IN THIS ISSUE

TEXRail: Constructing Fort Worth’s

new 27-mile commuter line

ERTMS funding and deployment

opportunities in the Western Balkans

Building the future: California’s

high-speed rail construction progress

ISSUE SEPT

05 2017 EXPERTISE | OPINION | INTELLIGENCE globalrailwayreview.com

Digitalisation
Exploring innovative solutions to set the future foundations for
intelligent, reliable and safe rail infrastructure as well as the
digital services available to enhance passenger experience

FORMERLY
 WELCOME

Continued investment
IN THIS ISSUE
TEXRail: Constructing Fort Worth’s
new 27-mile commuter line

ERTMS funding and deployment

will secure rail growth

opportunities in the Western Balkans

Building the future: California’s

high-speed rail construction progress

ISSUE SEPT

05 2017 EXPERTISE | OPINION | INTELLIGENCE globalrailwayreview.com

Digitalisation
Exploring innovative solutions to set the future foundations for
intelligent, reliable and safe rail infrastructure as well as the
The potential of rail transportation continues to build
digital services available to enhance passenger experience

momentum all around the world, but expansion will

not be achieved if much-needed funding is ignored.

FOR MANY years, governments around the world have

VRXJKWIXQGLQJIRUUDLOSURMHFWVWKURXJKPDQ\GLǨHUHQW
FORMERLY
means. Some regions have unfortunately not had the same
investment opportunities as others, and this has greatly
G L O B A L R A I LWAY R E V I E W impacted rail growth in those areas. But things are starting
to look a lot more positive, and South America is one
VOL 23 | ISSUE 05 | SEPT 2017 region that is hoping to overcome historic investment and
Founder: IAN RUSSELL
funding challenges to unlock the potential of its railways,
Managing Director:
Editor:
JOSH RUSSELL
CRAIG WATERS
particularly for rail freight.
Junior Editor:
Editorial Assistants:
RACHAEL HARPER
MANDY PARRETT / SARAH WILLS
As Guilherme Quintella – Chairman of UIC Latin America
Commerical Director:
Sales Manager:
SAM PIRANI
LUCY WESTON
– explains in his article on page 36 in this issue, there has been
Product Marketing Exec:
Head of Marketing:
CHARLOTTE BATCHELOR
JON RAESIDE
clear evidence that some recent initiatives in the region are
Production Manager:
Senior Designer:
BRIAN CLOKE
MARLON RUDDOCK
CRAIG WATERS helping to steer rail freight development in the right direction,
especially in Brazil. Guilherme takes a look at two potentially
EDITOR
To contact any of the Global Railway Review team, cwaters@russellpublishing.com
use the format: initialsurname@russellpublishing.com
(i.e. cwaters@russellpublishing.com)
important rail link projects that would not just complement
the existing rail network and provide more capacity, but facilitate a more sustainable
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS
transportation mode as they will encourage modal shift from road to railway.
SIMON FLETCHER MICHEL VAN LIEFFERINGE
Coordinator – Europe, General Manager, UNISIG The ‘Ferrogrão’ and ‘Ferrovia Paraense’ rail link projects in question would increase
UIC (International Union
freight transportation on Brazilian railroads by almost 20% and boost the rail network
BEN MÖBIUS
of Railways) Managing Director, VDB –

by 10% – clearly demonstrating that well thought-out investment programmes can

PHILIPPE CITROËN (German Railway Industry
Director General, UNIFE – Association)

support the enormous potential of railways.

(Association of the European MARTIN PLATZER
Rail Industry) Senior Vice-President,
MONIKA HEIMING
Executive Director, EIM –
Strategic Marketing & Business
Development, voestalpine
Investment opportunities in Argentina, Colombia and Peru are also highlighted
(European Rail Infrastructure Schienen GmbH
in Guilherme’s article, cementing the idea that funding new line construction or
Managers) KEN COWLEY
LIBOR LOCHMAN Business Development, updating existing routes, really is the fundamental building block to kick start rail
Executive Director, CER – Nomad Digital
(Community of European ANDY KUNZ JURZWKDQGEULQJHFRQRPLFEHQHǩWVWRDUHJLRQ
As always, if you have feedback or would like to contribute to the magazine or
Railway & Infrastructure President & CEO, US High
Companies) Speed Rail Association (USHSR)

website, please don’t hesitate to contact me via the email address above.
Published by Russell Publishing Ltd, Court Lodge,
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Published September 2017

@GlobalRailway
1
 …the railway sector is one of the greatest
and largest beneficiaries of the Internet
of Things (IoT) concept…

DIEGO GALAR, Professor of Condition

Monitoring, Division of Operation
and Maintenance Engineering,
Luleå University of Technology

06

44 INFRASTRUCTURE
TEXRail: Keeping
North Texas on track
14 ROLLING STOCK
COMPONENTS
The world of Dellner
for a better future
Paul J Ballard, President/
&KLHI([HFXWLYH2ǫ FHU
Gabriel Hornemann, Global Fort Worth Transportation
Sales and Marketing Authority (FWTA)
Director, Dellner Service

01 WELCOME
Continued 16 EVENT PREVIEW
Elmia Nordic Rail
48 EVENT PREVIEW
Intelligent
investment will Transport 2017
secure rail growth
Craig Waters, Editor,
Global Railway Review
32 REGULATIONS &
LEGISLATIONS
Closing an 50 WEBINAR HIGHLIGHTS
The Swiss way
information gap in to capacity

04 NEWS
A round up of the
European rail: the
Safety Alert IT Tool
optimisation for
traffic management
latest industry news Phillip Siomka, Safety In association with Swiss
Federal Railways (SBB)

06
Unit, European Union
LEADERS’ SERIES
Agency for Railways
Railway complexity
overcome by IoT and
36 INFRASTRUCTURE 52 THE PASSENGER
Technology is the
big data analytics Pent-up demand and key to unlocking
Diego Galar, Professor stable perspective cross-border rail
of Condition Monitoring, can leverage South travel in Europe
Division of Operation
and Maintenance American rail growth Klaus Kreher, Head of Carrier
Engineering, Luleå Guilherme Quintella, Development, Trainline
University of Technology Chairman, UIC Latin America

08 ROLLING STOCK
40 INFRASTRUCTURE 54 DIGITALISATION
Rail IT: Secure
The long-term A multifaceted digital services for
plan for Norway’s approach to improve the safest mode
rolling stock Italy’s railways of transport
Øystein Risan, CEO and Maurizio Gentile, CEO and Martin Wittke, Product
Linda Marie Venbakken, General Manager, Rete Line Manager, Siemens
CFO, Norske tog AS Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI) Convergence Creators

globalrailwayreview.com
2
 GLOBAL RAILWAY REVIEW | Volume 23, Issue 05

Contents

In-Depth Focus

TRACK
MAINTENANCE In-Depth Focus

20
SIGNALLING &
Future of track maintenance TELECOMMUNICATIONS
in harmonised EU
legislation (INF TSI)

56 DIGITALISATION
Towards seamless
Iñigo Méndez
3URMHFW2ǫFHU(XURSHDQ8QLRQ
Agency for Railways 66 ERTMS deployment in
the Western Balkans

25
Nedim Begović
connectivity Milling Down Under: Proven Transport Planning
Stefan Wegele and Martin Manager, SEETO
Austrian technology vs. tough
Karlsson, In2Rail colleagues Svetlana Vukanović
Australian rail conditions Transport Specialist, World Bank

60
70
HIGH-SPEED Reini Schwarzenberger
&KLHI2SHUDWLQJ2ǫFHU Development of digital
California Linmag Australia Pty Ltd
high-speed rail: technologies for
Building the future
Scott Jarvis, Chief Engineer,
California High-Speed
Rail Authority
28 Plasser & Theurer:
Delivering safety, reliability
and cost-efficiency
Russian Railways
Efim Rozenberg
First Deputy Director
General, JSC NIIAS

76
Claudia Peinsipp

63
Head – Product Management ERTMS/ETCS on RFC6
WEBINAR PREVIEW
Track Inspection Vehicles
The future of Department, Plasser & Theurer Mediterranean Corridor
interlocking design Bernd Metzger Stefano Marcoccio
Head – Track Recording ERTMS Team Leader, RFC6
automation for
& Research Department, Andrea Galluzzi
modern railroads Plasser American Managing Director, RFC6
In association with
Prover Technology AB

79 EVENTS DIARY
A round up of
Global Railway Review wants you
forthcoming
industry events
Global Railway Review is looking for digitalisation, infrastructure, rolling stock, the

80 INDUSTRY PRODUCT NEWS

A selection of
authors. If you represent a railway
operator, infrastructure owner, industry
passenger, signalling and telecommunications,
safety and security, sustainability or
recent products and
association or research institute and regulations and legislations, please send
announcements
are interested in submitting informative a synopsis to Craig Waters, Editor, at
from the global
and thought-provoking content about cwaters@russellpublishing.com
rail industry
@GlobalRailway
3
NEWS

The editor's pick of the most

interesting developments within
the global railway industry

South Western
Railway begins
operations
RAIL passengers in London and the south
of England are now being served by a new
operator – South Western Railway (SWR), which
replaces South West Trains. The change in
operator will see more than £1.2 billion invested
between now and 2024 on new and refurbished

Copyright: Siemens AG
trains, station improvement schemes, the
ŦęĶŜĭęƥîÒŰęłĸłČŰęîĪúŰŦÒĸôĶŸîĔĶłşúȫ
By December 2020 the SWR mainland
ƦúúŰƑęĭĭŸĸôúşčłÒČÒîúɁĭęČŰƑęŰĔǸǯĸúƑ

DB Regio orders 57 multiple-

British-built Aventra trains being introduced
(750 carriages, in 5- and 10-car formations),

unit regional trains

ÒĸôŰĔúşúŦŰłČŰĔúƦúúŰƑęĭĭíúşúČŸşíęŦĔúôɔÒĸô
refreshed. This will ultimately increase capacity
by 52,000 extra seats through the morning and
evening peak by 2020.
DB REGIO AG – a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn which operates short- and medium-distance commuter
ełşúŰĔÒĸɦǸǯĶęĭĭęłĸƑęĭĭíú
ŰşÒęĸɔŦúşƐęîúŦęĸ>úşĶÒĸƗȾĔÒŦłşôúşúôǴǶDzɁîÒşeęşúłŰşÒęĸŦúŰŦŰłíúłŜúşÒŰúôłĸşłŸŰúŦęĸŰĔúŦŰÒŰúŦłČ
ŦŜúîęƥîÒĭĭƗęĸƐúŦŰúôŰłęĶŜşłƐúŦŰÒŰęłĸŦƑęŰĔ
ÒôúĸɁ¾ŽşŰŰúĶíúşčÒĸôŦłŸŰĔúşĸEúŦŦúȹíúčęĸĸęĸčęĸ%úîúĶíúşDZǯDZǯȺÒĸôŰĔúeÒĸĸĔúęĶɁeÒęĸƠşłŸŰúȦ
better customer information screens, new
largely in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate (beginning in December 2021).
seating and waiting areas as well as additional
The Siemens trains (pictured) will be 70m-long, have 200 seats as well as multi-purpose space
car parking.
for wheelchairs, bicycles and strollers, and have entrance heights of 76cm to enable level access at
ÒĭĭɔŜĭÒŰČłşĶŦȫ ƑƑƑȫŦłŸŰĔƑúŦŰúşĸşÒęĭƑÒƗȫîłĶ
žĔúeęşúłƑęĭĭłŜúşÒŰúÒŦÒĸ”ɁÒĔĸȹşúčęłĸÒĭŦŸíŸşíÒĸşÒęĭŦƗŦŰúĶȺęĸŰĔúĔęĸúɁgúîĪÒşşúčęłĸÒĸô
ƑęĭĭŦúşƐúÒŦŰĔúɋeŸşčŰáĭúşÒôúƖŜşúŦŦɌłĸŰĔúşłŸŰúíúŰƑúúĸŰĔúîęŰęúŦłČeÒĸĸĔúęĶÒĸôÒęúşŦíşłĸĸȫ
When the trains are delivered, ownership will be transferred to a state company and they will be leased
by DB Regio for the duration of the 14-year transport contract.
China to speed
ƑƑƑȫôíşúčęłȫôú
ŸŜɔíŸĭĭúŰŰşÒęĸŦ
on Beijing–
”ĔÒĸčĔÒęɔşłŸŰú
g”¾ŰłşúŜĭÒîúúĸŰęşúşúčęłĸÒĭşÒęĭƦúúŰ CHINA’S new generation bullet train, the Fuxing,

NEW SOUTH WALES' Deputy Premier John replace the XPT (Express Passenger Trains) but will begin running on the Beijing–Shanghai high-

Barilaro has announced the replacement of the the Endeavour and XPLORER trains as well. The speed railway at 350km/h from 21 September 2017.

úĸŰęşúşúčęłĸÒĭŰşÒęĸƦúúŰÒĸôŰĔúîłĸŦŰşŸîŰęłĸ ŜşłħúîŰƑęĭĭęĸîĭŸôúŰĔúŸŦúłČŜşęƐÒŰúƥĸÒĸîęĸč It will be the world’s fastest commercially-used

of a new rail maintenance facility. to facilitate the delivery of the new trains and bullet train and will cut travel time between the

An Expression of Interest will soon maintenance facility. ŰƑłîęŰęúŦŰłdzȫǴĔłŸşŦČşłĶǵĔłŸşŦȫžĔúɔşłŸŰú

be issued for the design, construction and The new trains will be operated by NSW is the busiest in China, with approximately

maintenance of the new trains and maintenance TrainLink, the NSW government-owned regional ǴǯǴȦǯǯǯɔŜÒŦŦúĸčúşŦŰşÒƐúĭĭęĸčłĸŰĔúĭęĸúúÒîĔ

facility with Dubbo earmarked as the preferred rail and coach service provider. day. The trains are designed and manufactured in

maintenance location. China, led by the China Railway Corporation.

ƑƑƑȫŰşÒĸŦŜłşŰȫĸŦƑȫčłƐȫÒŸ
The procurement programme will not just
ƑƑƑȫîşşîčîȫîî

globalrailwayreview.com
4
 GLOBAL RAILWAY REVIEW | Volume 23, Issue 05

ĶŰşÒĪŰł
úŞŸęŜłƐúş
DzǯǯɔĭłîłĶłŰęƐúŦ
ƑęŰĔŜłŦęŰęƐú
ŰşÒęĸɔîłĸŰşłĭ
ežZ – the National Railroad Passenger
Corporation in the United States – plans to
equip 310 locomotives with positive train
control (PTC) technology which can manage
train movements to prevent train-to-train
collisions, excessive speed and other
human-caused incidents such as misaligned
track switches. This equipment will
be installed on Amtrak-owned diesel
locomotives that primarily operate on
VR’s domestic travel numbers have
the national Amtrak network and state-
been steadily increasing recently
ŦŜłĸŦłşúôşłŸŰúŦęĸŰĔúúÒŦŰÒĸôeęôƑúŦŰȫ
Amtrak has signed an agreement with

Finland orders double-deck Rockwell Collins to implement the company’s

JgÒęĭƑÒƗgú۔eŦúşƐęîúȦÒĔłŦŰúô

carriages worth in excess of €50m network, messaging and application platform,

designed to meet the PTC requirements.
žĔęŦŦúşƐęîúƑęĭĭÒĭĭłƑŰĔúĶŰşÒĪƦúúŰŰł
THE VR GROUP – Finland’s state-owned railway company – has granted an option for 20 double-deck
interface with the PTC systems of other
passenger cars from Transtech worth over €50 million.
railroads when using their tracks for its
Domestic travel numbers have been steadily increasing for VR and already this year the number of
trains. Under the agreement, Rockwell Collins
journeys has increased by almost 10% and more than 20% on many of the main routes.
ƑęĭĭęĸęŰęÒĭęŦúŰĔúĶŰşÒĪƦúúŰŰłşŸĸłĸ
One car of the new rolling stock has 113 seats, so the acquisition will provide trains with almost
ǰǸɔôęČČúşúĸŰşÒęĭşłÒôŦȦęĸîĭŸôęĸčîłĶĶŸŰúş
DZȦDzǯǯɔÒôôęŰęłĸÒĭŦúÒŰŦȫžĔúĸúƑîÒşŦƑęĭĭúĸŰúşŦúşƐęîúôŸşęĸčDZǯǰǸÒĸôƑęĭĭíúôęşúîŰúôŦŜúîęƥîÒĭĭƗŰłŰĔú
and freight routes that host Amtrak services.
most popular long-distance services.
ƑƑƑȫÒĶŰşÒĪȫîłĶ
ƑƑƑȫƐşčşłŸŜȫƥ

EƗŜúşĭłłŜpĸúîłĶŜĭúŰúŦŦúîłĸôŜĔÒŦúłČŰúŦŰęĸč
HYPERLOOP ONE – the proposed ultra-fast transportation pod – has
Copyright: Hyperloop One

completed its Phase 2 of testing. The Hyperloop One XP-1 (the company’s
ƥşŦŰɁčúĸúşÒŰęłĸŜłôȦŜęîŰŸşúôȺÒîĔęúƐúôĔęŦŰłşęîŰúŦŰŦŜúúôŦęĸÒŰŸíú
depressurised down to the equivalent of air at 200,000ft above sea level.
It travelled nearly the full distance of the 500m-long DevLoop track in
the Nevada desert and accelerated for 300m, gliding above the track using
magnetic levitation before braking and coming to a gradual stop.
“This is the beginning, and the dawn of a new era of transportation,”
ŦÒęôɔ”ĔúşƐęĸŠęŦĔúƐÒşȦ+ƖúîŸŰęƐúĔÒęşĶÒĸÒĸôłɁČłŸĸôúşłČEƗŜúşĭłłŜpĸúȫ
ɉ¾úɌƐúşúÒîĔúôĔęŦŰłşęîŦŜúúôŦłČDzǰǯĪĶȱĔÒĸôƑúɌşúúƖîęŰúôŰłƥĸÒĭĭƗŦĔłƑ
the world the XP-1 going into the Hyperloop One tube.”
All components of the system were also successfully tested during this
ŜĔÒŦúȦęĸîĭŸôęĸčŰĔúĔęčĔĭƗúČƥîęúĸŰúĭúîŰşęîĶłŰłşȦÒôƐÒĸîúôîłĸŰşłĭŦÒĸô
power electronics, custom magnetic levitation and guidance, pod suspension
and vacuum system.

