KiwiRail awarded Alstom a contract to deliver a new, fully integrated traffic management system (TMS) for New Zealand’s rail network.
Alstom will deliver its new state-of-the-art Iconis system that will replace the existing 25-year-old software technology which will dramatically improve the way KiwiRail operates its network. Following the successful delivery of the system, Alstom will provide long-term support and maintenance to KiwiRail, ensuring the system will be well supported for many years into the future.
The deployment of the new system will take place over a period of 3 years and divided into 4 distinct phases with the first deployment on the Wairarapa commuter line in south-east, as a pilot project. The 172 km line is connecting Wellington with the Palmerston North – Gisborne Line at Woodville. It will be followed by the geographical extension of the deployment in the remaining 3 Areas (Lower North Island, Upper North Island, South Island).
Alstom’s Iconis system will improve timekeeping oversight and, once construction of duplicated control centres is completed in 2024, will allow KiwiRail to control the rail network simultaneously from Auckland and Wellington.
“The project to duplicate the control centres is already well underway with construction happening in Auckland (Ellerslie) and Wellington (Upper Hutt). In addition, we have already moved our computing hardware to secure data centres to improve resilience,” David Gordon, the Chief Operating Officer of KiwiRail said.
The fully integrated Iconis system will be capable of being run from either Wellington or Auckland. The system will not only accommodate the forecasted increases in patronage in both cities, but also offer the increased capacity and reliability that is essential to meet the challenge of a booming export industry freight line application.
The proven Iconis traffic management system technology will be specifically designed to seamlessly integrate with KiwiRail’s unique rail network characteristics and existing infrastructure. As a highly flexible system, the technology has already been successfully deployed across more than 160 complex freight and suburban networks in both greenfield and brownfield environments in more than 30 countries throughout the world.
The integrated traffic management system will provide KiwiRail with greater network safety, security, and resilience, delivering greater control capacity and with the ability to meet the increasing demands of an expanding rail network.
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