SNCF Réseau selected Hitachi Rail as the sole supplier within the framework agreement for the development and deployment of a new generation of trackside ERTMS Radio Block Centers (RBC).
The new RBC, designed by Hitachi Rail, will link into the Argos digital platform being designed as part of SNCF Réseau’s new ERTMS Argos computer based interlocking project.
The system will be tested by mid-2025 on a pilot line of about 16 km between Cannes and Grasse, in the south of France and it will then be gradually deployed on the Marseille – Vintimille route, with the first section coming into service at the end of 2027.
The deployment of the RBC Argos, part of the ERTMS will significantly increase the capacity of the rail network and improve the regularity of trains while ensuring a maximum level of safety. This equipment, which is a key element in the digitalisation of the national rail network, will be deployed over the next few years.
“With this new contract, we are implementing an essential brick of the new generation of ground-based ERTMS. It is therefore a fundamental step in our roadmap towards a new digital signalling system, a major challenge for SNCF Réseau with a view to developing a modern, reliable and robust service for the benefit of our customers”, Olivier Bancel, Deputy Director General of Projects, Maintenance and Operations at SNCF Réseau said.
Hitachi Rail has been part of the Argos programme since 2018, aiming at the renewal and digitalization of the interlocking systems all over the French rail network. Argos RBC marks a new step of this program.
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