ƑƑƑȫĔƗŜúşĭłłŜɁłĸúȫîłĶ

@GlobalRailway
5
LEADERS’ SERIES
Railway complexity overcome
by IoT and big data analytics
Diego Galar, Professor of Condition Monitoring in the Division of Operation and
Maintenance Engineering at Luleå University of Technology, explores some key
points concerning the use of IoT and big data in the rail sector.
A ‘SYSTEMS THINKINGDžDSSURDFKLVDQHǨHFWLYH
way to understand complex rail environments by
GHǩQLQJV\VWHPFKDUDFWHULVWLFVWKHERXQGDULHV
DQGFRPSRQHQWVDQGE\GHǩQLQJWKHLQWHUDFWLRQV
between the components. As opposed to focusing
on individual items or occurrences, the bigger
picture – i.e. the system as a whole – should be
LGHQWLǩHG)URPDWHFKQRORJLFDOSRLQWRIYLHZ
railways consist of several physical objects that
involve rolling stock and infrastructure interacting
with each other. Operational environments, usage
requirements and weather conditions are all
H[DPSOHVRIYDULDEOHVWKDWDǨHFWWKHWHFKQLFDO
systems of a railway and their overall performance.
The rail sector has undergone substantial changes,
mainly by adopting pervasive computing, smart
devices and the Internet of Things (IoT) concept. This
has resulted in the replacement of legacy equipment
and the introduction of train management system
methods in which trains become interconnected
communication hubs, transmitting data among
themselves and to network control centres, as
well as receiving instructions from control centres.
Machine-to-machine communication, with some
help from cloud technologies, enables operators
and infrastructure managers to use assets more
HǫFLHQWO\ZKLOHVLJQLǩFDQWO\UHGXFLQJULVNV0RUHRYHU
the adoption of ICT systems, such as computerised
WUDǫFFRQWUROV\VWHPVIRUWUDLQGLVSDWFKLQJRU
advanced monitoring and diagnostic systems in
vehicles and infrastructure, partially overcome the
issues encountered in operation and control of such
complex environments, and become viable solutions
in a systemic approach to the railway system. Indeed,
H[SHFWHGSHUIRUPDQFHLQGH[HVEHFRPHPRUHGLǫFXOW
to achieve using traditional strategies. IoT solutions
can help deal with complex systems by interacting
among them and contributing to balancing the
growth in technical complexity together with stable
and acceptable dependability indicators.
6
GLOBAL RAILWAY REVIEW
DIEGO GALAR is Professor
of Condition Monitoring in
the Division of Operation and
Maintenance Engineering
at Luleå University of
Technology where he is
coordinating several railway
projects at national and
international level related
to different aspects of
cyber-physical systems,
Industry 4.0, IoT or Big Data.
He was also involved in the
SKF UTC centre located in
Luleå focussed on SMART
bearings for rolling stock.
Professor Diego
Galar will be Chairman of
Global Railway Review’s
inaugural conference
‘Digitalisation: Harnessing
Big Data in Rail’, being
held on 4 October 2017
in Munich, Germany. For
further information about
the event and to register
your attendance, please
visit transportbigdata.com.
Harnessing Big Data in Rail
A GLOBAL RAILWAY REVIEW EVENT
4 OCTOBER 2017 | MUNICH | GERMANY
TRANSPORTBIGDATA.COM
The rail sector is one such area where pervasive
computing makes more sense: providing
instrumentation, interconnection and intelligence
of parts, components and subsystems of the
entire system, in order to predict failure, perform
diagnosis and trigger operations and maintenance
(O&M) actions. The wealth of data and information
UHJDUGLQJDVVHWVDQGWUDǫFVWDWXVSURYLGHGE\
IoT enhances the capability of nowcasting and
forecasting the status of critical assets. The aim
LVIRUPDLQWHQDQFHSODQQHUVDQGWUDǫFDQGDVVHW
managers concerned with the lifespan of assets to
extend the lifecycle of components and subsystems,
in order to optimise lifecycle costs.
The data generated by IoT devices for railways
has triggered new business models converting the
gathered bundles of data into useful information
by means of big data analytics. This is part of the
‘servitisation’ concept adopted in many sectors where
certain functions (traditionally inside companies)
become packed services supplied by third parties,
which enables operators and infrastructure managers
to focus on their core business. In this process novel
approaches from other sectors have already been
proven and several attempts to harmonise and create
taxonomies and ontologies for the harvested data are
also in place. One such example is the RailTopoModel
which permits exportable taxonomies and ontologies
for the cross-over of infrastructure managers,
contractors and service providers.
In summary, the rail sector is one of the greatest
DQGODUJHVWEHQHǩFLDULHVRIWKH,R7FRQFHSWDQG
further analytics – especially within O&M programmes
– and not only as a technical solution to technical
problems, but as a means to overcome most of the
complex issues of the entire system, including the
organisation, the economy and the people involved.
This can be best achieved by viewing the railway
transportation industry from a systems perspective
with a high level of interaction.
globalrailwayreview.com
Workshop in Melle (Belgium)

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project life cycle for implementing new and modernised railway infrastructure. Rail technology plays an important
role in every sustainable vision on mobility. With quality and safety imbedded in the heart of our processes, our
organisation offers reliable solutions towards tomorrow’s mobility challenges.

Today we have projects in the pipeline for opening up seaports, aiports and major cities, for new high-speed lines,
for modernising existing lines and for capacity increase, for re-electrification of important international corridors and for
large-scale rehabilitations, such as the modernisation of signal boxes and the European Rail Traffic Management System
implementation. Amongst its references TUC RAIL recently added the design and construction of a new
multi-functional workshop in Belgium. This workshop is meant for the maintenance and repair of different types of
rolling stock and will be used by the SNCB (Belgian national railway company).

TUC RAIL wants to continue to deploy its specialised skills and valuable experience every day for
new challenges from clients all over the world. Our passionate employees are already looking
forward to help making your next railway project a success !

www.tucrail.be - commercial@tucrail.be
ROLLING STOCK

The long-term
plan for Norway’s
rolling stock

Established as part of the Norwegian railway reform, Norske tog AS is now

the owner of almost all passenger rolling stock in Norway, apart from the
Flytoget airport express trains and some rolling stock used on the Flåm Line
tourist line. Norske tog AS has a long-term vision to refurbish a number of its
older rolling stock in addition to purchasing new local trains. Øystein Risan
(CEO) and Linda Marie Venbakken (CFO) provide more details.

globalrailwayreview.com
8
 A background of Norway’s rolling stock
On 12 May 2015, the Ministry of Transport in
Norway published a white paper1 outlining a
proposed reform of the Norwegian railway sector.
The white paper was approved by the Norwegian
Parliament (Stortinget) on 15 June 2015 and
the reform entailed a partial liberalisation of the
railway sector by opening up passenger railway
ØYSTEIN RISAN has a Civil
services for competition as well as changes to the
Engineering Degree from the
organisational structure of the sector. University of Glasgow and
The rolling stock had, until then, been owned has been the CEO of Norske
by the national rail operator, Norges Statsbaner tog AS since September
AS (NSB AS). The rolling stock has a long lifecycle 2016. Øystein joined NSB
in 1995 as a Consultant
DQGLVVSHFLǩFDOO\GHYHORSHGIRUWKH1RUZHJLDQ
and was responsible for
rail system and climate. It therefore represented train drivers, conductors
a potential barrier for entry of new train operators and transport management
in the Norwegian passenger rail market. at NSB Persontog Drift
To reduce entry barriers and ensure equal (2002-2010); responsible
for transport management,
competition for passenger train services, the
IT traffic and quality at
Ministry of Transport decided that rolling stock NSB Persontog Trafikk
should be placed within a separate company. (2010-2014); and Director
Therefore, the rolling stock was transferred from of NSB Persontog Traffic
Norges Statsbaner AS to Norske tog AG (then and Planning (2015-2016).

known as Materiellselskapet AS) and was to be

ABOVE: Class 73
trains have
been refurbished

@GlobalRailway
ROLLING STOCK

The rolling stock made available to the train operators that win the
and employees WHQGHUVIRUWKHWUDǫFSDFNDJHV
The rolling stock and employees of NSB AS were
of NSB AS were
transferred to Norske tog AS on 15 October 2016
transferred to
in accordance with the asset purchase agreement.
Norske tog AS on As part of the demerger, outstanding bonds
15 October 2016 (amounting to 5.9 billion NOK) were transferred
in accordance with from NSB AS to Norske tog AS on 9 December
the asset purchase 2016, and on 31 December 2016 Norske tog AS
had assets amounting to 9.2 billion NOK and a
agreement
debt of 8.2 billion NOK. Norske tog AS has an A+
rating from S&P and aims to use the international
bond market to ensure funding for its future
investments. The demerger of the two companies
was completed on 24 April 2017, and Norske
tog AS is now wholly-owned by the Norwegian
state, by the Ministry of Transport. The reformed
Norwegian railway sector is is now in place and
the organisational structure is shown in Figure 1.

Norway’s general election

The Norwegian general election on 11 September
ZLOOHLWKHUFRQǩUPWKHIXWXUHGLUHFWLRQRIWKH
Norwegian railway sector or provide new goals.
Whatever the outcome, the speed and order of

TABLE 1 The 13 different types of rolling stock of Norske tog AS

TOTAL
MANU- TOP POWER
# OF MANU- YEAR OF WHEELCHAIR INTERNET # OF PASS-
NAME TYPE FACTURING SPEED OUTLET
TRAINS FACTURER UPGRADE ACCESSIBLE (YES/NO) SEATS ENGER
YEAR (KM/H) (YES/NO)
CAPACITY

Strømmens 2009-
Class 69 Local 55 1970-1994 130 No No No 189-302 300-500
Værksted 20111

Long- ABB
Class 70 16 1991-1996 – 160 Yes, Ramp Yes Yes 229-238 430-440
Distance Strømmen

Class 72 Local 36 2002-2006 AnsaldoBreda – 160 Yes, Ramp Yes No 310 600

Regional/
Class 73 A / B Long- 14/6 1999-2001 Adtranz Ongoing 210 Yes, Ramp Yes Yes 204/249 320
Distance

Class 74 Regional 33 2012- Stadler – 200 Yes, Elevator Yes Yes 240 570

Class 75 Local 43 2012- Stadler – 200 Yes, Elevator Yes Yes 295 630

Long- 2011-
Class 5 56 1977-1981 Bombardier 160 Yes, Elevator – – 40-68 N/A
Distance 2013

Long- 2008-
Class 7 59 1982-1985 Adtranz 160 Yes, Elevator – – 36-68 N/A
Distance 2011

Strømmens Sleeping
Class WLAB2 Night Train 20 1986-1987 2006 150 Yes, Ramp Yes Yes Coupes: 15
Værksted Beds: 30

Long-
2005-
Class 92 Distance/ 14 1984-1985 Durewag 140 No Yes No 146-148 200
2006
Local
Long-
Class 93 Distance/ 15 2000-2002 Bombardier – 140 Yes, Elevator Yes Yes 87 180
Local

Class El 18 Electric 22 1996-1997 Adtranz – 160 – – – N/A N/A

Class Di 4 Diesel 5 1981 Henchel 2009 140 – – – N/A N/A

globalrailwayreview.com
10
tenders in the future will be important for the ABOVE: The Stadler
long-term planning of Norske tog AS. Flirt for Norwegian
State Railways

The company now

With 29 employees at present, Norske tog AS is
DUHODWLYHO\VPDOOFRPSDQ\ZLWKDDŽǪDWDžVWUXFWXUH
with dedicated and specialised teams. As all
employees were transferred from NSB AS, they
come with a great deal of experience in working
for the Norwegian railway industry, plus a thorough
BELOW: Norske tog AS
understanding of all rolling stock types, especially does not own Flytoget
in-depth technical knowledge of the older vehicles. airport express trains

@GlobalRailway
ROLLING STOCK

RIGHT: Diagram of the FIGURE 1

Norwegian reformed
railway sector

The duties of
Norske tog AS are
to acquire, manage
and lease passenger
trains, with the
objective to have
sufficient, modern
rolling stock at the
right cost and of
high quality

The company was set up as a separate legal
HQWLW\ZLWKDQRǫFLDOUDWLQJWRHQDEOHWKHFRPSDQ\
to use the bond market (both nationally and
internationally) to raise capital.
Duties and objectives
The duties of Norske tog AS are to acquire, manage
and lease passenger trains, with the objective to
KDYHVXǫFLHQWPRGHUQUROOLQJVWRFNDWWKHULJKW
cost and of high quality. Norske tog AS will aim to
BELOW: Class 72
trains are next in line contribute to ensuring competition in providing
to be refurbished passenger transport on equal terms between the
train companies, and to ensure low entry barriers
for new train operators.
As part of its role to procure new rolling stock,
Norske tog AS will ensure that new passenger
trains are ordered in line with Norwegian
requirements and that the refurbishment of existing
vehicles is also planned. It will be important for
Norske tog AS to have a clear rolling stock strategy
ZLWKFRQFUHWHFRVWEHQHǩWDVVHVVPHQWVDVZHOODV
EHLQJUHVSRQVLEOHIRUGHFLVLRQVRQǪHHWUHQHZDOV
and ensuring the necessary technical expertise
is arranged.

Going forward
The strategy
Norske tog AS has taken over a range of rolling
stock classes with varying age (see Table 1).
In the longer-term, Norske tog AS will further
develop its rolling stock strategy to ensure
VWDQGDUGLVDWLRQDQGRSWLPLVDWLRQRILWVǪHHWDQG
systems. This will include matters concerning the
interface between rolling stock and infrastructure/
workshops. Norske tog AS aims to be the leading
expert in the procurement of passenger rolling
stock and systems, and acknowledged within the
industry as having an excellent understanding of
QHZWHFKQRORJLFDOVROXWLRQVLQWKHǩHOGVRI,7DQG
communications systems such as ERTMS, Wi-Fi,
repeaters and diagnostic systems.
Norske tog AS will be responsible for checking all
rolling stock in conjunction with lease and return
agreements, as well as owner inspections during
those lease terms. Establishing a process-oriented
management system with a focus on continuous
improvement will be another principal goal.

globalrailwayreview.com
12
 As well as continuing to lease passenger rolling Today, Norske
stock to operators, the overall short-term objective tog AS owns
for Norske tog AS is to establish a rolling stock
13 different types of
ownership company that provides input to the
railway directorate to determine the competition
rolling stock but the
basis for the invitation to tender packages under long-term plan is to
the railway reform. reduce this to just
The long-term objective is to contribute to a three or four types
FRPSUHKHQVLYHǪHHWRIUROOLQJVWRFNIRUWKHUDLOZD\V
in Norway.
To achieve these objectives, Norske tog AS is
ZRUNLQJRQGUDZLQJXSSODQVWRIXOǩOWKHLPPHGLDWH
capacity requirements and lease terms. Its aim
is to ensure the quality of the rolling stock and to
continuously improve its relationship with the lessees.
7KHFRPSDQ\KDVGHǩQHGLWVDPELWLRQVDQG
objectives and where it aims to be in 10 years’ time.
They wish to have a higher number of standardised
SDVVHQJHUWUDLQǪHHWDQGV\VWHPVWRGHOLYHU
predictable results in accordance with plans and to
DFKLHYHǩQDQFLQJZKLFKJLYHVVFRSHIRUPDQRHXYUH
and to be the preferred lessor of passenger rolling
stock for train operators.

The rolling stock

Norske tog AS has plans to refurbish the older
rolling stock in addition to purchasing new local
trains. Under the current contract with Stadler,
the call for an option of 18 units was signed on
4 August 2017 making a total of 125 trains, and an
option for a further 25 trains remains.
By purchasing a large number of trains from one
producer, the costs can be reduced, respectable
relationships can be developed, and it would mean
PRUHǪH[LELOLW\EHWZHHQGLǨHUHQWWHQGHUSDFNDJHV
However, the speed of developing new technologies
and how often trains should be replaced still needs LINDA MARIE VENBAKKEN
has been the CFO of Norske
to be considered.
tog AS since October 2016.
The refurbishment of Class 73 trains has been She joined NSB in 2005 and
completed. Next in line are the 36 AnsaldoBreda worked as Group Treasurer
Class 72s which were put in service from 2002 to from 2006. Prior to working
2006. The installation of Wi-Fi and repeaters is for NSB, Linda was at RBS
plc in London as a Financial
planned during the refurbishment project.
Controller in the Group
There are also plans to refurbish trains purchased Treasury Department.
during the 1990s and update them with technology Linda has also worked as a
including Wi-Fi and repeaters. Management Accountant
7RGD\1RUVNHWRJ$6RZQVGLǨHUHQWW\SHVRI for Kohn Pedersen Fox and
Controller for King Sturge,
rolling stock but the long-term plan is to reduce this
and studied Business
to just three or four types. Studies at the University of
The next large investment will most likely be Westminster in London.
to replace the diesel commuter trains around
Trondheim and the commuter trains in time for the
opening of the Follo Line in Oslo.
Moreover, Norske tog AS is considering investing
in bimodal trains and the possibilities that may
arise from further developments in the rolling stock REFERENCE
market. Keeping updated on what the big suppliers
are developing and advances in technology will be 1. (Meld. St. 27 (2014-2015))

of keen interest.

@GlobalRailway
 ROLLING STOCK COMPONENTS
The world of Dellner
Dellner is a Swedish company with more than 75 years of
experience in the rail industry. Here Gabriel Hornemann,
Global Sales and Marketing Director of Dellner Service,
ABOVE: Dellner
Italy facility
explains the company’s structure and how it has
expanded over recent years.
D
ELLNER serves all of the world’s leading
train manufacturers and rail operators by
providing durable, reliable and innovative
products and services. The company
RǨHUVIXOO7UDLQ&RQQHFWLRQ6\VWHPVLQFOXGLQJ
couplers, gangways, hatches, dampers, and crash
management systems, complemented by superior
ABOVE: Dellner Service container
14
aftersales care and support. Our headquarters
are located in Sweden with a global network of
subsidiaries, branches and agents in 16 countries.
In Europe Dellner has subsidiaries in Germany,
Poland, France, United Kingdom and Italy.
Italy
Since 2011 Dellner Italy has been located in Turin
and serves the Italian as well as the Spanish
markets. Our service workshop at this location
is 900m2 and accommodates Dellner’s trained
SURIHVVLRQDO6HUYLFH6WDǨZKRDUHUHDG\WRVHUYH
our Italian and Spanish customers on site. With the
in-time overhauls we can prolong a product’s
lifetime and secure the travellers’ safety. By being
close to our customers we can ensure a short
downtime of the rolling stock and our repair
service can be carried out either in the workshop
or on the client’s side. We keep spare parts on
stock for high availability and in reliable quality.
Our Service Technicians have broad experience of
Train Connection Systems and provide technical
globalrailwayreview.com

