The Government of New South Wales (NSW) awarded Siemens Mobility a AUD 190 million (USD 148.7 million) contract to upgrade and modernise the signalling systems on the Sydney rail network.
This work will improve the overall efficiency and capacity of the rail network. The total contract consists of two key packages, including the introduction of a new Traffic Management System (TMS) along with the upgrading of the Sydney Trains’ network conventional signalling to a digital ETCS–L2 train control system.
The project is part of the NSW Government’s broader Digital Systems Programme, a ‘once in a generation change’ to replace legacy signalling and train control technologies with modern, internationally proven, intelligent systems. The signalling systems are due to be available for operation in 2023.
“Siemens Mobility is delighted to have been selected to deliver the services that will modernise and optimize the Sydney rail network. Our state–of–the–art traffic management and signalling technology will augment operations throughout the network by increasing service reliability and availability, which will enhance the passenger experience,” Michael Peter, CEO of Siemens Mobility said.
The Traffic Management System will be integrated with the new ETCS Level 2 technology, which is today’s leading technology running on some of the best and most efficient rail networks worldwide.
The Digital Systems Programme upgrades will enable more frequent and reliable services and increase capacity to allow 24 trains to operate during peak hours and up to 30 trains per hour for recovery from disruptions.
A crucial role of the TMS solution, will be to continually monitor the position of all trains, helping keep train services running as planned and assist with responses to incidents. The TMS will be operated from the Rail Operations Centre and will work alongside other systems used by Sydney Trains to control train operations.
The other key project element will include the implementation of Automatic Train Operation (ATO) that assists drivers by providing more frequent, reliable, and consistent train journeys. Train drivers will remain in control but will be assisted in improving operations and reducing journey times, which subsequently benefits passengers.
In August 2020, Siemens Mobility was also awarded a contract to digitalise the Sydney’s rail network.
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