in anonymized form (used only to determine the location of access).

According to IONOS, data collection is completely anonymized so that it cannot be traced back to individual persons. Cookies are not stored by IONOS WebAnalytics.

The storage and analysis of the data is based on Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO. The website operator has a legitimate interest in the statistical analysis of user behavior in order to optimize both its website and its advertising. Insofar as a corresponding consent has been requested, the processing is carried out exclusively on the basis of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO and § 25 para. 1 TTDSG, insofar as the consent includes the storage of cookies or access to information in the user’s terminal device (e.g. device fingerprinting) as defined by the TTDSG. The consent can be revoked at any time.

For more information on data collection and processing by IONOS WebAnalytics, please refer to the IONOS privacy statement at the following link:
https://www.ionos.de/terms-gtc/index.php?id=6

Hotjar

This website uses Hotjar. The provider is Hotjar Ltd, Level 2, St Julians Business Centre, 3, Elia Zammit Street, St Julians STJ 1000, Malta, Europe (website: https://www.hotjar.com).

Hotjar is a tool used to analyze your user behavior on our website. Hotjar allows us to record your mouse movements, scrolling movements and clicks, among other things. Hotjar can also determine how long you have remained with the mouse pointer on a particular spot. From this information, Hotjar creates so-called heat maps, which can be used to determine which website areas are viewed preferentially by the website visitor.

Furthermore, we can determine how long you stayed on a page and when you left it. We can also determine at which point you abandoned your input in a contact form (so-called conversion funnels).

In addition, Hotjar can be used to obtain direct feedback from website visitors. This function serves to improve the website operator’s web offerings.

Hotjar uses cookies. Cookies are small text files that are stored on your computer and saved by your browser. They serve to make our offer more user-friendly, effective and secure. In particular, these cookies allow us to determine whether our website has been visited with a specific end device or whether the functions of Hotjar have been deactivated for the browser in question. Hotjar cookies remain on your terminal device until you delete them.

You can set your browser so that you are informed about the setting of cookies and only allow cookies in individual cases, exclude the acceptance of cookies for certain cases or in general and activate the automatic deletion of cookies when closing the browser. If you disable cookies, the functionality of this website may be limited.

The use of Hotjar and the storage of Hotjar cookies is based on Art. 6 (1) lit. f DSGVO. The website operator has a legitimate interest in analyzing user behavior in order to optimize both its web offering and its advertising.

Deactivating Hotjar
If you wish to deactivate the data collection by Hotjar, click on the following link and follow the instructions there: https://www.hotjar.com/opt-out

Please note that disabling Hotjar must be done separately for each browser or device.

For more information about Hotjar and the data it collects, please see Hotjar’s privacy policy at the following link: https://www.hotjar.com/privacy

Contract on order processing
We have entered into an order processing contract with Hotjar to implement the strict European data protection regulations.

 

6. Newsletter

Newsletter data

If you would like to receive the newsletter offered on the website, we require an e-mail address from you as well as information that allows us to verify that you are the owner of the specified e-mail address and agree to receive the newsletter. Further data is not collected or only on a voluntary basis. We use this data exclusively for sending the requested information and do not pass it on to third parties.
The processing of the data entered in the newsletter registration form is based exclusively on your consent (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO). You can revoke your consent to the storage of the data, the e-mail address and their use for sending the newsletter at any time, for example via the “unsubscribe” link in the newsletter. The legality of the data processing operations already carried out remains unaffected by the revocation.

The data you provide for the purpose of receiving the newsletter will be stored by us or the newsletter service provider until you unsubscribe from the newsletter and will be deleted from the newsletter distribution list after you unsubscribe from the newsletter or after the purpose has ceased to exist. We reserve the right to delete or block e-mail addresses from our newsletter distribution list at our own discretion within the scope of our legitimate interest pursuant to Art. 6 (1) lit. f DSGVO.
Data that has been stored by us for other purposes remains unaffected by this.
After you have unsubscribed from the newsletter distribution list, your e-mail address will be stored by us or the newsletter service provider in a blacklist if necessary to prevent future mailings. The data from the blacklist will only be used for this purpose and will not be merged with other data. This serves both your interest and our interest in complying with legal requirements when sending newsletters (legitimate interest within the meaning of Art. 6 (1) f DSGVO). The storage in the blacklist is not limited in time. You can object to the storage if your interests outweigh our legitimate interest.

 

7. Plugins and tools

Font Awesome (local hosting)

This site uses Font Awesome for consistent font rendering. Font Awesome is installed locally. A connection to servers of Fonticons, Inc. does not take place.
For more information about Font Awesome, please see the Font Awesome Privacy Policy at: https://fontawesome.com/privacy.

As of December 2022