advice as well as training programmes for our
customers’ personnel. We service all couplers
and gangway types, OEM and non-OEM and
work with manufacturers such as Alstom, Hitachi,
Ansaldobreda, Titagarh, Bombardier and CAF as
well as operators including Trentino Trasporti,
Trenitalia, Trenord, ANM, Metro Genova, ATAC
and EAV.
Scandinavia
The Dellner workshop for Scandinavia is located
DW'HOOQHUDžVKHDGRǫFHLQ9LND6ZHGHQ)URPKHUH
we can provide service to all our Nordic-based
customers. The workshop is very modern and
follows the 5S principles. With our Dellner Service
car we can support our customers wherever they
need us. Moreover, we have a container workshop
that enables us to work on site with the customer
IRUǪH[LEOHVXSSRUW,QWKLVZD\'HOOQHUFDQRǨHU
a new level of service for both complete overhauls
and general repair work, at the customer’s work
site. Our mobile workshop allows us to carry out
such work with a shorter turnaround time, and
make a 24 hour On Site Service a reality. In today’s
demand for high train availability we consider
that this service provides our customers with
such capability.
Eastern and Central Europe
In 2017 Dellner celebrates 20 years of working
in Poland. It all started with the establishment
of a small production factory in Gdynia in 1997.
The beginnings of Dellner Poland were connected
with couplers modernisations at Polish National
Railway (PKP). Today, 20 years later, it could be
said that Dellner Poland has been involved in the
1 2
@GlobalRailway
GLOBAL RAILWAY REVIEW | Volume 23, Issue 05
modernisation of all couplers for EN57-type trains.
,Q'HOOQHUEHFDPHWKHǩUVWFRXSOHU
manufacturer to move its production to Poland,
thus lowering costs and gaining access to a
broader availability of excellent education and
VNLOOV$WWKHVDPHWLPHWKHǩUVWVHUYLFHFHQWUH
was formed. Over the years both operations
developed to become Centres of Excellence
serving as standards for the many other Dellner
locations established since then throughout the
world. Today the management of our production
in Poland is increasingly consulting and supervising
the set-ups in other parts of the globe. GABRIEL HORNEMANN
Due to its developed competence in has been Global Sales
and Marketing Director
manufacturing, process management and logistics,
of Dellner Service since
our Gdynia operation has attracted other central 2012. Gabriel is a Member
functions. Today engineering groups, project of ‘Fachgruppe Service,
management and sales engineering form an Verband der Bahnindustrie
important part of the global organisation. in Deutschland (VDB) e.V.’
Dellner Poland works with many of the main
train manufacturers, operators and maintainers in
the Polish and other CEE markets. Our couplers are
in service on trains produced by Newag (Impuls 2),
Pesa (Elf 2), Alstom, Skoda and MetroWagonMash.
Moreover, our modernised and refurbished
couplers are in successful service for many Polish
operators, as well as, for example, Metro Moscow
or Metro Budapest.
Poland Dellner not only serves all other Central
Eastern European markets but has also taken
responsibility of the Russian operation. Since 2017
'HOOQHUKDVHVWDEOLVKHGDQRǫFHLQ5XVVLDZLWK
the aim to broaden the good market penetration
LQWKDWDUHDDQGVSHFLǩFDOO\H[SORLWWKHYDVW 1 Dellner Sweden facility
experience in winterisation of couplers and
driver cabins. 2 Dellner Poland facility
15
EVENT PREVIEW
The Nordic region’s most
important meeting place
The conference sessions during Elmia Future Transport, Elmia Nordic Rail and Elmia
Nordic Road will be a highlight in October 2017 for everyone in the industry. “We’re
promising our best programme ever,” says Elmia’s Project Manager, Magnus Ringqvist.
EXPERTS, industry representatives and
politicians will be in Jönköping, Sweden
when Elmia Future Transport, Elmia Nordic
Rail and Elmia Nordic Road are held on
10-12 October. Interesting discussions will
alternate with exciting talks and seminars.
“For industry professionals, the
conference is the obvious meeting place,”
ŦÒƗŦ+ĭĶęÒɌŦŠşłħúîŰeÒĸÒčúşȦeÒčĸŸŦ
Ringqvist. “At Elmia we want to help develop
the industry for the future.”
New this year is that the programme is
not categorised by types of transport but
rather according to their joint challenges.
“We focus on topical issues regardless
łČɔƑĔúŰĔúşŰĔúƗęĸƐłĭƐúŰĔúşÒęĭƑÒƗŦȦ
şłÒôŦȦŜłşŰŦłşÒęşŜłşŰŦȦɊeÒčĸŸŦúƖŜĭÒęĸŦȫ
ɉžĔÒŰɔƑÒƗƑúîÒĸŰÒĪúÒîłĶŜşúĔúĸŦęƐú
grasp on the issues that need solving and
also add dynamism to the discussions.”
A key seminar with in-depth analysis
of a highly topical subject will be held on
úÒîĔɔôÒƗłČŰĔúČÒęşȫ
“The seminar on high-speed rail will
be especially exciting to listen to,” says
eÒčĸŸŦȫɉJŰɌŦÒŰłŜęîŰĔÒŰĶÒĸƗŜúłŜĭúĔÒƐú
an opinion on and many interesting issues
will undoubtedly be raised. But the seminars
on digitalisation and Vision Zero are also
extremely topical – so mark all three on
your calendars now.”
The moderator of the seminar on
ôęčęŰÒĭęŦÒŰęłĸęŦ”ƑúôúĸɌŦČłşĶúşeęĸęŦŰúş
16
ČłşJĸČşÒŦŰşŸîŰŸşúȦÒŰĔÒşęĸÒ+ĭĶŦáŰúşɁ”Ɛáşôȫ
The subject is undeniably current, given
ÒĭĭɔŰĔúŰúîĔĸłĭłčƗŰĔÒŰęŦĸłƑîłĸĸúîŰúô
ŰłɔŰĔúęĸŰúşĸúŰłşÒĸęĸŰúşĸÒĭîĭłŸôȫ
“I want the audience to understand that
solutions, ideas and companies that they
cannot imagine today can exist tomorrow,”
Catharina says. “This can impact their
íŸŦęĸúŦŦÒĸôŜşłƥŰÒíęĭęŰƗęČŰĔúƗôłĸɌŰ
ĪúúŜɔŸŜȫɊ
In addition to the key seminars there
will also be trade and exhibitor seminars
held every day. The trade seminars have
been developed by a programme council
consisting of representatives from business
and industry organisations and transport
authorities from the Nordic countries.
žĔúɔČłîŸŦęŦłĸƐęŦęłĸŦȦşúčŸĭÒŰęłĸŦȦ
logistics/transport and business deals.
pĸúɔŦŰÒĸôłŸŰŰĔúĶúłĸ¾úôĸúŦôÒƗ
ǰǰɔpîŰłíúşęŦŦęčĸÒĭĭęĸčŦƗŦŰúĶŦÒĸôŰşÒČƥî
control. Both Denmark’s Banedanmark
and Norway’s Bane NOR will discuss their
experiences of complex systems.
“The conference programme focuses
on the future and on long-term visions.
+ĭĶęÒɔƑÒĸŰŦŰłĔúĭŜôúƐúĭłŜŰĔúęĸôŸŦŰşƗÒĸô
we are doing that by raising questions about
ŰĔúşÒęĭƑÒƗɌŦúƖŜÒĸŦęłĸȦŰĔúúƖŜÒĸŦęłĸłČɔŰĔú
street and road networks, and the future
łČɔłŸşŰşÒĸŦŜłşŰŦłĭŸŰęłĸŦȦɊŦÒƗŦeÒčĸŸŦȫ
He continues: “These might be visions
for the near future but also more future-
10-12 OCTOBER 2017
JÖNKÖPING, SWEDEN
łşęúĸŰúôŰĔłŸčĔŰŦȫeÒĸƗŜúłŜĭúƐęúƑ
ŰĔúîŸşşúĸŰşúčŸĭÒŰęłĸŦÒŦôęČƥîŸĭŰÒĸô
extensive. That’s why we see the potential
of raising these important questions and
dealing with them for all the different
ĶłôúŦɔłČŰşÒĸŦŜłşŰȫɊ
eŸîĔłČŰĔúîłĸČúşúĸîúôŸşęĸč+ĭĶęÒ
Future Transport, Elmia Nordic Rail and
Elmia Future Transport will focus on
looking into the future and seeking trends
ÒĸôôúƐúĭłŜĶúĸŰŜÒŰĔŦȫ”ĶÒşŰŰşÒČƥî
systems, smart ticketing systems and
digital trends are just a few of the headlines
in the programme. Among other things,
Bombardier Transportation will hold a
seminar on Tuesday 10 October about how
the use of big data can avoid bottlenecks
in the transport system plus the seamless
upgrading of signalling systems.
A number of the events will be held in
English and on Wednesday 11 October
ŰĔúşúɔƑęĭĭíúÒĸęĸŰúşúŦŰęĸčôęŦîŸŦŦęłĸ
about what tomorrow’s trains will look
ĭęĪúȫžĔúɔŰęŰĭúęŦɋEęčĔúşȦ\łĸčúşȦ\ęčĔŰúşȦ
EƗíşęôŦɔȾ¾ĔÒŰęŦŰĔú\łłĪÒĸô=úúĭłČ
the Future Trains?’ and representatives
from both Bombardier Transportation and
ĭŦŰłĶɔƑęĭĭíúłĸŦŰÒčúȫ
ɋeÒŰîĔĶÒĪęĸčɌúƐúĸŰƑęĭĭÒĭŦłíúĔúĭô
on Wednesday 11 October when a number
of infrastructure projects that are at the
procurement stage will be presented and
eÒŰîĔĶÒĪęĸčĶúúŰęĸčŦęĸŰĔúÒČŰúşĸłłĸƑęĭĭ
globalrailwayreview.com

be held between the project representatives
and potential stakeholders and tenderers.
Elmia Nordic Rail has been held every
ŦúîłĸôƗúÒşŦęĸîúǰǸǸǴȫ+ĭĶęÒ=ŸŰŸşú
Transport was launched 10 years ago
and Elmia Nordic Road debuted in 2015.
Together the three fairs create a common
meeting place for the entire transport
network. Whereas Elmia Nordic Rail and
Elmia Nordic Road have a rail and road focus
respectively, Elmia Future Transport takes
a visionary comprehensive approach to all
forms of transport.
“Our three fairs are for everyone who is
affected in any way by these industries
ȾɔƑĔúŰĔúşŰĔúƗƑłşĪęĸÒĸłşčÒĸęŦÒŰęłĸȦ
ÒŰɔÒɔčłƐúşĸĶúĸŰÒčúĸîƗłşČłşÒîłĶŜÒĸƗȫ
žĔęŦęŦƑĔúşúúƐúşƗłĸúĶúúŰŦȦɊeÒčĸŸŦŦÒƗŦȫ
On the programme during Elmia
Future Transport, Elmia Nordic Rail and
Elmia Nordic Road will be the following
key seminars:
Key Seminar 1:
High-speed railways – do
they solve the problems?
Is a high-speed rail line really the solution
to all the problems? The results of Sweden’s
National Negotiation on Housing and
Infrastructure will be ready soon and must
then be dealt with and turned into reality.
eÒĸƗĶŸĸęîęŜÒĭęŰęúŦşúÒĭęŦúęŰęŦęĶŜłşŰÒĸŰČłş
them to have a station on the planned new
rail lines but will this solve all the problems?
There are now visions and plans that point in
a totally different direction, namely the
Oslo–Stockholm route, which affects more
people than the national plans to build
new high-speed lines between Stockholm–
>łŰĔúĸíŸşčÒĸô”ŰłîĪĔłĭĶȾeÒĭĶŌȫ
Key Seminar 2:
Digitalisation – creates potential
for companies and countries
EłƑôłƑúúĸŦŸşúŰúîĔĸłĭłčęîÒĭȦɔíŸŦęĸúŦŦ
ÒĸôŜłĭęŰęîÒĭĶłíęĭęŰƗȬgúƑŰúîĔĸłĭłčƗɔÒĸô
ĸúƑíŸŦęĸúŦŦČłşĶŦęĸƐłĭƐęĸčÒşŰęƥîęÒĭ
intelligence and digitalisation are changing
how we think about mobility. Automation,
including self-driving cars, will place new
demands on the infrastructure and overall
transport system. Business management and
platforms will change our behaviour and way
of thinking. But can digitalisation promote
collaboration between several different
modes of transport?
GLOBAL RAILWAY REVIEW | Volume 23, Issue 05
Key Seminar 3:
Vision Zero, Stage 2 – how
do we move forward?
žĔúÒęĶłČÒîĔęúƐęĸčƠúşłôúÒŰĔŦÒĸô
ŦúşęłŸŦɔęĸħŸşęúŦęĸŰşÒČƥîĔÒŦíúúĸ
şúħúîŰúôɔÒŦęĶŜłŦŦęíĭúíŸŰŦęĸîúǰǸǸǶŰĔú
ĸŸĶíúşłČŰşÒČƥîČÒŰÒĭęŰęúŦęĸ”ƑúôúĸĔÒŦ
more than halved. Since then, interest in
the Vision Zero concept has been extreme
around the world. But where do we go from
ĔúşúȬ¾ĔÒŰɔęŦŰĔúĸúƖŰŦŰúŜŰłɔÒîĔęúƐúŰĔú
ĸúƖŰǴǯɹşúôŸîŰęłĸȬĸôɔŰĔúɔĸúƖŰȬ%łúŦ
ŰĔúĸúƖŰŦŰÒčúęĸƐłĭƐúłŰĔúşɔĶúÒŦŸşúŦ
such as clean air and/or a noise-
free environment?
Future Transport Award
¾ĔłƑęĭĭíúŰĔúƥĸÒĭęŦŰŦłČŰĔú=ŸŰŸşú
Transport Award? The shortlisted
îÒĸôęôÒŰúŦɔƑęĭĭíúŜşúŦúĸŰúôłĸ¾úôĸúŦôÒƗ
11 October and the winners will receive
their awards later that same evening during
the Nordic Rail Buffet.
elmia.se/nordicrail
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TRACK
MAINTENANCE
5DLOZD\V\VWHPVDURXQGWKHZRUOGUHO\RQLQQRYDWLYHDQGFRVWHǫFLHQWWUDFNPDLQWHQDQFH
techniques to ensure high levels of operational performance. Although machinery,
requirements and regulations have evolved, the end goal has always been to
HQVXUHVDIHDQGUHOLDEOHUDLOLQIUDVWUXFWXUH5HDGRQWRǩQGRXWPRUHǍ

SPONSORS:
IN-DEPTH FOCUS | TRACK MAINTENANCE

Future of track
maintenance in harmonised
EU legislation (INF TSI)

Iñigo Méndez3URMHFW2ǫ FHUDWWKH(XURSHDQ8QLRQ

Agency for Railways, takes a look at the history
and present situation regarding track maintenance
requirements within EU law.

I
N WKHǩUVWLQWHURSHUDELOLW\GLUHFWLYH
(96/48/EC) for the high-speed trans-European
network laid down the essential requirements
for the design, construction, maintenance
and monitoring of subsystem infrastructure:
safety, reliability and availability, health,
environmental protection and technical
compatibility. The directive and all subsequent
releases (2001/16/EC, 2004/50/EC, 2008/57/EC,
(EU) 2016/797) also introduced the obligation
WRGHǩQHKDUPRQLVHG7HFKQLFDO6SHFLǩFDWLRQV
for Interoperability (TSIs). The TSIs require that
maintenance activities are undertaken in order
to ensure the interoperability of the rail system
and to guarantee the performance required.
The ‘maintenance’ is therefore considered as a
‘functional subsystem’ of the European rail system.
When the original interoperability directive
FDPHLQWRIRUFHWKHǩUVWVHWRI76,VUHODWLQJWRWKH
infrastructure subsystem, HS INF TSI (for the TEN-T
high-speed network, 2002 and 2008 revision), were
produced. These were prepared by the European
Association for Railway Interoperability (better
known under the French name AEIF – Association

globalrailwayreview.com
20
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IN-DEPTH FOCUS | TRACK MAINTENANCE
The frequency Européenne pour l’Interopérabilité Ferroviaire) and
and means for included track maintenance as an essential part of
the harmonised legislation to support the creation
inspections or the
of a single European railway area.
requirements for
6LQFHWKHQGLǨHUHQWYHUVLRQVRIWKH76,V
maintenance of have been developed by the European Railway
key elements such Agency (now called the European Union Agency
as rails, fastening for Railways, hereafter ‘the Agency’). These
systems or sleepers included CR INF TSI (for the TEN-T conventional
rail network, 2011) and INF TSI (for both
are not part of
KLJKVSHHGDQGFRQYHQWLRQDOUDLO7(1DQGRǨ7(1
the harmonised
networks, 2014), which set out requirements
European for the target interoperable EU railway network
legislation track maintenance.
The basis for the current harmonised
interoperability requirements is the obligation of the
infrastructure manager to draw up maintenance
rules. In accordance with the EU legislation in
force, the maintenance rules must contain two
22
PDLQHOHPHQWVDPDLQWHQDQFHǩOHZKLFKLV
necessary before the line is put into service, and a
maintenance plan to ensure that the requirements
of the TSI and national rules are maintained during
the line’s lifetime.
As part of the maintenance rules, the
infrastructure manager must consider the values of
the basic parameters prescribed in the INF TSI for
track geometry defects:
O The immediate action limit for alignment
O The immediate action limit for
longitudinal level
O The immediate action limit for track twist
O The immediate action limit of track gauge
as isolated defect
O The immediate action limit for cant
O The immediate action limits for switches
and crossings.
Immediate action limit refers to the value, which,
if exceeded, requires the infrastructure manager
to take measures to reduce the risk of derailment to
an acceptable level. The rules shall describe the
measures taken (for example, speed restriction and
repair time) when prescribed limits are not met.
Some of the harmonised values could not be
explicitly mentioned in the INF TSI: for example,
the immediate action limits for isolated defects in
alignment and longitudinal level for speeds of more
WKDQNPKWKRVHDUHLGHQWLǩHGDVRSHQSRLQWV
XQWLODQDJUHHPHQWLVUHDFKHGWRGHǩQHDYDOXHLQ
the TSI. This means that, until harmonised values
DUHGHǩQHG0HPEHU6WDWHVVKDOOVHWRXWQDWLRQDO
rules to cover these parameters.
It must be noted that the INF TSI does not
contain every element necessary to perform
globalrailwayreview.com
 GLOBAL RAILWAY REVIEW | Volume 23, Issue 05

comprehensive track maintenance, only

those parameters that are essential to ensure
interoperability. The frequency and means for
inspections or the requirements for maintenance
of key elements such as rails, fastening systems
or sleepers are not part of the harmonised
European legislation.
It is the responsibility of infrastructure managers
in their maintenance rules – developed within the
procedures described in their Safety Management
System (a requirement of Article 9 of Directive
(EU) 2016/798) – to ensure that the essential
requirements of the directive are maintained
throughout the lifespan of the infrastructure.
The voluntary EN harmonised standards on track
maintenance may support this process, providing
presumption of conformity with the EU legislation
ZKHQDSSOLHGWRGHǩQLQJPDLQWHQDQFHUXOHV
7KLVDSSURDFKDOORZVIRUDǪH[LEOHPDLQWHQDQFH available to them, as well as various operational The Fourth
strategy for each infrastructure manager while risks of the network, they cannot be treated Railway
ensuring interoperability and safe running of trains. the same.
Package and its
Importantly, it also links the risk to the type and
technical pillar
IUHTXHQF\RIPDLQWHQDQFHQHHGHG7KHEHQHǩWRI EU support for research and innovation
further harmonisation in EU legislation regarding in the field of track maintenance brings new inputs
WKHǩHOGRIWUDFNPDLQWHQDQFHLVTXHVWLRQDEOH ,WLVZRUWKPHQWLRQLQJWKHHǨRUWGULYHQE\ to the field of track
Given the heterogeneity of the EU railway networks, 6KLIW5DLOLQWKHǩHOGRIWUDFNPDLQWHQDQFH maintenance
WKHGLǨHUHQWRUJDQLVDWLRQRIWKHLQIUDVWUXFWXUH This crucial research and innovation programme
managers and varying means and resources is implemented by a joint undertaking established

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The rail industry is changing, fast. The need to improve efficiency and reliability,
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less than 90 minutes, reducing possession times and costs.
Rosehill Rail – Setting New Standards
For more information, or to enquire about training, please
call the Rosehill Rail sales team on +44 (0)1422 317 473,
or email info@rosehillrail.com

26 - 29 September 2017
AmberExpo, Gdańsk - Poland

3 - 5 October 2017
Fiera Milano Rho - Italy

Road Crossings // Road Rail Access // Pedestrian Crossings // Anti-Trespass

GLOBAL RAILWAY REVIEW | Volume 23, Issue 05
IÑIGO MÉNDEZ has been
a Project Officer in the
European Union Agency
for Railways since 2013.
He is member of the fixed
installations sector in charge
of infrastructure issues,
including the development
of EU technical legislation.
in June 2014, grouping the European Commission
and the rail sector. The aim is to double the
capacity of the European rail system and increase
its reliability and service quality by 50%, all while
halving life-cycle costs.
Expectations are high for the outcomes of the
integrated technology demonstrator dedicated to
intelligent asset management. Three technology
demonstrators will propose solutions beyond the
state of the art for a Dynamic Railway Information
Management System (DRIMS), a Railway Integrated
Measuring and Monitoring System (RIMMS) and
Intelligent Asset Management Strategies (IAMS).
The Agency is supporting Shift2Rail activity,
following-up projects and contributing with
technical input.
Fourth Railway Package and
research and innovation activities (in particular
Shift2Rail ), as well as the growing concern about
reduction of infrastructure maintenance costs
while ensuring continued interoperability, will be
a key issue. In the future the Agency will analyse
this information and consider what further revision
of requirements is needed in the harmonised
legislation in line with the legal basis.
After the publication and entry into force of the
Commission ‘delegated act’, the infrastructure
working party (INF WP), led by the Agency, will be
initiated with the objective to issue an improved
INF TSI. This is likely to be at the beginning of 2018.
The INF WP will be composed of experts appointed
by the European Representative Bodies of the
Railway sector (e.g. CER, EIM, NB-RAIL and UNIFE),
the Intergovernmental Organisation for International
Carriage by Rail (OTIF), the National Safety Authorities
Iñigo graduated in 2000 from
the Polytechnic University of
Madrid where he studied an
MSc in civil engineering. Iñigo
has also worked as Project
Manager in the construction
of the high-speed line to the
north-west of Spain and
several international projects
in Ireland, Georgia and India.
the evolution of the INF TSI
The Fourth Railway Package and its technical pillar
EULQJVQHZLQSXWVWRWKHǩHOGRIWUDFNPDLQWHQDQFH
In accordance with Article 5 of Interoperability
Directive (EU) 797/2016, the Commission is
empowered to adopt ‘delegated acts’ in order
WRVHWRXWWKHVSHFLǩFREMHFWLYHVIRUWKHGUDIWLQJ
adoption and review of each TSI.
The new ‘delegated act’ will be the basis for
future revisions of the INF TSI. The incorporation of
new developments of the railway sector and related
16$VDQGLQGHSHQGHQWH[SHUWVLQDSDUWLFXODUǩHOG
called by the Agency if necessary. The closure of
the remaining open points and the evolution of the
technical requirements for track maintenance with a
view of possible further harmonisation, will be one of
the key elements of analysis of the Agency and the
INF WP. The outcomes of this activity will enhance
the level of interoperability of rail infrastructure and
contribute to development of a single European
railway area – without frontiers and the guarantee of
a high level of safety.

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 IN-DEPTH FOCUS | TRACK MAINTENANCE

Milling Down Under: Proven

Austrian technology vs. tough
Australian rail conditions
Reini Schwarzenberger&KLHI2SHUDWLQJ2ǫ FHURI/LQPDJ$XVWUDOLD3W\/WG
explains the unusual requirements for rail milling in Australia and how
Linmag’s machines are helping to achieve results.

