Spain’s railway infrastructure manager Adif awarded Alstom a contract for the development of a new application of ERTMS for low density lines. EUR 13.7 million is the value of the contract which is expected to be completed in 36 months.
The contract includes the installation and testing on a pilot line of the General Interest Railway Network on the La Asunción Universidad – Guardo section, which is part of the León –Aranguren metric gauge line.
The research, development and innovation project, managed by Alstom’s railway safety and signalling technology centre in Madrid, aims to develop a new application of the ERTMS for low density lines on local and regional network by introducing satellite technology – among others – and public telecommunications networks. The initiative proposes using novel train positioning systems (such as sensors hybridisation, including satellite sensors) or public communication networks instead of GSM-R networks.
The planned actions on the selected line cover the installation of the ERTMS Level 1 on the La Ercina – Puente Almuhey section and the ERTMS Level 2 including the train command and control system (ETCS) and the communications part, as well as rolling stock retrofitting to test the installed functionalities. In addition, the stations will be also equipped and integrated with the command centre operations.
Using these technologies – such as sensors hybridisation which includes satellite sensors for positioning, this development and implementation project will be a pioneer in Europe and will offer the same safety features as the system installed on high-speed lines. In this way, the secondary lines will be able to benefit from the advantages and functionalities of the ERTMS improving the reliability, quality and efficiency. In addition, it increases the transport capacity of the system by reducing the intervals between trains and reducing operating costs.
This innovation project adds to the cutting-edge signalling projects that Alstom has been developing in Spain over the last two decades, including the commissioning of the first ATP on the Mediterranean Corridor, the first driverless railway system at Madrid airport, and the first ERTMS level 2 without level 1 support on the Albacete – Alicante high-speed line.
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