I
N 2013 Linmag established its subsidiary
Linmag Australia Pty Ltd to establish the
need for rail milling in Australia. Australia is
of course a huge country with long distances
EHWZHHQFLWLHVGLǨHUHQWUDLOJDXJHVPP
1,435mm and 1,600mm), metro networks in Sydney,
Melbourne and Brisbane, heavy haul services for
coal and iron ore, as well as interregional/intercity
and country services.
Due to the variation in operations there has
been no single solution for a start-up business.
Therefore, Linmag has chosen the Linsinger
SF02 Rail Milling truck for its initial investments
and to prove its capability in this new market.
This Rail-Road-Vehicle (RRV) is a combination
of a rail milling and grinding machine – with
two milling units and two grinding units – and
is suitable for travelling on roads and interstate
roads at up to 100km/h. The Linsinger machine
LVPXOWLJDXJHRǨHULQJWKHRSSRUWXQLW\WRZRUN
on all Australian networks and even land locked
stand-alone railways.
Unlike Linmag’s operation in Ireland, which deals
with a single network with consistent problems of
UDLOSURǩOHDQGFRQGLWLRQVIRUSDVVHQJHUVHUYLFHV
$XVWUDOLDQUDLOZD\VKDYHGLǨHUHQWSUREOHPVWKDW
UHǪHFWWKHRSHUDWLRQFOLPDWHDQGFRQGLWLRQVRI
individual operators across the country.
2QHRI/LQPDJDžVǩUVWFXVWRPHUVLVWKH$XVWUDOLDQ
Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) who operate the
Hunter Valley Coal Network.
Network information: ARTC Hunter Valley
Track: Standard gauge/60kg head hardened rail
The tonnages vary depending on where you
are in the network. Generally speaking, the
Down Main (empty coal trains) is typically
45 MGT to Muswellbrook where it diverges to

@GlobalRailway
25
IN-DEPTH FOCUS | TRACK MAINTENANCE

RIGHT: Linmag rail

milling machinery at
work in Australia

As the market
in Australia expands,
Linmag Australia Pty
Ltd will increase its
fleet of machines
to cope with
the demand

single lines and loops. Conversely, the Up Main
has a maximum of ~190 MGT in areas close to
the port moving to around 100 MGT by the time
you reach Muswellbrook. Their single lines vary
from the Ulan Line to the North West line,
however the best rule of thumb is 45 MGT over
the length. The one consideration to make is
that the Ulan Line is made up of a number of
curves (approximately 40%) and heavy wear
BELOW: Linmag is rates, while the North West Line is predominantly
working with the straights and only made up of around 10% curves.
Australian Rail Track Chainage for duplication (loaded and unloaded
Corporation (ARTC) who
operate the Hunter lines) are roughly 172km to 289km with the
Valley Coal Network single line going from 289km to 425km on the
Copyright: http://railgallery.com.au/
Ulan Line and 545km on the Main North West.
Their axle loads are 30 tonnes.
Alex Davies, ARTC Area Manager, said:
“The Hunter Valley Network has undertaken
VLJQLǩFDQWGHYHORSPHQWZLWKWKHGHOLYHU\RI
KLJKTXDOLW\FRVWHǨHFWLYHPLOOLQJWRSURYLGH
a product to our customers that exceeds any
previous targets. We have recently seen the
GHYHORSPHQWRIPLOOLQJWHFKQRORJ\WRHǨHFWLYHO\
address high priority defects that previously
would have required replacement throughout the
ARTC network. The services provided have been
of the highest quality and our management team
KDVEHHQH[WUHPHO\VDWLVǩHGZLWKWKHRYHUDOOOLIH
cycle improvements achieved by milling. Without
the hard work, professionalism and direction of
Linmag, our success would not be achievable and

for this reason I would like to take the opportunity

to thank the Linmag Australia team from
everyone at ARTC.”
Linmag Australia is milling with the SF02 Road
Rail Truck at every Closedown (approximately every
six weeks) and has delivered plain line as well as
turnout milling. Closedowns are mostly between
62 and 96 hours long, which were partly double
shifted (day and night shift).

Work examples
Examples of the type of work carried out are
as follows:

Turnouts
O Problem: Heavy worn turnouts
O Impact: increased wheel wear, reduced
travel speed

globalrailwayreview.com
26

O Linmag’s solution:
• Removal of rail defects (e.g. head checks)
up to 3mm (removal rate: 1mm per pass)
• Delivery time per turnout (both roads):
1 pass 45-60 min; 2 passes 60-70 min;
3 passes 80-90 min
• Initial milling at newly-installed turnouts
in one pass only
• Removal of rolling skin and
SURǩOHLUUHJXODULWLHV
Severe RCF removal (rolling contact fatigue)
O Allows speed restrictions to be lifted
O $OOVRUWVRI5&)DUHUHPRYHGDQGSURǩOH
is restored
O Improvement of Wheel Rail Interface
(no more hunting), reduced friction
reduces power consumption
O Rail is more testable due to the removal of
GHIHFWVZKLFKGHǪHFWXOWUDVRXQGZDYHV
O 6LJQLǩFDQWLQFUHDVHRIUDLOOLIHF\FOHUHGXFHG
premature rail replacements.
Squats developing that block the signal
from the ultrasonic testing car
O Untestable rail
O Speed restrictions
O High risk for business (rail break)
O Removal of up to 5mm (defects
removed completely)
O 6LJQLǩFDQWLQFUHDVHRIOLIHF\FOHRIWKHUDLO
O Huge cost savings (no re-railing required).
Linmag to the rescue!
Victoria’s capital city, Melbourne, is also the
centre of Linmag’s Australian operations.
With severe problems on its Bairnsdale and
Warrnambool lines due to level crossing gate
signal failures, Linmag used its rail milling trucks
to remove the corrosion and defects from the rail
head. This helped to ensure safety of operation,
enabling the lines to be re-opened without
further work.
This successful project has led to Linmag carrying
out further work for V/line – Victoria’s state
operator – including the milling of dual-gauge track,
which is only possible with SF02 rail milling trucks.
Gauge widening was also carried out through
tight curves to reduce extreme wheel wear on the
new trains recently delivered.
Milling of level crossings without
disrupting road traffic
2QDQRWKHUUHFHQWSURMHFWZHZHUHDEOHWRUHSURǩOH
several road crossings in the Ararat region, removing
corrugations upwards of 4.5mm. This required no
UHPRYDORIFURVVLQJLQIUDVWUXFWXUH7KHFRVWEHQHǩWLV
great due to no re-railing through the crossing, and
the rail can complete its full lifecycle.
@GlobalRailway
GLOBAL RAILWAY REVIEW | Volume 23, Issue 05
Over the coming months and years, it is expected ABOVE: Heavy defect
that Linmag’s machines will contribute further to removal, in one pass.
Perfect rail finish and
V/line’s expansion plans in the state of Victoria. no remaining defects
We must remember that rail milling has a with Linmag Rail
negligible impact on the environment, as it collects Milling Service
all waste material within the machine, which
PLQLPLVHVWKHULVNRIǩUHFRPSDUHGWRWKDWRIUDLO
JULQGLQJ7KLVLVDVLJQLǩFDQWEHQHǩWLQDFRXQWU\
ZKLFKLVYHU\FRQVFLRXVRIǩUHKD]DUGV
Other work has been carried out on the Sydney
WUDLQVQHWZRUNWRUHGXFHWKHHǨHFWRI5&)DQG
other rail defects on the need to re-rail prematurely.
Sydney Trains is increasing its ridership steadily on
an upward curve, placing higher demands on the
infrastructure than ever before. With track access
WLPHXQGHUVHYHUHSUHVVXUHUDLOPLOOLQJRǨHUVD
unique solution to some weighty problems.
What is on the horizon?
As the market in Australia expands, Linmag
$XVWUDOLD3W\/WGZLOOLQFUHDVHLWVǪHHWRIPDFKLQHV
to cope with the demand. In the meantime,
Linmag’s SF02 trucks will continue to deliver
REINI SCHWARZENBERGER
excellent service to its customers, develop new
has transitioned from being
solutions and techniques to reduce costs and also a medal-winning Olympian
improve asset life. for Austria to a successful
As part of Linmag’s Irish Rail contract, we manager in a variety of
provide eddy current recording of every pass industries – firstly in Austria
and now in Australia – over
of the rail milling machine to assure the client of
the last 10 years. Reini is the
the level of defect removal. This data can then be Chief Operating Officer at
used in conjunction with modelling techniques Linmag Australia Pty Ltd
to provide rail life expectancy and prediction and is responsible for the
of future re-railing requirements and capital Australian business unit.
expenditure planning.
27
IN-DEPTH FOCUS | TRACK MAINTENANCE

Plasser & Theurer: Delivering

VDIHW\UHOLDELOLW\DQGFRVWHǫFLHQF\
With several decades of experience in the development and
construction of track maintenance machinery, Plasser & Theurer’s
track inspection vehicles contribute greatly to the safety, reliability
DQGFRVWHǫFLHQF\RIUDLOZD\V\VWHPVDURXQGWKHZRUOG
Colleagues Claudia Peinsipp and Bernhard Metzger explore the
importance of track inspection activities and how Plasser & Theurer
vehicles can provide assistance.

A
TRACK inspection vehicle, usually This prerequisite results in vehicles with a typically
self-propelled, provides space for operational lifecycle of 25 years and more.
inspection systems, operators, operator
CLAUDIA PEINSIPP is Head
stations and other optional interior Why is it necessary to inspect tracks? of the Product Management
furnishings such as a conference corner and The track is a dynamic system. Varying factors such Track Inspection Vehicles
even bedrooms. DVUDLOWUDǫFWKHQDWXUHRIWKHVXEVRLOWHPSHUDWXUH Department at Plasser
Depending on the number and type of inspection ǪXFWXDWLRQVDQGSUHFLSLWDWLRQDUHWKHPDLQFDXVHV & Theurer, Vienna.
She obtained an MSc
systems, other equipment, and the measuring of track deterioration. To ensure safety and plan
in Construction and
VSHHG3ODVVHU 7KHXUHURǨHUVDZLGHYDULHW\RI PDLQWHQDQFHZRUNHǫFLHQWO\LWLVQHFHVVDU\WR Completion of Large-scale
track inspection vehicles. This includes the EM30, establish the current state of the track and evaluate International Projects from
the smallest track inspection vehicle in the product the rate of deterioration. the University of Applied
portfolio suitable for low measuring speeds, and Track inspection vehicles supply a wealth of Science FH Campus Wien,
Austria. Her professional
the EM160T consisting of two vehicle units, which information, based on the inspection equipment
experience is in the area of
is suitable for speeds up to 160km/h. installed. For inspection systems, Plasser & Theurer railway maintenance, with
(YHU\WUDFNLQVSHFWLRQYHKLFOHLVVSHFLǩFDOO\ follows the philosophy that only highly accurate a special focus on track
GHVLJQHGWRPHHWHDFKFXVWRPHUDžVVSHFLǩFQHHGV and reliable systems with the lowest maintenance inspection as a means of
and is built with well-proven components that requirements shall be used in order to maximise maintenance optimisation.

utilise the most modern manufacturing techniques. WKHEHQHǩWIRUFXVWRPHUV

globalrailwayreview.com
28
 GLOBAL RAILWAY REVIEW | Volume 23, Issue 05

FIGURE 1

“Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI) has been using the

tamping machines UNIMAT COMBI 08-275 equipped
with the Plasser & Theurer track geometry measuring
system since 2014 and we are highly satisfied with their
performance. The inertial track geometry measuring
system allows for the precise location of defects and
makes it possible to perform geometry measurements
at any speed. For this reason it can be used as a
process verification system of tamping works or as a
track diagnostic system. Furthermore, the measuring
system enables us to check the track section for long
wavelength defects as soon as the maintenance work
has been finished. As we receive the measuring results
in real-time, the track section can be re-opened for
regular traffic immediately. A separate measuring run
Apart from detecting exceptions, the results ABOVE: The importance

with a dedicated measuring car for quality control is no
longer required.”
Massimo Martini, responsible for S.O. Civil Engineering
Directorate of RFI Production Management and Roberto
Bilotti, Technical Advisor for S.O. Civil Engineering Directorate
of RFI Production Management
The following are examples of the most
commonly used measuring and inspection systems,
which can be operated at speeds of up to 300km/h,
GHSHQGLQJRQV\VWHPFRQǩJXUDWLRQ and includes automatic rail type detection, rail
Track Geometry Measuring System
Longitudinal level, alignment, track gauge,
superelevation, twist (derived from superelevation),
and the track gradient are measured by means
of contactless technology and with high accuracy
under realistic conditions (true axle loads).
from the track geometry measurements are of track inspection
based on the lifecycle
used for scheduling tamping works and can of tracks1
even indicate areas that may require ballast
cleaning. The Track Geometry Measuring System
from Plasser & Theurer is fully compliant with
the relevant EN 13848 standard and requires
no minimum measuring speed, unlike other
conventional inertial measuring systems.
Rail Profile Measuring System
:LWKWKLVV\VWHPWKHIXOOUDLOSURǩOHLVPHDVXUHG
height, rail head width, rail inclination, track
gauge and minimum track gauge, and rail head
lip. Rail height and width wear, plus the wear of
the rail head area, can be calculated from these
parameters. Based on this information, rail grinding
and rail replacement can be planned.
BELOW: This EC-4 track
inspection vehicle has
Ultrasonic Rail Flaw Detection
been successfully and
Ultrasonic inspection makes it possible to identify continually in operation

“Plasser track inspection measuring systems are a vital LQWHUQDOUDLOǪDZVVXFKDVFUDFNVDQGVSOLWVDQG for over 20 years

instrument for the safety and maintenance of our track

network. The systems offer a high accuracy detailed
assessment of our track geometry and precision data
that is utilised in planning capital projects. Their ability
to adapt to emerging technology allows us to expand our
network planning efficiently to new requirements. Our
fleet of Plasser inspection systems has been in operation
for over 20 years and is still going strong. Plasser’s
support team is one of the best in the industry and we
are pleased to work alongside them.”
Aarron B. Brown, Manager Special Projects - Geometry,
Evaluation Cars and Surveying, UPRR Engineering

@GlobalRailway
29
IN-DEPTH FOCUS | TRACK MAINTENANCE
ABOVE: The new to monitor their progression in order to replace
defective rail sections in time.
design for track
inspection vehicles
Clearance and Ballast Profile Measuring System
$QDO\VLQJWKHPHDVXUHGFOHDUDQFHSURǩOHDOVR
provides information on the ballast distribution, the
position of the catenary wire, as well as distances
to the adjacent track axes and station platforms.
7KLVDOORZVIRULPPHGLDWHLGHQWLǩFDWLRQRIFOHDUDQFH
infringements and an optimisation of the amount
of new ballast required for tamping works. It also
indicates problems with the catenary wire geometry.
Track Component Video Monitoring System
A video monitoring system helps identify loose or
missing rail fasteners, anomalies in the rail surface,
and cracks in concrete ties.
Catenary Wire Geometry and Wire Wear
The geometry of the catenary system can be
checked (height and stagger). A pantograph allows
to perform these measurements under dynamic
conditions. By measuring the catenary wire wear, it
is possible to analyse if and where it is necessary to
replace the catenary wire.
These examples illustrate that whatever track
inspection vehicle is chosen, it is possible to
“New York City is home to one of the largest, oldest, and busiest inner city rapid transit
systems in the world; the New York City Transit (NYCT) system. Required maintenance is
constrained as the subway system must continue to function and serve while it is being
maintained. Continuous safety inspections which do not interfere with the regular train
traffic and optimised maintenance planning are therefore of utmost importance. For
this reason, NYCT has four Track Geometry Cars (TGC) in operation which were delivered
between 1984 and 2008. Automated track inspections using NYCT’s Track Geometry
Cars assure the safety of the mainline tracks by performing detailed and accurate
measurements under dynamic loads equal to what passenger cars impose upon the track,
at train speeds.”
Antonio Cabrera, P.E., Assistant Chief Officer, Track Engineering,
MOW Engineering, Subways, MTA-NYCT
30
measure a wide variety of track parameters by
performing just one measuring run, thus saving
time, money and resources.
7RREWDLQWKHPD[LPXPEHQHǩWIURPWKH
collected data, it is necessary to convert the raw
data into real information by thorough evaluation.
,WLVDOVRLPSRUWDQWWRSXWGLǨHUHQWSDUDPHWHUV
into context, which can identify the root causes
of defects.
Based on this information it is possible to classify
the condition of the track – i.e. good condition or
requiring action.
By comparing time series of measuring runs of
previous months or years it is possible to perform
a trend analysis and ascertain the deterioration
rate for each section of the track. This helps identify
the locations with the fastest deterioration and
therefore the most urgent need for action.
Therefore, highly accurate location
V\QFKURQLVDWLRQRIWKHGLǨHUHQWSDUDPHWHUVLVD
prerequisite – the EM series provides such exact
positioning by using inertial navigational based
GPS and other location synchronisation options.
Intensifying the level of aggregation also allows a
wider group of people to utilise the information for
WKHLUVSHFLǩFQHHGVVHHFigure 2).
Another possible application for measuring
systems is the installation on track maintenance
PDFKLQHV7KLVRǨHUVRSSRUWXQLWLHVWKDWJREH\RQG
the mere measurement of track parameters.
An inertial navigational track geometry
PHDVXULQJV\VWHPVXFKDVWKHRQHRǨHUHGE\
Plasser & Theurer, installed on a tamping machine
allows for precise surveying. In addition, it allows
for control measurements after maintenance has
been performed, eliminating the need for separate
measuring runs with a dedicated measuring car.
In addition to the complete documentation and
quality control of the maintenance work, it also
saves a lot of time as it allows the track section
globalrailwayreview.com
 GLOBAL RAILWAY REVIEW | Volume 23, Issue 05

FIGURE 2 LEFT: Aggregation

“CSX Transportation Inc. (CSXT) has employed Plasser’s
Pyramid1
latest geometry measuring systems on its newest Track
Geometry Car (TGC3). These updated systems allow us
to test track geometry up to speeds of 110mph with rail
profiling, a track component video monitoring system,
thermal imaging, and a clearance measuring system.
All systems are synchronised with our track information
and mileposts, as well as dead-reckoning GPS.
The clearance measuring system is used for determining
track centres, ballast profiling, public crossing approach
angles, as well as clearance. The thermal imaging is used
for water penetration and fouled ballast conditions when
synchronised with the track component video. CSXT is
very pleased with the ease of operation and maintenance
of the systems, and assimilation is seamless amongst
the different Plasser systems.”
Brad Spencer, Director - Track Testing, CSXT

WREHUHRSHQHGIRUUHJXODUWUDǫ FLPPHGLDWHO\
following the completion of works. tasks required shall be easily performed by
A new development for the application of the customer.
measuring systems is the turnout tamping
assistance system PlasserSmartTamping – Downtime of the vehicle
The Assistant from Plasser & Theurer, which has The downtime of the vehicle, either scheduled for
revolutionised the tamping process in turnouts and maintenance or unscheduled due to defects, shall
crossings. It increases the quality of the tamping be as short as possible.
UHVXOWVDQGVLPSOLǩHVWKHZRUNLQJSURFHGXUH
VLJQLǩFDQWO\5RWDWLQJODVHUVFDQQHUVDOORZIRUDQ Lifetime of the vehicle
optimisation of the ballast amount required during The vehicle shall be used for several decades. Its BERND METZGER is Head
tamping. They are also used to check whether the lifecycle may be extended by regular maintenance of the Track Recording
& Research Department
track comes too close to a station platform or is as recommended by the manufacturer.
at Plasser American,
lifted too high under a bridge. Other maintenance All this adds up to the true cost of the vehicle Chesapeake. He graduated
machines, such as ballast cleaning machines, DQGE\RǨHULQJUHOLDEOHKLJKTXDOLW\YHKLFOHVZLWK from Technical University
use measuring systems to optimise laying and impressive lifecycles, Plasser & Theurer fully meets Munich, Germany, in
positioning of the track during work. these considerations. the fields of electrical
engineering and information
Plasser & Theurer is proud of its long-term
technology with a focus on
customer relationships and the more than Summary automation. In the following
200 track inspection vehicles delivered. This success Track inspection vehicles are an important years, Bernd focused on the
is based on the company’s reliability as a supplier, instrument for track assessment due to the development of software
DQGWKHFRVWHǫ FLHQF\RILWVWUDFNLQVSHFWLRQ multiple measuring and inspection systems and hardware for optical
measuring systems at the
vehicles. The company also believes that the installed. All parameters are recorded
Fraunhofer Institute for
supplier’s responsibility does not end with delivery. simultaneously in a structured and aligned way, Physical Measurement
With this in mind, a worldwide service network has a prerequisite for reliable long-term analysis and Techniques in Germany.
been implemented to provide excellent customer maintenance planning. Since 1998, Bernd has been
support around the globe. Furthermore, dedicated track inspection vehicles with the Plasser Group.
With more than 20 years
A quality feature of each machine is that they are allow track maintenance personnel to witness the
of project engineering
‘Made in Austria’ which assures the customers they recording in real-time on-board, which enables experience, Bernd is a
will receive high-quality vehicles with well-proven them to instantly understand the root causes of specialist for hardware and
design and adapted to their needs, using the most H[FHSWLRQVDQGWRRUJDQLVHLPPHGLDWHUHFWLǩFDWLRQ software integration of
reliable inspection systems. of severe defects. railway measuring systems.

Evaluating cost-efficiency
:KHQHYDOXDWLQJWKHFRVWHǫ FLHQF\RIDWUDFN
REFERENCE
“The performance of the measuring car from
inspection vehicle, it is of utmost importance to Plasser & Theurer and the installed systems is
consider the following expense factors: satisfactory. It helps us to optimise our track
maintenance. Furthermore, the operation of 1. Adapted from Peinsipp, C.:
Maintenance optimisation
the measuring car is convenient and measuring WKURXJKHǫFLHQWLQIRUPDWLRQ
Maintenance cost management. Master Thesis at
results can be achieved easily in real-time.”
The vehicle and the inspection systems shall Choi Ji Hoon, Manager, Korail
FH Campus Wien, 2013

need minimal maintenance and the maintenance

@GlobalRailway
31
REGUL ATIONS & LEGISL ATIONS
Closing an
information
gap in
European rail:
the Safety Alert IT Tool
In September 2016 the European Union
Agency for Railways launched the Safety Alert
IT tool, often referred to as SAIT1. Its aim is
to support better management of the risk of
future rail accidents. Phillip Siomka from the
European Union Agency for Railways Safety
Unit provides more information.
The European Union Agency for Railways believes
that the SAIT provides a useful and easily accessible
tool to fill a clear gap in the European safety framework
32
B
Y PROVIDING operational railway
professionals with a platform for sharing
and assessing potential safety risks,
users of the SAIT can gather important
information to prevent accidents in their network.
Additionally, the SAIT helps to manage and prevent
equipment failures, reducing costs related to
repairs and replacements. While in other transport
sectors, such as aviation or automotive, safety
managers are more prone to exchange intelligence
and learn from each other, the rail sector still
experiences somewhat of an information gap;
a gap that is about to be closed by the SAIT.
The SAIT was launched at InnoTrans 2016 in
Berlin where it was presented as an essential
element of the EU’s overall target to become the
world leader in rail safety. By launching the SAIT,
the European Union Agency for Railways has
provided a solution to a clear gap within the EU
framework for railways, as there was previously no
means for operational actors to quickly and simply
share vital information regarding critical equipment
globalrailwayreview.com
 INSTALL
SAFETY
HAZARD LEVEL 2
AND 3 INSULATION

CE D
RTIFIE

By providing operational
railway professionals with a
platform for sharing and assessing
potential safety risks, users of the SAIT
can gather important information to
prevent accidents in their network

failure. This is an important innovation, both

because the rail sector is using the same or similar
equipment all over Europe and the world, and also
because EU legislation includes new requirements
on safety information sharing.

Legal aspects PHILLIP SIOMKA graduated

The success of the tool is largely dependent on the with a Bachelor’s degree
level of engagement of railway stakeholders in in European Studies from
Europe. It provides a unique opportunity for rail Swedish Malmö University
companies to comply with the new legislative in 2016 and later went on

requirements in Article 4 of the Railway Safety

to work as a Trainee in the
European Union Agency
The world’s first flexible,
Directive to report risks of safety failures to other for Railways in France closed-cell insulation to
involved actors, as well as existing EU regulations during the first half of 2017.
As of August 2017, Phillip
meet EN 45545-2 fire pro-
IRUVDIHW\PRQLWRULQJDQGJRYHUQLQJFHUWLǩHG
entities in charge of maintenance. is currently studying for a tection requirements.
Master’s degree in Political
To build trust among the European rail
Science at Lund University
community, National Safety Authorities and in Sweden. Besides Sweden
National Investigation Bodies will not be granted and France, Phillip has spent
access to the tool in the initial stages of the project. exchange semesters in
Reporting should be an essential part of European London, Berlin and Wroclaw.

rail safety culture, but is yet to be developed and

@GlobalRailway

Tel.: +49 25 17 60 30 · info@armacell.com

www.armacell.com
REGUL ATIONS & LEGISL ATIONS
ABOVE: SAIT helps
reduce costs related
to repairs and
maintenance
RIGHT: Information
gathered on SAIT helps
to prevent accidents
REFERENCES
1. https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/
multisite/safetyalerts/
2. https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/
multisite/safetyalerts/page/
guidelines_en
34
established. The SAIT marks an ideal starting
point for this.
The European Union Agency for Railways
recognises that fear of a regulatory response
could be a very real deterrent to reporting.
Ultimately, the goal of the European Union Agency
for Railways is to have one single reporting tool
accessible to actors and authorities, and we are
working with national authorities and rail actors
to develop the necessary safety and regulatory
maturity to make that possible.
How does it work?
Professionals from the European rail sector may
apply for access to the SAIT, for which they will
have to undergo a simple validation process to
HQVXUHWKDWRQO\DFWXDORSHUDWLRQDOVWDǨJDLQ
access to the tool. After this, users will be able to
SRVWDQGUHFHLYHVDIHW\DOHUWQRWLǩFDWLRQV8VHUVRI
WKHWRROZLOOEHDEOHWRǩOWHUVDIHW\DOHUWQRWLǩFDWLRQV
based on their particular interests. The safety alerts
will include the geographical location of the failure
or event, the equipment or systems involved, how
the defective technical equipment was maintained
DQGRSHUDWHGDQGKRZWKHVSHFLǩFGHIHFWZDV
discovered. The users will then have the opportunity
to upload supporting documents, including photos.
A comment section will allow the community
of users to share information about any safety
measures taken to prevent similar occurrences,
as well as building up a picture of the risk level
associated with the failure. A detailed guideline2
is available for users.
Features of the SAIT
To make the SAIT accessible to all professionals
from all EU member states, it is available in
ODQJXDJHVǁRQO\FHUWDLQǩHOGVRIIUHHWH[W
DUHUHTXLUHGWREHǩOOHGRXWLQVLPSOH(QJOLVK
The SAIT website is easily accessible on mobile
phones and tablets. In addition, a SAIT app will
soon be made available for iOS and Android.
By downloading the app stakeholders will be able
WRJHWLQVWDQWQRWLǩFDWLRQVRIWKHODWHVWVDIHW\
alerts, making it possible for them to react quickly
DQGHǫ FLHQWO\WRQHZLQIRUPDWLRQ
The European Union Agency for Railways
believes that the SAIT provides a useful and easily
DFFHVVLEOHWRROWRǩOODFOHDUJDSLQWKH(XURSHDQ
safety framework. It not only provides operational
actors with the chance to learn from each other
and thereby avoid potential safety risks, but it also
plays a crucial role in building the necessary trust
between all railway stakeholders, which is vital for
building a common approach to safety culture
for European railways.
globalrailwayreview.com
 Conference
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INFRASTRUCTURE

Pent-up demand and stable

perspective can leverage
South American rail growth
For Global Railway Review, Guilherme Quintella, Chairman of UIC Latin
America, covers details of recent rail developments in southern America
as the region begins to unlock the potential of its railways.

globalrailwayreview.com
36
 GLOBAL RAILWAY REVIEW | Volume 23, Issue 05

I
N 2016 I wrote an article1 which explored the The
historical formation and implementation of transoceanic
railways in South America. My conclusion was:
railroad crossing
South America and
“The challenges of integrating the South American
UDLOZD\VDUHVLJQLǩFDQWGXHWRJHRJUDSKLFDO linking the Atlantic
KLVWRULFDODQGPDUNHWIDFWRUVEXWVXFKLQWHJUDWLRQ and Pacific Oceans
must begin with a pragmatic agenda of short- has several potential
and medium-term initiatives. These include alignments
determining the investments with the greatest
SRWHQWLDOIRUFRPSHWLWLYHQHVVJDLQVDVZHOODV
FDUU\LQJRXWVSHFLǩFDFWLRQVWRDFKLHYHDPRUH
HǫFLHQWH[FKDQJHEHWZHHQQHWZRUNVLQWKHERUGHU
UHJLRQVHYHQZLWKGLǨHUHQWWUDFNJDXJHVDVZHOO
DVJUHDWHUH[FKDQJHRILQIRUPDWLRQDQGPRUH
feasible objectives.”

One year later, some initiatives in the region

indicate that a more realistic and pragmatic
approach to developing rail has taken place.

Brazil
In Brazil, following several failed attempts
to implement rail extension projects, a new
programme called ‘Programa de Parcerias de
Investimentos’ (PPI) – or ‘Investment Partnership
Programme’ – was consolidated in September
2016 and its approach concerning railways is BELOW: Map of
now focused on the following two objectives: Brazilian rail projects

FIGURE 1

@GlobalRailway
37
INFRASTRUCTURE
FIGURE 2
ABOVE: Transoceanic
rail corridor projects
GUILHERME QUINTELLA
is a Brazilian railway
businessman and Chairman
of UIC Latin America
(International Union of
Railways). In 2003 Guilherme
founded EDLP – Estação de
Luz Participações – where
he remains to date as CEO.
38
1. Renewing private rail concessions
(due to expire between 2026 and 2028)
 6HOHFWLQJJUHHQǩHOGSURMHFWVZLWKKLJK
pent-up demand and a proven
private interest.
With regard to the subject of concession renewals,
WKHJRYHUQPHQWLVSULRULWLVLQJǩYHFRQFHVVLRQV2
with the aim of renegotiating the renewal terms
(30 more years) in exchange for grants and
investments, as well as adopting best-practices of
regulatory frameworks, especially key performance
indicators and claims.
This initiative is very important as the private
initiative – that foresees only a 10-year concession
period – is reluctant to invest in track renewals,
systems and rolling stock, even with potential
demand not being served, particularly from
agricultural commodities with progressive annual
record harvests. Another important point that
is being addressed is the potential devolution
of non-economic rail branches built in the
19th century and early 20th century, that have
DGLǨHUHQWHFRQRPLFFRQWH[W
7KHǩYHUDLOURDGFRQFHVVLRQVFXUUHQWO\XQGHU
a renewal process constitute a total of 12,675km
of extension and move approximately 457 million
tonnes per year, representing more than 90% of the
WRWDOIUHLJKWǪRZWUDQVSRUWHGE\UDLOURDGVLQ%UD]LO
The potential additional mid-term investments that
can be unlocked represent approximately USD
8 billon, as well as the generation of more than
100,000 direct jobs and 50,000 indirect jobs.
An additional railway, North-South, which is a public
project that will be transferred to private initiative by
a concession, will link large gauge networks between
northern and southern regions of the country, adding
1,537km to the Brazilian rail network.
$VIRUJUHHQǩHOGSURMHFWVLQ%UD]LOSHQWXS
demand is pushing the progression of two northern
projects that will complement the existing rail
network by providing more capacity, reliability and
competitive logistics. In addition, it will facilitate a
more sustainable transportation mode due to the
modal shift from road to railway.
7KHǩUVWJUHHQǩHOGSURMHFWLVDŽ)HUURJU¦RDž3
– a rail link from the biggest grain producer
region to amazon navigable rivers in the north.
Currently approximately 20 million tonnes of grain
is deviated to southern logistic alternatives due
to a fragile logistic chain based on precarious
roads. This volume is expected to increase to
40 million tonnes by 2030. Ferrogrão is almost
1,000km-long and the estimated investment
amounts to approximately USD 4 billion.
Additional environmental gains will result from
UDLOWUDQVSRUWDžVPRUHHQHUJHWLFHǫFLHQF\DQG
land occupation control, compared to that of
road transportation.
7KHVHFRQGJUHHQǩHOGSURMHFWLVDŽ)HUURYLD
Paraense’4 – a rail link that will unlock ore and
bauxite exploration in the state of Pará, as well as
provide logistic competitiveness to unexplored lands
for agriculture (which are already anthropised for
cattle). The potential freight for this railroad consists
of approximately 25 million tonnes initially, reaching
100 million tonnes by 2030. Ferrovia Paraense is
1,300km-long and the estimated investment amounts
to approximately USD 4.7 billion.
%RWKDIRUHPHQWLRQHGJUHHQǩHOGSURMHFWVZLOO
increase freight transportation on Brazilian
railroads by almost 20% and boost the rail
network by 10%, which demonstrates their high
freight density. Their business model will be BOT
(Build-Operate-Transfer) with a 60- to 65-year
concession period. By 2023, both railways should
be operational. Due to their logistic appeal and
LPSDFWRǨWDNHUVDQGLQYHVWRUVIURP%UD]LO
and abroad are becoming increasingly interested.
)RUFRQFHVVLRQUHQHZDOVDQGJUHHQǩHOG
projects, the Brazilian government has tried to
increase regulatory safety by detailing priorities
on investments, as well as a set of procedures and
rules for existing and new contracts, consolidated
at Law 12.448/17. In addition, the current decrease
in Brazilian loan interest rates is considered to be
globalrailwayreview.com
 GLOBAL RAILWAY REVIEW | Volume 23, Issue 05

an attractiveness factor. A common feature of all
WKHVHLQLWLDWLYHVLVWKHLUFRPPRGLW\H[SRUWǪRZ
vocation. When the country establishes this corridor
in a competitive and sustainable way, the path will
be opened for integration among other corridors
with the establishment of a nation – or even
international – rail network. However, until that
happens, this scenario is highly unlikely.
Argentina
As for Argentina, President Mauricio Macri’s
administration has focused on a renewal
programme of suburban lines around Buenos Aires
three new lines under implementation costing
approximately USD 15 billion7.
Multinational projects
As for multinational projects, the transoceanic
railroad crossing South America and linking the
$WODQWLFDQG3DFLǩF2FHDQVKDVVHYHUDOSRWHQWLDO
alignments, by linking and refurbishing existing
REFERENCES
lines (Santos–Arica and Paranaguá/Antofagasta)
1. The Challenges of Integrating
DQGE\LPSOHPHQWLQJQHZJUHHQǩHOGOLQHV the South American Railways,
published in European Railway
(Açu–Paita). In all cases, geographic distance, Review, Volume 22, Issue 3, 2016
/ www.globalrailwayreview.
the Andes, environmental issues and fundraising com/article/27439/the-c
hallenges-of-integrating-
are considerable challenges that render those the-south-american-railways/

and a link of existing end-stations beneath the projects out of reach, at least for the next decade. 2. www.projetocrescer.gov.
br/early-extension-of-5-
capital, on a USD 14 billion budget5. Indeed, considering the historical rail railroad-concessions

infrastructure gap in South America, 3. www.projetocrescer.

gov.br/ef-170-ndash;-
Colombia rail projects should be focused initially on mt-pa-ferrograo-railroad

In Colombia, continuing the infrastructure more feasible initiatives, which means projects 4. www.sedeme.com.br/portal/
ferrovia-paraense
investments with private participation6, the with high economic and logistic impact in 5. https://economia.elpais.com/
government has recently published the updated QDWLRQDOHFRQRPLHVDQGGHPDQGIURPRǨWDNHUV economia/2016/09/
08/actualidad/1473348865_
Intermodal Transport Master Plan, which includes These two elements combined can bring a third, 758556.html

rail investments of USD 3.7 billion in 20 years to
improve the national transport network.
Peru
In Peru, investments are more concentrated on
which is private interest. Following this reasoning, 6. http://es.presidencia.gov.co/
noticia/161125-Presidente-Santos
projects could be implemented and then, with a -proyecta-nuevo-plan-de-Infraestr
uctura-para-Colombia
lower infrastructure gap, increased competitiveness 7. www.americaeconomia.com/
and richness, and more planning and structuring negocios-industrias/estiman-inver
siones-por-mas-de-us26-mil-millon
maturity, more ambitious initiatives could be es-para-ferrocarriles-en-peru

suburban trains and especially Lima Metro, with achieved in South America.

For almost 100 years

Furrer+Frey have been
developing electrification
solutions for light rail,
trams and metros
around the world.

Furrer+Frey are experts in:

ªSystem development and design

ªFeasibility studies
ªCost effective solutions to complex
urban areas

As well as being pioneers of

electrification, Furrer+Frey are also
experts in discontinuous electrification
to provide catenary free sections in
historic city centres and charging
technologies for battery vehicles.

gb@furrerfrey.co.uk @furrerfreyGB www.furrerfrey.ch

INFRASTRUCTURE

A multifaceted approach
to improve Italy’s railways
Urban mobility is currently undergoing somewhat of a paradigm shift.
:KDWRQFHZDVWKHH[FOXVLYHGRPDLQRISULYDWHFDUVQRZRǨHUVDP\ULDG
of intermodal transportation solutions, demonstrating a marked shift in
the way individuals traverse towns and cities. The boundaries of such areas
DUHLQFUHDVLQJO\GHǩQHGE\WKHWLPHLWWDNHVWRUHDFKWKHFHQWUHDQGOHVV
by the distance to the centre itself. In this context, it becomes increasingly
LPSRUWDQWWRGHYHORSHǫ FLHQWSXEOLFWUDQVSRUWDWLRQV\VWHPVWKDWSHRSOH
can actually use. In this article, Maurizio Gentile, CEO and General Manager
of Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI), shares Italy’s infrastructure development
plans for the coming years and his vision for the future role of railways.

I
NVESTING in new railway infrastructure and the
potentiation of the existing one is fundamental
WRIXOǩOWKHQHHGVRIERWKWKHSXEOLFDQGWKH
companies involved, whether it be for in-city,
regional, medium- or long-haul trips. These goals
can be attained by means of the so-called ‘iron
treatment’, an expression used by the Italian
Minister of Infrastructure and Transports,
Graziano Delrio, to mean a series of interventions
that constitute a transport strategy that focuses
on improving mobility in the short-, medium- and
long-term.
This ‘iron treatment’ is already a reality:
thanks to important funds made available by
the Italian government, Rete Ferroviaria Italiana
(RFI), the company that manages the country’s

globalrailwayreview.com
40

infrastructure, expects to undergo works worth
approximately €60 billion in the next 10 years.
7KLVUHSUHVHQWVDVLJQLǩFDQWLQYHVWPHQWIRU
Italian railways and exceeds what was spent
in the previous decade to build the Italian
High-Speed/High-Capacity branch connecting
Turin and Salerno. That development radically
changed the travelling habits of millions of Italians
who travel for business, tourism and leisure, as it
connects large cities that are geographically distant
in a short space of time.
@GlobalRailway
GLOBAL RAILWAY REVIEW | Volume 23, Issue 05
Thanks to important funds made available by the
Italian government, RFI expects to undergo works worth
approximately €60 billion in the next 10 years
With an average expenditure of just under
€6 billion per year, RFI aims to complete
connections with the European railways, improve
the performance of the existing railway network,
and strengthen its regional and metropolitan lines.
Of particular importance will be the new
trans-border passes, which are part of the
completing works for the TEN-T European
network. and Italy is one of the main players
in this project, crossed as it is by four of the
10 corridors: Scandinavia-Mediterranean,
connecting Helsinki to La Valletta through the
Brenner Tunnel, currently under construction;
Rhine-Alps, from the port of Genoa to those of
Antwerp and Rotterdam; the Mediterranean,
41
INFRASTRUCTURE
RFI aims from the Iberian Peninsula to the borders with
to complete Ukraine, crossing the transversal Turin-Trieste;
and the Baltic-Adriatic, from Ravenna to Gdansk.
connections with
The new passes will make the transportation of
the European goods by railway more competitive, promoting
railways, improve Italian ports connected to the country’s railways
the performance and therefore allowing for more frequent and
of the existing rapid connections, gentle slopes for heavier, longer
railway network, trains, and tunnel gauge for semitrailers. This will
contribute to modal re-balancing, which is the goal
and strengthen
of the European White Paper, one of the references
its regional and of the TEN-T Corridors.
metropolitan lines RFI is also busy completing the Italian
High-Speed/High-Capacity System towards the
northeast, with the new fast lines between Brescia,
Verona and Padua. This is in addition to the new
fast line between Naples and Bari, the Third Giovi
Pass on the Rhine-Alps Corridor, the Palermo–
Catania–Messina route, and, still on the
theme of modal integration, the connection
of national strategic ports and airports with
the national railway network.
To ensure the attainment of these goals, RFI
– following the strategic guidelines of the Ministry
of Infrastructure and Transports – is applying
the logic of high network speed to its projects:
potentiating and improving existing lines means
shorter construction times and lower costs than
building new lines from scratch. This also ensures
42
that railway connections are guaranteed for
fast passenger and goods trains, with regularity
and punctuality, thanks to the installation of
last-generation technologies.
Improving the infrastructure system for
urban, metropolitan and regional train lines,
where a large portion of the economic and
social development of Italian cities is at stake,
is undoubtedly the most ambitious goal of
RFI’s programme for the upcoming decade.
Several building sites are already set up to build
new infrastructure in metropolitan cities and lines
to connect the city centre with the suburbs.
The common thread that connects all manner
of interventions is the installation of new
technologies for safe timing between trains.
This markedly improves the management
RIWUDLQWUDǫ
FLQFUHDVHVWKHFDSDFLW\RIWKH
railways available to transportation companies,
improves the reliability of the entire infrastructure,
and aids the anticipation of network defects and
anomalies by means of a predictive logic based
RQǩ[HGDQGPRELOHGLDJQRVWLFV5),IXOO\
adheres to the European technical standards
of interoperability and continuously researches
new technological solutions, such as the latest
ones we have been testing in our urban hubs and
secondary regional lines. This includes ERTMS HD
(High-Density) and the ERSAT system, which may
globalrailwayreview.com

become the new standards for metropolitan and
regional transportation.
ERTMS HD is the evolution of ERTMS/ETCS
Level 2, the single and shared signalling
system selected by EU member states for the
LQWHURSHUDELOLW\RIWUDǫFDQGWKHVDIHFLUFXODWLRQRI
WUDLQVIURPGLǨHUHQWFRXQWULHVRQUDLOZD\VDOORYHU
(XURSH(5706+'FDQVLJQLǩFDQWO\LQFUHDVHWUDǫF
capacity in the hubs without the need to build more
tracks, going above and beyond the necessary
safety standards. Train circulation will be managed
LQDǪXLGIDVKLRQDFFRUGLQJWRWKHSRVLWLRQ
and speed of the trains. In the future, the static
management with line sections of approximately
1,350m will be replaced by a distance of just 350m
between each train (i.e. a train every three minutes),
thanks to the dynamic management made
possible by this solution.
For conventional secondary lines with little
WUDǫFWKHLQQRYDWLRQRIWKHIXWXUHLV(56$7($9
This system, whose pilot site has been installed in
Sardinia, will interface and integrate the ERTMS
railway technology with the Galileo navigation
and satellite localisation system, owing to the
contribution of the European Space Agency (ESA),
the Italian Space Agency (ASI), and the European
Global Navigation Satellite Systems Agency (GSA).
So-called dialogue between land and train – and
therefore the transmission of data and information
– will be enabled by the devices installed on
the trains and the base radios installed at 7km
intervals, almost eliminating the need for the
land subsystems currently used in ‘traditional’
ERTMS. ERSAT will help reduce costs related to
installation, management and maintenance,
@GlobalRailway
GLOBAL RAILWAY REVIEW | Volume 23, Issue 05
LEFT: RFI’s
operating room
PDNLQJHYHQOLQHVZLWKOHVVWUDǫFHFRQRPLFDOO\
viable. It can be installed on almost 45% of the
Italian conventional secondary network – replacing
the current safety systems – and on a large part
of the European networks.
In the context of reinvigorating train services to
again be the core of intermodal and integrated
mobility, stations themselves can adopt a new role,
becoming venues for the towns, points of reference
in large Italian cities and part of a complex
system in which travel is a large factor, but not the
only one. The new concept of a station maintains
its primary characteristic of a transportation hub,
but is no longer exclusively tied to its vocation of
starting and ending a journey from A to B. Instead
it can boast a new meaning, with extra-urban MAURIZIO GENTILE is CEO
environments that are often very isolated, returning and General Manager of Rete
their identity and requalifying them from the Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI).
architectural, urbanistic and social points of view. He received a degree in Civil
Engineering in 1981 from
In other words, stations and the architecture that
Sapienza University of Rome
characterises them are no longer interpreted as a and began his career at
threshold, or a structure that marks the separation Italian Railways in 1982 as an
EHWZHHQWZRGHǩQHGDQGVHSDUDWHGUHDOLWLHVǁRQH Inspector in Florence. Other
being dynamic, the trip itself, and the other, the positions held by Maurizio
include President and CEO
city, a static one. On the contrary; stations become
of TFB - Tunnel Ferroviario
a fundamental part of the mobility experience del Brennero; Board Member
for citizens, and are strictly rooted in the civil and of the ERTMS Stakeholders
urban fabric that hosts them. Platform; President of CIFI
Train stations are destined to become (Italian Railway Engineers’
College); Counsellor of
DXWKHQWLFLQWHUPRGDOKXEVFDSDEOHRIRǨHULQJ
Advisory Board of Brenner
WKHFRQYHQLHQFHRIFKRLFHRIGLǨHUHQWZD\VRI Basistunnel BBT-SE; and
moving around from a single starting point: Member of the Management
long-haul, regional, or urban transportation on Board of the European Union
either railway or wheels, bike or car-sharing, taxis Agency for Railways (EUAR).
or private cars.
43
INFRASTRUCTURE

TEXRail:
Keeping North Texas
on track for a better future

In late-2018, the Fort Worth Transportation Authority (FWTA)

will commence operating TEXRail – a new commuter rail line
that will run between downtown Fort Worth and Dallas Fort
Worth International Airport’s Terminal B. For Global Railway
Review):7$DžV3UHVLGHQW&KLHI([HFXWLYH2ǫ FHUPaul J Ballard
provides the construction details to-date of this exciting and
important new rail corridor.
© TEXRail

Construction on the corridor WUDYHOOHUVEXWLWLVDOVRDVLJQLǩFDQWVHOOLQJSRLQW

Construction is progressing quickly with up to
ZRUNHUVLQWKHǩHOGGDLO\DFURVVWKH&RWWRQ
Belt Corridor, putting TEXRail on target to open for
revenue service in late-2018. The 27-mile commuter
rail line – which is owned and operated by the
Fort Worth Transportation Authority (FWTA) – will
RǨHUDQHZRSWLRQIRUFRPPXWHUVDQGYLVLWRUV
to travel from downtown Fort Worth to DFW
Airport. This connectivity is not only essential for
regional, national and international businesses and
for economic development, business relocations,
conventions and tourism.
TEXRail travellers who arrive at Fort Worth’s
Central Station Downtown can easily connect to
dozens of bus routes for visiting local attractions
such as the Fort Worth Historic Stockyards,
Billy Bob’s, Fort Worth Zoo or the collection of
museums in the cultural district. The TEXRail pass
includes bus travel, making it even more convenient
to get around the region.

globalrailwayreview.com
44

1 2
3
Innovation along the rail line
Construction is already nearing completion for
TEXRail’s Equipment Maintenance Facility (EMF),
where crews have utilised tilt wall construction for
the 57,000ft2 facility that sits on 22 acres in North
Fort Worth. The tilt walls, which are 12 inches thick
when completed, are built in a wooden frame that
LVǪDWRQWKHJURXQG7KHZDOOVDUHWKHQǩOOHGZLWK
concrete, rebar and foam before being raised and
put into place. The largest of the tilt walls weighs
80 tonnes.
As crews work along the corridor to replace
the entire rail, Herzog is using its rail unloading
machine along the quarter-mile segments of rail
WRVDIHO\RǬ RDGWKHQHZUDLOMXVWRXWVLGHRIWKH
existing rail. The unloading equipment travels on
the rail and workers load the rail into the machine
to be automatically distributed as they travel
the corridor.
Another component of the TEXRail project
is implementing Positive Train Control (PTC)
for maximum safety. The interoperable train
management system engages with all the other
rail services in the area, including Fort Worth and
Western Railroad (FWWR), Burlington Northern
GLOBAL RAILWAY REVIEW | Volume 23, Issue 05
© TEXRail
© TEXRail
© TEXRail
Trinity Railway Express (TRE). PTC will enhance 1 Rendering of the TEXRail
safety measures by providing the ability to Equipment Maintenance
Facility (EMF)
automatically slow or stop a train.
7RDVVLVWZLWK37&ǩEUHRSWLFFDEOHZLOOUXQDORQJ Tilt walls are being used
2
the corridor and will tie in with the TRE, which in the construction of
is jointly owned and operated by FWTA and the the TEXRail Equipment
Maintenance Facility (EMF)
'DOODV$UHD5DSLG7UDQVLW7KHǩEUHRSWLFVZLOOEH
used for communications, video messaging boards, New crossing panels
3
fare collection, PTC and ticket vending machines. at Main Street
Additional safety enhancements include vehicle Crossing Grapevine
detection loops and quad gates at street crossings
in the quiet zones. The detection loops ensure
that a car does not get caught between the gates.
If a car is on the tracks when the gate closes, its
presence will be detected and the other set of gates
ZLOORSHQWRSHUPLWVDIHSDVVDJHRǨWKHWUDFNV
As with all aspects of TEXRail, we looked at cost,
scheduling and minimal interruption to other train
services. From that perspective came an innovative
way to hit those marks. Instead of rebuilding
a bridge while it is being utilised, we chose to
build a new bridge nearby and then replace the
entire bridge over a weekend. This solution saved
$1 million, shortened the amount of time needed
for bridge work, and removed any disruption to
6DQWD)H%16)8QLRQ3DFLǩF$PWUDNDQGWKH current freight services.

@GlobalRailway
45
INFRASTRUCTURE
5 6
7 8
PAUL J BALLARD has been
President/Chief Executive
Officer of the Fort Worth
Transportation Authority
(FWTA) since 2014, after
serving for 12 years
as Chief Executive Officer of
Nashville Metropolitan
Transit Authority and the
Regional Transportation
Authority in Middle
Tennessee. Paul has more
than 40 years of experience
in the field of transit, both
public and private sectors.
46
© TEXRail
© TEXRail
TEXRail stations
Two of the nine TEXRail stations are existing
DŽLQXVHDžVWDWLRQV$WWKH)RUW:RUWK7H[DV 3DFLǩF
Station, which begins the TEXRail route, workers
are extending and elevating the platform for
level boarding. The platform at the Fort Worth
Intermodal Transportation Center (ITC) is also being
UDLVHG7KHRWKHUVHYHQVWDWLRQVDUHLQGLǨHUHQW
phases of development, but all will be ready for
TEXRail’s opening in late-2018.
TEXRail showcase and upcoming testing
Anticipation is growing and railroad enthusiasts are
looking forward to seeing the new trains on the rail.
The good news is that they won’t have to wait long.
Four of the eight train sets are already in the United
6WDWHVDQGWKHǩUVWFRPSOHWHGWUDLQLVRQLWVZD\WR
Atlanta, where it will be showcased at the American
Public Transportation Association (APTA) Expo.
Fort Worth will be well represented at the event as
key leaders and supporters come to see the train in
SHUVRQIRUWKHǩUVWWLPH
Rolling stock
Sleek FLIRT 3 (Fast Light Innovative Regional Train)
trainsets will be operated along the line; these
vehicles may feel familiar for European travellers, but
WKH\ZLOOEHWKHǩUVWRILWVNLQGLQWKH8QLWHG6WDWHV
Manufactured by Stadler Bussnang AG in Switzerland,
the trains are being assembled in Salt Lake City,
Utah, before being delivered to North Texas. The
bidirectional train features a power car in the middle.
Construction work at
5
Terminal B Station and
area of DFW Airport
Construction work at
6
Terminal B Station and
area of DFW Airport
Downtown Fort Worth ITC
7
Station rendering
Trinity River bridge
8
pier construction
© TEXRail
© TEXRail
Shortly after the 2017 edition of APTA Expo,
one of the TEXRail trainsets will arrive in
Grapevine, which is building a station in the
heart of downtown. The train will be tested on
the mainline tracks in the area until the EMF
is ready. Grapevine is an historic railroad town
that will be a convenient eight-minute ride from
DFW Airport – a perfect place to visit during a
long layover.
The Grapevine Convention and Visitors
Bureau showcased TEXRail in a summer
exhibition that featured the past, present and
future of railroading. TEXRail was the ‘future’
section of the showcase, which attracted more
than 30,000 visitors; that’s 30,000 potential
riders who can hop aboard TEXRail.
FURTHER READING
ABOUT THE
TEXRAIL PROJECT:
Bob Baulsir, Vice President of Rail and Procurement
at the Fort Worth Transportation Authority (FWTA),
will contribute to Global Railway Review Issue 6 2017
published in November to cover more details about the
rolling stock to be operated on the TEXRail commuter
line. Register for free as a member with Global Railway
Review to ensure you receive the article in print or
digital format: globalrailwayreview.com
globalrailwayreview.com
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Joining the Global Railway Review community is FREE! Subscribe online at

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EVENT PREVIEW

Conference
31 OCTOBER 2017 | QEII | LONDON
INTELLIGENTTRANSPORTCONFERENCE.COM

Bringing together the

transport industry
Global Railway Review is pleased to announce the inaugural JĸŰúĭĭęčúĸŰɔžşÒĸŦŜłşŰ
îłĸČúşúĸîúȫEłŦŰúôÒŰŰĔúŒŸúúĸ+ĭęƠÒíúŰĔǰǰúĸŰşúęĸ\łĸôłĸłĸDzǰɔpîŰłíúşɔDZǯǰǶȦ
we will combine our successful Real-Time Passenger Information and
”ĶÒşŰɔžęîĪúŰęĸčɔʓŠÒƗĶúĸŰŦîłĸČúşúĸîúÒĸôęĸŰşłôŸîúŰƑłíşÒĸôɁĸúƑŦŰşúÒĶŦȰ
Mobility-as-a-Service and Harnessing Passenger Data.

THIS EVENT will bring together local
authorities, passenger transport executives,
transport operators, RTPI consultants,
systems suppliers and academics.
pƐúşɔDzǯǯɔôúĭúčÒŰúŦÒşúúƖŜúîŰúôŰł
attend to discuss and debate the current
opportunities and challenges that face the
transport industry.
Our top speakers
Intelligent Transport has attracted the
biggest names in the industry. Here are just
some of the speakers:
ʆ Tim Carman, Head of Technology
Development, Transport for London (TfL)
ʆ JłÒĸĸęŦ%łŸşÒŰŦłŦȦŠşłħúîŰeÒĸÒčúşȦ
Centre for Development and Compliance
(CDC), Department of Engineering,
eúŰşłôúeÒôşęô
ʆ Rütger Fenkes, Head of European
Projects & Committee Work,
%úŸŰŦîĔúɔÒĔĸ>
ʆ ĔşęŦŰęÒĸ=ħëşȦeÒĸÒčúşgúƑ”ÒĭúŦ
Channels & Payment Solutions,
ŸŰúşɔ”
ʆ ŸŦŦúĭĭ>łłôúĸłŸčĔȦĭęúĸŰeÒĸÒčęĸč
%ęşúîŰłşȦžşÒĸŦŜłşŰ”úîŰłşȦ=ŸħęŰŦŸ¥Z
ʆ Gordon Hanning, Head of Concessionary
Travel & Integrated Ticketing,
žşÒĸŦŜłşŰɔ”îłŰĭÒĸô
ʆ ęîĔÒşôZłîĔȦEúÒôłČÒşôŦȦ
¥Zɔ=ęĸÒĸîú
ʆ Chris Lane, Head of Smart Travel,
žşÒĸŦŜłşŰČłş¾úŦŰeęôĭÒĸôŦȹžČ¾eȺ
ʆ =ęĭęŜŜł\łčęȦ%ęşúîŰłşȾełíęĭęŰƗ
Solutions, Siemens
ʆ ZÒħŠƗƗĔŰęÒȦÃpȦe”>ĭłíÒĭ
ʆ eÒşŰęħĸƐÒĸÒşŰşęħĪȦŠşłôŸîŰeÒĸÒčúş
Traveller Information Services, GVB
(Amsterdam Transport Company)
International Plenary
The day will commence with plenary
ŦúŦŦęłĸŦȰŰĔúƥşŦŰƑęŰĔęĸôŸŦŰşƗĭúÒôúşŦ
giving their thoughts on ‘Where the Global
Transport Industry is Heading’, followed
by TfL’s ‘Transport State of the Nation’.
žĔúɔîłĸČúşúĸîúŰĔúĸíşúÒĪŦęĸ۳ȳîŸŦúô
streams where, as delegates, you can pick
and choose to attend the sessions most
relevant to you.
The streams at a glance
Real-Time Passenger Information (RTPI)
With RTPI being the forefront of transport
organisations’ priorities, companies are
under more pressure than ever to deliver
accurate up-to-date information for
passengers, including arrival and departure
times, as well as information on causes of
disruptions and cancellations. The RTPI
conference will discuss the latest technology
in delivering passenger information as
well as debating regulation and demand
and share our learnings in case studies.
The stream will bring together heads of
information and passenger services to
discuss how to successfully implement an
RTPI system and use the information to give
customers the best experience possible.
Smart Ticketing & Payments
Smart ticketing is now necessary in order
to deliver a modal shift to public transport.
But it is important that the industry serves
not itself, but the passenger. The Smart
Ticketing & Payment stream will place the
passengers’ needs squarely at the forefront

globalrailwayreview.com
48

of discussion. As a sector, we need to make
sure that we deliver ticketing solutions
that are accessible to each and every
passenger demographic, solutions that
ŦúşƐúɔŜÒŦŦúĸčúşŦÒŦęĸôęƐęôŸÒĭŦÒĸôúĸÒíĭú
fully interoperable end-to-end ticketing.
Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS)
In a world that is increasingly busy, where
îłĶĶŸŰęĸčĶÒĪúŦŸŜÒŦęčĸęƥîÒĸŰŜÒşŰłČÒĸ
ęĸôęƐęôŸÒĭɌŦôÒƗȦÒĸôúČƥîęúĸîƗęŦĪúƗȦeÒҔ
ęŦĶłşúęĶŜłşŰÒĸŰŰĔÒĸúƐúşȫŠúłŜĭúɔƑÒĸŰ
to move easily and conveniently with
ĶęĸęĶÒĭôęŦşŸŜŰęłĸȫeÒҔúĸÒíĭúŦŰĔú
îŸŦŰłĶúşŰłîłĶúƥşŦŰÒĸôîşúÒŰúĶłíęĭęŰƗ
services and systems around customer
For more information and to book your place, please visit: intelligenttransportconference.com
SPONSORED BY
Networking Reception
Platinum Sponsor
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@EuroTransMag #Intelligenttransport
preferences. The idea that individuals can
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transport modes such as buses, trains, bikes
and private vehicles together under one
ŸĶíşúĭĭÒłČŦúşƐęîúȫžĔúeÒҔŦŰşúÒĶęĸŰĔú
conference will bring transport executives
ŰłčúŰĔúşŰłôęŦîŸŦŦŰĔúČŸŰŸşúłČeÒҔȦÒĸô
how possible industry collaborations may
íúɔŜÒşŰłČŰĔúČŸŰŸşúȫ
Harnessing Passenger Data
With the population growing, data
is playing an ever-increasing part in
delivering transport systems. By sharing
Gold Sponsor Silver Sponsors
GLOBAL RAILWAY REVIEW | Volume 23, Issue 05
HERE ARE FIVE
REASONS WHY YOU
SHOULD ATTEND:
ʆ Gain insight and progress
ŸŜôÒŰúŦɔłĸɔŰşÒĸŦŜłşŰ
developments from across
ŰĔúɔƑłşĭô
ʆ gúŰƑłşĪƑęŰĔęĸŰúşĸÒŰęłĸÒĭ
industry leaders and peers across
ŰĔúŰşÒĸŦŜłşŰɔęĸôŸŦŰşƗ
ʆ Witness state-of-the-art
ŜşłôŸîŰɔôúĶłĸŦŰşÒŰęłĸŦ
ʆ Access all four streams and
tailor your agenda to your own
individual requirements
ʆ eúúŰƑęŰĔŦŸŜŜĭęúşŦĭłłĪęĸč
ŰłɔíŸęĭôşúĭÒŰęłĸŦĔęŜŦÒĸôŜşłƐęôú
solutions
data, operators can learn more about
their passengers including how and when
they travel, how they book their ticket,
and length of journeys. Using this data
can create an intelligent, well-organised
transport system.
49
WEBINAR HIGHLIGHTS

The Swiss way to

capacity optimisation
IRUWUDǫ
FPDQDJHPHQW
On 23 August 2017, Global Railway Review hosted a webinar in association
with Swiss Federal Railways (SBB), which showcased their innovative Rail
&RQWURO6\VWHP5&6DQGWKHEHQHǩWVLWFDQRǨHUWRRWKHULQIUDVWUXFWXUH
managers. Here Daniel Achermann6HQLRU([SHUWRQ7UDǫ
Systems at SBB, responds to some key questions from the webinar.
Is RCS only used
in Switzerland?
Infrabel in Begium is the
ǩUVWQRQ6ZLVVLQIUDVWUXFWXUH
operator to opt for RCS and
the project that introduced
it was launched in late-2013.
SBB drew on its own system
and railway experience
to support Infrabel as
required. Infrabel successfully
completed implementation in
mid-November 2016, and the
company now uses RCS to
manage the 5,000 trains a day
that operate across Belgium’s
rail network. RCS allows busy
hubs such as Brussels to be
QDYLJDWHGPRUHHǫ FLHQWO\
In Germany the DB network
plans to use it from 2020. We
are providing both railway
companies with support in
WATCH NOW
globalrailwayreview.com/webinar
50
F0DQDJHPHQW
introducing and developing
the system.
SBB has been using the RCS
WRFRQWUROLWVUDLOWUDǫ
FVLQFH
2009. Infrastructure operators
BLS and SOB have also been
using the system developed by
SBB since 2014.
What is the rationale
behind RCS-ADL?
Travelling by train uses
four times less energy than
driving a car – and uses 90%
hydropower at that. Today
SBB is already making a major
contribution to sustainable
mobility and will continue to
do so in the future. SBB aims
to save 20% of its anticipated
annual energy consumption
by 2025 – equivalent to
600 gigawatt hours. For
this purpose, SBB has
implemented a comprehensive
energy saving programme.
Adaptive control (ADL) holds
great savings potential.
This software calculates an
energy-optimised driving
SURǩOHIRUDOOWUDLQVWKDW
DOVRKDVDSRVLWLYHHǨHFW
on timetable stability
and punctuality.
At present, RCS-ADL
is used to control more
than 1,500 trains per day,
with savings of 136,000
kilowatt-hours. With over
467,000 train journeys,
SBB reduced its energy
consumption in 2016
by approximately 50
gigawatt-hours, which is the
equivalent of the total annual
electricity consumption of
a small Swiss town with
12,500 households.
What might
tomorrow’s traffic
management look like?
Digitalisation enables us to
develop entirely new forms
of mobility and to further
the automation of railway
production. For example, one
could imagine a needs-based
WLPHWDEOHZLWKRXWǩ[HG
intervals. The question also
arises whether customers
will even need to purchase
rail tickets in the future
and how we can integrate
public individual transport
such as self-driving vehicles
into a collective public
transport network.
SBB exploits the diverse
digitalisation, automation
and technology potential
RǨHUHGE\WLPHWDEOHFUHDWLRQ
rail operations and train
control while also exploring
the possibility of increasing
remote train control. The future
RIWUDǫ FPDQDJHPHQW
could focus on systemically
supported, continuous
timetable creation, further
development of management
and control systems for
rail operations, new digital
signal boxes, a reduction in
equipment variety with safety
installations, roll-out of the
ETCS cab-signalling system
throughout the network,
expansion of data transmission
capacity and precise detection
of trains in the station throat
DQGǩQDOO\DOORZDXWRPDWLF
train operations.
IN ASSOCIATION WITH:
globalrailwayreview.com
THE PASSENGER

Technology is the key to

unlocking cross-border
rail travel in Europe
Global rail is experiencing a renaissance;
governments across the world are investing in
high-speed infrastructure and, more and more,
rail carriers are recognising the important role that
technology has to play in improving the customer
experience. In turn, travellers are opting for rail (often
over air, when it comes to journeys of four hours or
OHVVDFNQRZOHGJLQJWKHFRQYHQLHQFHLWRǨHUVDQG
LWVXQGHQLDEOHHQYLURQPHQWDOEHQHǩWVKlaus Kreher,
Head of Carrier Development at Trainline discusses this
further and acknowledges that there is still work to be
done, particularly when it comes to delivering a single,
seamless, rail journey across borders.

C
URRENTLY, the landscape is complex;
with 35,000 train stations across
Europe alone – versus approximately
DLUSRUWVǁDQGZLWKGLǨHUHQW
is particularly important to provide rail travellers
with neutral and transparent information on all
UDLORǨHUVIRUWKHLUGHVLUHGMRXUQH\,QWKHZDNHRI
the EU’s liberalisation of the European rail markets
ticketing systems in each country, customers
can struggle to navigate the modern rail system.
Countless carriers, fares and journey options
can be bewildering, especially when travelling in
another country.
Technology has the ability to simplify and
demystify rail travel, whether domestic or
cross-border. It can bring rail travel information
from multiple carriers, such as choice of routes,
fares and journey times, together onto one digital
platform so passengers can make informed
choices about booking journeys that are most
Making it
VXLWHGWRWKHLUVSHFLǩFQHHGV$OORZLQJWUDYHOOHUVWR
easier for people make their journey by booking in their preferred
around the world to language, using their local currency and providing
opt for train travel a simple, easy and fast user interface can transform
can only have a the customer experience.
beneficial impact on At Trainline, we help customers from across
GLǨHUHQWFRXQWULHVPDNHRYHUVPDUWHU
the rail industry itself
journeys every day. We take the friction and hassle
– boosting demand out of rail travel by bringing together carriers from
and passenger GLǨHUHQWFRXQWULHVRQWRDVLQJOHSODWIRUPǁD
numbers number that is growing all the time. We believe it
52
ǩUVWFURVVERUGHUDQGVRRQQDWLRQDOO\QHZRSHUDWRUV
have entered the market and provided more choice
to the travelling public. It is conceivable that in the
not-too-distant future, carriers will provide a similar
wealth of choice to passengers as various airlines
do, from low cost to full service. It is therefore more
important than ever that the customer is empowered
by technology to make informed choices.
We’re soon launching localised sites in several
GLǨHUHQWODQJXDJHVLQFOXGLQJ&KLQHVH&]HFK
Portuguese and Mandarin, because we recognise
WKHFOHDUEHQHǩWWKLVZLOOEULQJWRFXVWRPHUVJOREDOO\
looking to travel by European rail. Making it easier
for people around the world to opt for train travel
FDQRQO\KDYHDEHQHǩFLDOLPSDFWRQWKHUDLOLQGXVWU\
itself – boosting demand and passenger numbers.
For the international rail experience to be truly
seamless, however, more work needs to be done
to improve access to combined journeys for two or
more carriers. For example, a passenger travelling
from Austria to neighbouring Italy usually needs
to change en route and switch to another carrier.
When booking through conventional channels, the
globalrailwayreview.com

passenger is forced to source separate tickets for
each carrier, making the experience frustrating.
7KHLQWXLWLYHDSSURDFKRǨHUHGE\7UDLQOLQH
enables the passenger in this situation to buy
a combined journey at the best fare available.
Rail is the only transport mode where such
disjointed practices remain in place, leaving
VLJQLǩFDQWGHPDQGXQWDSSHG,IWKHLQGXVWU\LVWR
truly grow and take a larger share of the air and
road market, this needs to change and technology
provides the solution.
The global rail industry is currently worth
approximately $230 billion and, unlike air travel, rail
is an integral part of millions of people’s everyday life
– whether it’s the morning commute, weekend trips
to the beach or travelling to meetings. On average,
people make over 10 times more rail journeys than
ǪLJKWVSHU\HDUWKDWDžVWUDLQMRXUQH\VSHUSHUVRQ
FRPSDUHGZLWKMXVWWZRǪLJKWV:KHUHWKHERRNLQJ
and travel experience is seamless and intuitive, we
know this rail travel frequency increases.
:LWKDURXQGRIWLFNHWVVWLOOERXJKWRǬLQH
again technology has a key part to play in
enhancing the customer experience and, as a
result, growing the market. By providing digital
tickets on the customer’s phone, alongside real-time
data about train travel delays, cancellations and
platform numbers, the passenger has greater
control of their journey. World-class mobile user
experience makes rail a very appealing proposition
to the customer, instantly modernising the
experience and solving a wealth of complex issues
that infrastructure updates, for example, would
take years to eradicate.
But innovation doesn’t just stop there. At Trainline,
we have a dedicated data science team and
over 250 railtech engineers focused on applying
cutting-edge technology such as AI and machine
learning, to elevate the customer experience even
further. In the UK we’ve launched predictive features
in our app, such as BusyBot, which crowdsources
@GlobalRailway
GLOBAL RAILWAY REVIEW | Volume 23, Issue 05
LEFT: World-class
mobile user experience
makes rail a very
appealing proposition
to the customer
data (150,000 pieces of customer feedback every On average,
week) to predict how busy a train will be before it people make
arrives at the platform, advising passengers where
over 10 times more
to board to have the best chance of getting a seat.
rail journeys than
In the very near future we’ll be launching even more
smart features that are designed to make rail travel flights per year
more intuitive, enabling customers to simply focus
on enjoying their journey.
Improving the customer experience is also central
to various initiatives at European level. The EU
&RPPLVVLRQNLFNHGRǨWKHSURFHVVE\HPEDUNLQJ
on a lengthy programme of rail liberalisation in
EU member states, starting with a series of rail
directives. The fourth directive aims to open up
full competition on national rail networks by 2020.
Naturally, the EU’s funding of projects under its
TEN-T programme focusses primarily on the physical
infrastructure such as tracks and stations. In parallel,
the European rail industry has acknowledged
that the digital infrastructure equally needs attention
to improve consumer access to rail journeys and
OHYHUDJHWKHYDOXHRIWKHVLJQLǩFDQWLQYHVWPHQWV KLAUS KREHER is Head
Trainline is a founding member and contributor of Carrier Development at
to initiatives such as the Full Service Model Trainline, with responsibility
(FSM) to establish the foundations for standardised for growing the company’s
global network of rail
IT applications across multiple European rail carriers.
carriers. Klaus joined
Ultimately, industry collaboration is crucial for Trainline in April 2017 from
the continued improvement of the rail experience. Travelport where he most
State-of-the-art rail infrastructure in Europe recently held the role of
DQGDURXQGWKHZRUOGRǨHUVWKHIRXQGDWLRQIRU Commercial Director for
Rail with responsibility
HǫFLHQWFRPIRUWDEOHWUDQVSRUWDWLRQ\HWWKHNH\
for devising and delivering
to unlocking cross-border rail travel in Europe the commercial growth
is to provide the customer with easy access to strategy and key account
clear, up-to-the-minute information and a seamless management for railway
digital experience. Governments, rail carriers and operators and suppliers in
Europe, America and Asia.
technology providers alike need to work together
During his 10-year tenure in
WRXQORFNVLJQLǩFDQWGRUPDQWGHPDQGJURZWKH the role, Klaus created new
market and make rail the transport mode of choice partnerships with more than
every time, for everyone. Trainline is committed to 40 train operating companies
working hand-in-hand with the rest of the industry in Europe, Asia and America.
to make this vision a reality.
53
DIGITALISATION

Rail IT:
Secure digital services
for the safest mode
of transport

The ongoing digitalisation of railways results in a wealth of new,

useful features being installed on trains to provide passengers
with entertainment services and useful features such as seat
reservations and the ability to purchase tickets for onward
journeys. But it is imperative these digital services are protected
against cyber- and hacker-attacks. Martin Wittke, Product Line
Manager at Siemens Convergence Creators, explains what can
be done to protect train IT infrastructure.

O
MARTIN WITTKE is Product
Line Manager for Siemens
N-BOARD wireless internet access is How secure is this new IT on trains? Convergence Creators’
Media4Rail solution. He
now widely available via web portals A lot of work goes into achieving the highest safety
graduated from University
to provide passengers with all kinds standards in train operation, but we still need of Rostock with a degree
of information about their journey, to anticipate unexpected events. We must also in Electrical Engineering.
the train, and the region of travel. It also provides be well-prepared for cyber-attacks on our trains’ Martin has worked for
entertainment services such as news, magazines, IT infrastructure. Siemens since 1997 with
previous roles including
ǩOPVPXVLFDQGJDPHV,QDGGLWLRQSDVVHQJHUV Cyber- or hacker-attacks on digital train services
Software Engineer and
can see free and occupied seats on carriages, make can vary considerably in both form and impact. Project Engineer heading
reservations, or book rental cars, taxis and bikes. They may go unnoticed, or they may be immediately different business
All of these services are accessible via smartphones detected. They may be of little consequence, and departments in Siemens
and tablets and helps make passenger journeys merely satisfy the ambition of tech-savvy people Austria and Germany.

more relaxed and enjoyable. who lack a truly malicious intent. Or they can be

globalrailwayreview.com
54

malicious attacks that steal critical information like
customer or usage data, alter this data, manipulate
system information or media content, generate
‘fake news’, or impair the availability of the system.
Media4Rail Security
Siemens Convergence Creators has developed the
Media4Rail1 Security concept to establish a standard
for protecting railways’ digital services assets from
cyber-attacks. Product and system security, network
security, and system integrity form the three pillars of
this approach (see Figure 1), with each of the central
components requiring independent attention in
RUGHUWRHǨHFWLYHO\GHIHQGDJDLQVWF\EHUDWWDFNV
Product and system security
Product and system security is the
fundamental product development parameter
when it comes to IT security. Siemens Convergence
Creators’ compliance with ISO 27001 – a standard
WKDWGHǩQHVWKHUHTXLUHPHQWVIRUDQLQIRUPDWLRQ
security management system including people,
SURFHVVHVDQG,7V\VWHPVǁRǨHUVDSSURSULDWH
guidelines. As part of the product’s development,
a Risk and Threat Analysis workshop was conducted
to evaluate its proneness to threats and examine
potential vulnerabilities. Adequate security measures
ZHUHWKHQGHǩQHGEDVHGRQWKHDVVHVVHGULVN
Later, extensive security tests including penetration
WHVWVGHPRQVWUDWHGFRPSOLDQFHZLWKVSHFLǩFDWLRQV
DQGZLWKWKHHǫ FLHQF\RIWKHLPSOHPHQWHGVDIHW\
PHDVXUHV7KHǩQDOSHQHWUDWLRQWHVWRQWKH
Media4Rail Live System included checks for outdated
VRIWZDUHDSSOLFDWLRQPLVFRQǩJXUDWLRQDQGYDULRXV
access, password, unsafe function, and protocol
SUREHVLQYROYLQJGLǨHUHQWKDUGZDUHVHFWLRQVRI
the system. Conducted by a product-independent
RUJDQLVDWLRQWKHWHVWDžVǩQGLQJVFRQǩUPHGWKHKLJK
security standard of the Media4Rail solution.
FIGURE 1
ABOVE: The three central pillars of Media4Rail Security
@GlobalRailway
GLOBAL RAILWAY REVIEW | Volume 23, Issue 05
FIGURE 2
Network security ABOVE: Protected
Network security focuses on preventing segments of a
modern passenger
IT networks from unauthorised access. infotainment system
,QWKHǩUVWVWHSWKHWUDLQQHWZRUNLVGLYLGHG
LQWRGLǨHUHQWDUHDVVWULFWO\VHSDUDWLQJWKH
network that handles the internet-on-board
and the passenger infotainment system
(Passenger Network), the train control system
(Control Network) and the train operation
network (Operator Network). The protection and
monitoring of all interfaces – such as Wi-Fi access
for passengers and the remote maintenance
access – requires additional measures that go
EH\RQGWKHIXQFWLRQRIWKHWUDGLWLRQDOǩUHZDOO
Within the Passenger Network, data transfers
IURPGLǨHUHQWVHUYLFHVDUHLVRODWHGDQGHQFU\SWHG
Siemens
using virtual private networks (VPNs) in order to Convergence
reduce the threats to data integrity. Creators has
In addition, network areas are only accessible developed the
after secure authentication and with limited Media4Rail Security
authorisation. Users and cyber-attacks with unusual
concept to establish
access behaviour can now be detected more quickly.
a standard for
System integrity protecting railways’
Media4Rail’s third IT security component is system digital services
integrity, which provides the entire system’s assets from
robustness against hacker-attacks. cyber-attacks
A cornerstone for minimising vulnerabilities to
cyber-attacks is software maintenance and regular
installation of the latest updates and patches.
Another important activity is continuous monitoring
for irregularities in order to identify attacks
early on. Measures of defence such as isolating
DǨHFWHGFRPSRQHQWVPXVWEHGHǩQHGLQGHWDLO
for every system. In the event of an attack, rapid
countermeasures can be decisive for mounting
a successful defence.
With the tenacious implementation of its
REFERENCE
Media4Rail Security approach, Siemens
1. www.convergence-creators.
Convergence Creators’ Media4Rail solution is siemens.com/media4rail.html
making a vital contribution to IT security.
55
DIGITALISATION

Toward
seamless
connectivity

The rail industry is aiming to achieve

intelligent, reliable infrastructure, better
system resilience and a reduced need for
maintenance. In2Rail, a Horizon 2020
project, is setting the foundations for the
future and joining forces with railML to
establish a comprehensive Canonical
Data Model (CDM). For Global Railway
Review, In2Rail experts Stefan Wegele
and Martin Karlsson explain more.
globalrailwayreview.com
56

MARTIN KARLSSON is
a Technical Expert at
Bombardier Transportation
within the Rail Control
Solutions division in
Gothenburg, Sweden. He was
awarded a Master of Science
in Engineering Physics from
Chalmers University of
Technology in 1985. Martin
joined Bombardier (then
Adtranz) in 1996 and was the
technical lead in several of
the company’s ‘world firsts’
such as Moving Block (1999),
ERTMS Regional (2012)
and ERTMS Level 3 (2014).
Martin has been working as
System Architect for CTC/
TMS systems since 2013.
@GlobalRailway
GLOBAL RAILWAY REVIEW | Volume 23, Issue 05
I
N2RAIL1 is a Horizon 20202 project aiming to
lay the foundations for a resilient, consistent,
FRVWHǫFLHQWKLJKFDSDFLW\(XURSHDQQHWZRUN
by delivering important building blocks that will
enable the unlocking of the innovation potential
that exists in the future Shift2Rail3 programme.
,Q5DLOZDVǩQDQFHGXQGHUWKH(XURSHDQ8QLRQDžV
Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.
In2Rail is one of the lighthouse projects of
Shift2Rail and will contribute to Innovation
3URJUDPPHVDQG6SHFLǩFDOO\,Q5DLOZLOO
explore innovative technologies and the resulting
concepts embedded in a systems framework
where infrastructure, information management,
maintenance techniques, energy, and engineering
are integrated, optimised, shared and exploited.
In2Rail is structured around three technical
sub-projects: Smart Infrastructure, Intelligent
Mobility Management, and Rail Power Supply and
Energy Management.
The In2Rail consortium includes more than
50 partners covering all areas of railway expertise:
system integrators, manufacturers, infrastructure
managers, maintenance railway suppliers
and research institutes and universities from
across Europe.
The focus of the Intelligent Mobility Management
(I2M) sub-project is on the issue of digitalisation.
How can we improve the utilisation, availability and
usability of the combined rail transport resources,
by means of computer-based support systems?
Digitalisation as such is nothing new in the
railway sector. For practically all areas of operation,
there are computerised systems available of
variable maturity, ranging from computer-based
interlockings, which have been commonplace for
more than 30 years, to systems for analysing asset
diagnostics which have emerged over the last few
years. We have computer systems for timetabling,
WUDǫFPDQDJHPHQWHQHUJ\PDQDJHPHQWDVVHW
maintenance, rolling stock inventory, crew rostering
HWF:KDWLVPLVVLQJLVDQHǫFLHQWDXWRPDWHGDQG
standardised way for these systems to cooperate,
as one ecosystem.
Addressing this problem is also in line with
HVWDEOLVKLQJWKH'LJLWDO6LQJOH0DUNHWLGHQWLǩHG
as one of the 10 top priorities for the present
(XURSHDQ&RPPLVVLRQ7KHSXEOLFFRQǩGHQFHLQ
The In2Rail consortium includes more than
50 partners covering all areas of railway expertise:
system integrators, manufacturers, infrastructure managers,
maintenance railway suppliers and research institutes and
universities from across Europe
57
DIGITALISATION

FIGURE 1 What most of these have in common is that they

ABOVE: railML as a
the railway is under pressure in many countries.
ZHUHGHVLJQHGWRVROYHDVSHFLǩFSUREOHP5,1)
describes the infrastructure, TAF/TAP TSIs are for
data exchange between railway undertakings
DQGLQIUDVWUXFWXUHPDQDJHUVDQG(7&6GHǩQHV
data needed by an on-board ATP. The result is
WKDWWKH\KDYHTXLWHGLǨHUHQWYLHZVRIWKHVDPH
reality. For example, all three models need to refer
to geographic positions in the railway topology.
<HWWKH\GRLWLQGLǨHUHQWZD\VPDNLQJWKHP
incompatible with each other. Identifying every
position as a distance from a balise group is very
practical for the ATP, but useless as a basis for an
infrastructure register.
:KHQGHǩQLQJWKH,Q5DLO&'0ZHZDQWHGWR
WDNHDGLǨHUHQWDSSURDFKVWDUWLQJZLWKDVWUXFWXUHG
breakdown of the entities of the railway system
(including physical entities such as wayside assets
and vehicles, as well as logical entities such as
Canonical Data Model
DR. STEFAN WEGELE
studied Mechanical
Engineering at the Technical
University of Braunschweig
until 1999. Afterwards he
worked on optimisation-
based dispatching systems
as a Researcher at the
same university. Since 2012
Stefan has been a Software
Architect for Traffic
Management Systems at
Siemens AG in Germany.
58
$PRQJWKHUHDVRQVDUHGHǩFLHQFLHVFDXVHGE\SRRU
FRPPXQLFDWLRQEHWZHHQWKHGLǨHUHQWVWDNHKROGHUV
of the transport system.
2XUSURSRVDOWKH,Q5DLOSODWIRUPRǨHUVD
VROXWLRQE\GHǩQLQJ structured according to real world objects and
O An Application Framework where
independently developed components can be
LQWHJUDWHGWRIRUPRQH7UDǫF0DQDJHPHQW
System (TMS)
O An Integration Layer where TMS and
other services can share data in a publish/
subscribe pattern, thereby making full use
of all available information.
A communication platform alone is not enough,
however. The various applications, coexisting in the
Integration Layer, also need to share a common
language – also known as a Canonical Data
Model (CDM).
There are several standardised data models
that already exist in the railway sector – RINF,
TAF/TAP TSI and ETCS Language to name a few.
WLPHWDEOHVDQGWUDǫFUHVWULFWLRQV7KHQDGGWR
each type of entity whatever data attributes that
may be of interest to any application in the overall
system context. That way, the data model will be
relations, instead of the needs of the foreseen
services. Based on the CDM, data provider
services know where to place their output, and
GDWDFRQVXPHUVNQRZZKHUHWRǩQGLW3URYLGHUV
and consumers become loosely coupled, as they
do not need any knowledge of each other’s internal
GDWDUHSUHVHQWDWLRQ7KLVVLPSOLǩHVPDLQWDLQLQJ
and upgrading applications independently.
One application may ‘think’ in RINF and another
in ETCS, but over the Integration Layer, they both
‘speak’ CDM.
A question stood out from this: Would we have
to perform data modelling from scratch, or is
there previous standardisation work that we could
leverage from? We soon found that the railML.org4
initiative shared the same view of an application
independent exchange format (see Figure 1). With
the evolution of railML version 3, compliant to the
globalrailwayreview.com
 GLOBAL RAILWAY REVIEW | Volume 23, Issue 05

FIGURE 2 LEFT: In2Rail CDM

evolution road map

8,&GHǩQHG5DLO7RSR0RGHO570IXUWKHUVWHSVDUH
being taken towards a structure that aligns well
with our view. The fact that railML versions 1 and 2
are widely accepted by many actors in the railway
sector contributed to making railML 3 a natural
choice as a basis for our CDM.
+RZHYHUUDLO0/DVLWVWDQGVWRGD\ZLOOQRWIXOǩO
our needs. The use cases which drive the evolution
of railML does not to-date include TMS, which is
the core service for I2M. In particular, data which
changes dynamically in real-time is not covered
(for example, positions of trains, status of train
routes etc.).
To close this gap, collaboration between
railML.org and the In2Rail project has been
established, where In2Rail will provide new use
cases to railML, and also interactively participate
in modelling these use cases for upcoming railML
releases. That way, most if not all of the In2Rail
CDM will be covered by railML. Symbiotically,
we will create a stronger common standard.
7KHǩUVWSULRULW\LQWKLVFROODERUDWLRQLVWR
establish some fundamental modelling principles:
Model Driven Architecture
This principle is essentially already covered by the
‘One UML’ approach agreed between railML.org
and the UIC’s RTM expert group. The idea is that
the core model is to be a platform independent
PRGHOGHǩQHGLQD80/FODVVGLDJUDP)URPWKLVD
QXPEHURISODWIRUPVSHFLǩFPRGHOVFDQEHGHULYHG
7KH;0/UHSUHVHQWDWLRQZKLFKUDLO0/GHǩQHVLV
one such model. Internally in the In2Rail platform,
ZHSODQWRLQVWHDGXVH*RRJOH3URWRFRO%XǨHUV
IRUPRUHHǫ FLHQWUHDOWLPHGDWDH[FKDQJH2WKHU
applications may have other needs of implementing
data representations, or even generate software
source code. All such derivations will still follow the
FRQFHSWXDOGHǩQLWLRQVPDGHLQWKHFRUHPRGHO
@GlobalRailway
Structure for expandability and divisibility When all
We cannot hope to cover all present and future significant
QHHGVRIDOOUDLOZD\UHODWHGV\VWHPVLQWKHǩUVW
data related to the
common model release. Instead, we will aim to
create a structure where data from additional
railway operation is
use cases can be easily added according to an made available in
established pattern, without disrupting the existing a structured way, it
GHǩQLWLRQV(TXDOO\LPSRUWDQWLVWREHDEOHWR will be possible to
structure the complete model, for example by develop completely
namespaces or modules. Application developers
new applications,
should not be concerned about model complexity
outside the needs of their individual applications.
without changing
the existing ones
Common modelling concepts
&RPPRQEDVHW\SHVZKLFKZLOOEHGLǫ FXOWWR
change later, needs to be agreed. In particular,
WKLVDSSOLHVWRGDWDWKDWFXWDFURVVPDQ\GLǨHUHQW
entities, such as data related to positioning and
network navigation. Syntax for cross referencing
between objects also needs to be established.
The ambition is to continue this collaboration not
only during the In2Rail project, but throughout the
Shift2Rail programme. Several of the upcoming or
already started Shift2Rail projects are stakeholders
in the CDM, and will contribute to a richer content
E\GHǩQLQJQHZXVHFDVHVFigure 2 illustrates the
preliminary road map.
It will be a considerable step forward if the
In2Rail platform and an evolved railML standard
can create communication between existing railway
VXSSRUWV\VWHPVPRUHHǫ FLHQWO\%XWSHUKDSVHYHQ
more important in the long-term is how this setup
REFERENCES
FDQVXSSRUWLQQRYDWLRQ:KHQDOOVLJQLǩFDQWGDWD 1. www.in2rail.eu
related to the railway operation is made available 2. https://ec.europa.eu/
in a structured way, it will be possible to develop programmes/horizon2020/
completely new applications, without changing the 3. https://shift2rail.org/
existing ones. We hope to see services emerging 4. www.railml.org
tomorrow that exceed our imagination today.
59
HIGH-SPEED

California high-speed rail:

Building the future

The California High-Speed Rail Program represents the largest, most

complex and, in many ways, most far-reaching public infrastructure project
in the United States. As the backbone of an integrated, modern, state-wide
rail network, it will fundamentally transform how people move around
California and will serve as a catalyst for the state’s future development,
growth and prosperity. Scott Jarvis, Chief Engineer for the California
High-Speed Rail Authority, provides details of construction progress.

Construction progress: It’s happening
More than two years have passed since the
California High-Speed Rail Authority1 (Authority)
RǫFLDOO\EURNHJURXQGRQFRQVWUXFWLRQLQ&DOLIRUQLDDžV
Central Valley. Construction crews are making
progress at 13 sites that span 119 miles in the
Central Valley and three design-build construction
teams are working between Madera and Kern
Counties on contracts valued at $3.24 billion.
construction. The 3,700ft structure will serve as the
southern gateway to the city and its construction is
expected to last through to mid-2018.
Also in Madera County, much of the work for BELOW:
the Cottonwood Creek crossing is complete. Construction
To the north and south of Cottonwood, preparatory crews are
making
work will be the next aspect of construction for progress at
WKHǩUVWVHFWLRQRIJXLGHZD\7KLVLQYROYHVVSHFLǩF 13 sites
earthwork to convey the high-speed train at-grade.
&RQVWUXFWLRQ3DFNDJH&3LVWKHǩUVWVLJQLǩFDQW
construction contract executed on the high-speed rail
programme. The CP 1 construction area is a 32-mile
stretch in Madera County and Fresno County and
within it, major structures have gone up over the last
few years with several nearing completion.
7KHǩUVWPDMRUFRQVWUXFWLRQZLWKLQ&3EHJDQ
in summer 2015 at the Fresno River Viaduct in
Madera County. That work is now largely complete,
with the exception of some minor concrete
patchwork. This structure is approximately 1,600ft
and will serve as the northern gateway to the city
of Fresno as it carries high-speed trains over the
Fresno River and State Route 145.
At over twice the length of the Fresno River
Viaduct, the Cedar Viaduct in the southern part
of Fresno is currently in nearly every stage of
60
Construction Package 2-3 (CP 2-3) is the second
VLJQLǩFDQWFRQVWUXFWLRQFRQWUDFWWREHH[HFXWHG
in the Central Valley. The CP 2-3 construction
area extends approximately 60 miles south of
the terminus of Construction Package 1 in Fresno,
to one mile north of the Tulare-Kern County line.
Pre-construction activities continue in CP 2-3 in
Fresno and Tulare Counties and crews have already
carried out geotechnical and demolition projects.
&XUUHQWO\FUHZVDUHFRQGXFWLQJHPEDQNPHQWǩOO
tests and utility relocations.
&RQVWUXFWLRQ3DFNDJHLVWKHǩQDOFRQVWUXFWLRQ
contract and extends 22 miles south of CP
2-3. Pre-construction activities continue in this
region, including geotechnical investigations and
preparations for utility relocations and demolition
activities in the coming months.
globalrailwayreview.com
 LEFT: Construction work
at the Cedar Viaduct in GLOBAL RAILWAY REVIEW | Volume 23, Issue 05
southern Fresno

Benefits of high-speed rail LEFT: The proposed

As construction continues to ramp up across the

statewide alignment

Central Valley, so too does job creation. As of

30 June 2017, the California High-Speed Rail
Program has put 1,282 construction labourers to
work and the latest numbers also indicate that
the Authority’s commitment to small business is
working. As of 30 April 2017, the Authority had
More than
SDLGWKHFHUWLǩHGVPDOOEXVLQHVVHVZRUNLQJRQ
Construction Packages 1, 2-3 and 4 a total of at
two years
least $126.7 million. have passed since
Construction in the Central Valley is taking place the California
via three civil contracts, all of which are using the High-Speed Rail
design-build process. This model is consistent Authority officially
with many transportation projects around
broke ground
the country, but is relatively new to California
public construction projects. The design-build
on construction
model incorporates innovative procurement and in California’s
contracting concepts to drive innovation by the Central Valley
private sector. It combines design and construction
into one contract performed, usually, by a joint
venture. This helps ensure that the design process
takes account of construction techniques and
incorporates more of a contractor’s view.
An important element of all three construction
packages is an emphasis on safety and
sustainability. Since high-speed trains will travel
through the Central Valley at speeds of over
200mph, the system will be fully grade-separated. ,QEXLOGLQJWKHQDWLRQDžVǩUVWKLJKVSHHGUDLO
The Authority is converting 30 existing at-grade system, the Authority is employing innovative and
street/rail crossings in the Central Valley to cutting-edge construction methods to make the
grade-separated interchanges. A further programme a national model for sustainable delivery.
20 roadways will be rebuilt as grade separations It will not only meet the needs of future generations
where they cross high-speed rail lines and existing RI&DOLIRUQLDQVEXWSURYLGHLPPHGLDWHEHQHǩWVWRWKH
freight lines. There will be a total of 50 new, fully communities in which it is being constructed.
grade-separated crossings in the Central Valley. As with any infrastructure project, equipment
This investment, totalling more than $250 million, is required for construction. To minimise the
will allow vehicles to travel over or under existing rail resulting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, each
SCOTT JARVIS is the Chief
lines and high-speed rail lines – this will eliminate the construction phase will adhere to strict guidelines
Engineer for the California
possibility of collisions, greatly improving safety and implemented through contract provisions governed High-Speed Rail Authority
DOORZLQJIUHHUǪRZLQJYHKLFOHWUDǫF by the Authority’s Sustainability Policy. The Authority and is responsible for the
requires contractors to track and report their use of project delivery functions
on-site materials, fuel, water, and electricity, recycling of the first high-speed
rail system in the nation,
and reuse volumes, as well as the type of on and
including engineering,
RǨURDGHTXLSPHQWDQGKRXUVRUPLOHVRIRSHUDWLRQ third-party agreements,
The Authority uses this information to inform design and construction, and
subsequent construction procurement documents. construction support. Over
When construction began in 2014, the the last 30 years, Scott has
gained extensive experience
design-build contractors began submitting
and knowledge in multiple
information about the sources and amounts of areas of major infrastructure
construction materials being used. CP 1 structures project delivery. In addition
LQFOXGHGXUDEOHFRQFUHWHPL[GHVLJQVXVLQJǪ\ to his time at the Authority,
ash for cement and 100% recycled steel with global Scott spent over 26 years at
the California Department
warming potential scores below industry average.
of Transportation (Caltrans)
7REHJLQRǨVHWWLQJWKHGLUHFWWDLOSLSH*+* and worked in several project
emissions associated with constructing the initial delivery functions, with an
segment of the high-speed rail system, the Authority emphasis in construction
is implementing a tree planting programme in rural and project management.

and urban areas of California. We expect to plant

@GlobalRailway
61
 HIGH-SPEED

With 13 active hundreds of thousands of trees. We will carry out
construction sites, this programme in partnership with the California
Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFIRE)
thousands of
and will target communities that are in the vicinity
labourers at work,
of the rail system, with special focus on providing
millions of dollars EHQHǩWVWRGLVDGYDQWDJHGFRPPXQLWLHV,QDGGLWLRQ
invested in small to further reducing GHG emissions, these trees will
businesses and a improve urban air quality and quality of life, reduce
sustainable delivery HQHUJ\XVHDQGVWRUPZDWHUUXQRǨSUHYHQWVRLO
erosion, and restore habitats.
programme already
providing benefits
Moving forward
to Californians, it’s Throughout the rest of the Phase 1 system
clear the California between San Francisco/Merced and Los Angeles/
High-Speed Rail Anaheim, the Authority is committed to completing
Program is no environmental reviews. This will allow us to provide
clarity to local communities, stakeholders and
longer just an idea;
regional partners as to the route and station
it’s a reality
locations, and to be shovel-ready in order to
build out the system and facilitate intermediate
improvements as funding becomes available.
The Authority is also working with
state and regional partners to advance
and accelerate connectivity projects across
REFERENCE California. Nearly $1 billion in Proposition 1A funding
has been allocated toward early investments to
1. www.hsr.ca.gov
advance state-wide rail modernisation. This includes
nearly $400 million dedicated to connectivity
projects that support safety and modernisation
improvements, including positive train control,
upgraded vehicles and rail corridor upgrades.
Now that construction is well underway, the
Authority is beginning to plan for operations.
An Early Train Operator will assist the Authority
with the development and management of
the initial operations of the high-speed rail
system. Early engagement of a train operator
is a critical step that moves beyond planning,
design and construction towards a commercial
operation phase. By strategically partnering with
a private sector operator, the Authority will be
able to ensure that the high-speed rail system is
designed to enhance ultimate commercial value
DQGSURǩWDELOLW\
In early-2018 the Authority will publish its next
Business Plan; an overarching policy document
used to inform the legislature, the public and
stakeholders of the project’s implementation and
progress, as well as assist the legislature in making
policy decisions regarding the project.
With 13 active construction sites, thousands
of labourers at work, millions of dollars invested
in small businesses and a sustainable delivery
SURJUDPPHDOUHDG\SURYLGLQJEHQHǩWVWR
Californians, it’s clear the California High-Speed Rail
Program is no longer just an idea; it’s a reality.

SE N S O RS FO R R E S E A R C H & D E V E LO PM E N T

DESIGNING, BUILDING,
AND OPERATING
HIGH SPEED RAIL SYSTEMS
IS COMPLEX.

USE OUR 24/7 APPLICATION ENGINEERING

ASSISTANCE TO SIMPLIFY YOUR:
Q Ride control Q Safety monitoring
Q Braking systems Q Condition monitoring

Call or click for a complimentary sensor assessment.

w w w.P C B . c o m / R a i l | i nf o@ p c b . c om | +1.716.684.0001
globalrailwayreview.com
62 M T S S Y S T E M S C O R P O R AT I O N
 WEBINAR PREVIEW

The future of interlocking

design automation for
modern railroads
Ahead of Global Railway Review’s webinar in association
with Prover Technology AB on Tuesday 26 September
2017, we put some questions to Jesper Carlström, VP 26 SEPTEMBER 2017

Project Delivery and one of the speakers of the webinar

– to understand more about the topics to be covered.
15:00 BST

How does the design
of interlockings impact
rail operations?
All infrastructure managers
stress that safety is their
number one priority, but
high capacity demands also
require systems to be complex
and optimised to quickly
UHVROYHWUDǫFLVVXHV,WLV
a constant battle between
simplicity on the one hand
and capacity on the other.
2QOLQHVZLWKVSDUVHWUDǫF
simple systems are preferred,
but lines with higher levels
RIWUDǫFPD\EHQHǩWIURP
more complex interlockings.
Furthermore, when they
become more complex, their
construction time increases
which risks project delays due
to development processes
in the railway business still
being dependent on manual
methods. Ironically, lines with
high demands therefore have
the highest risks of project
delays. The results are higher
costs, delayed revenue service
and potentially reduced levels
of safety when decisions are
made at a late stage.
What are the main
challenges that
infrastructure managers
face in implementing
modern interlocking
systems?
The main challenge is to
ǩQGPRGHUQGHYHORSPHQW
processes that encourage
invention whilst still being safe.
So far, safety considerations
have made infrastructure
managers reluctant to
accept invention – which is
of course not sustainable in
the long-term. The reason
for this hesitation is due to
WKHGLǫFXOWO\RIHQVXULQJ
new ideas do not jeopardise
safety, and the fact that safety
arguments are very often
built on the ‘proven-in-use’
argument. There is no safe
guard within traditional
methods to ensure that new
inventions do not introduce
risks. Such methods are
built on manual reviews and
What else will we learn
during the webinar?
2QHWKLQJ,ǩQGSDUWLFXODUO\
interesting is the
infrastructure manager’s
YDJXHVSHFLǩFDWLRQV7KH\GR
not want to over-specify
because they want to leave
room for the suppliers to
decide on the details, and
they aim to accomplish this
by being vague about their
requirements. However,
in the end, it often turns
out that they are rather
particular in what they want,
and they argue that the
supplier interpreted their
YDJXHVSHFLǩFDWLRQLQWKH
wrong way. I would argue
that if you want to leave
room for invention then
you should not be vague,
but instead not specify
at all. The parts you are
strict about (such as the
interfaces and properties
you really want the system to
testing; hence they consume LQFOXGHVKRXOGEHVSHFLǩHG
too much time, which costs in detail. The rest should be
money but also makes it up to the supplier.
GLǫFXOWWRGHOLYHUIDVWHQRXJK
to keep up with the increased
demands. A formal method is
REGISTER YOUR ATTENDANCE GHǩQLWHO\QHHGHGWRPDQDJH IN ASSOCIATION WITH:

the safety of complex systems

globalrailwayreview.com/webinar
in the future.

@GlobalRailway
63
 Harnessing Big Data in Rail
A GLOBAL RAILWAY REVIEW EVENT
4 OCTOBER 2017 | MUNICH | GERMANY
DISCOVER | CONNECT | LEARN | EVOLVE

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04
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JBeyond rail; becoming a mobility provider in the digital era

Using Big Data to manage rail infrastructure reliability

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J
&ROODERUDWLYH,QWHOOLJHQFHǁLQWHJUDWLQJGLǨHUHQW
data streams to develop an understanding of the
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SIGNALLING &
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Advances to rail signalling and train control systems will ultimately make international
rail passenger and freight transportation more competitive and attractive.
But implementing strategies and understanding new digital solutions must be
DGGUHVVHGEHIRUHLPSURYHPHQWVFDQEHUHDOLVHG5HDGRQWRǩQGRXWPRUHǍ

SPONSORS:
IN-DEPTH FOCUS | SIGNALLING & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

ERTMS
deployment
in the Western Balkans

globalrailwayreview.com
66

The capacity analysis for the Comprehensive Rail Network
in the Western Balkans (carried out under a REBIS1 study) showed
that approximately 19% (900km) of lines require upgrading.
Depending on economic growth, between 25-33% of the
network (1,200km-1,500km) will require some upgrading before
*LYHQWKHFXUUHQWOLPLWHGǩVFDOVSDFH(5706LVRQHRI
the solutions for enhancing capacity. 1HGLP%HJRYLÊ, Transport
Planning Manager at SEETO and 6YHWODQD9XNDQRYLÊ,
Transport Specialist at the World Bank, explore further.
L
OOKING DWVSHFLǩFH[DPSOHVWKHUDLOZD\
network of Bosnia and Herzegovina is a
highly used freight network with 1.27 million
tonnes transported per route-km, which is
slightly higher than the EU average at 1.24 million
tonnes. Line speed on the network averages around
40-80km/h depending on the section, but the
commercial (end-to-end) speed on the network as a
ZKROHLVVLJQLǩFDQWO\ORZHU&RPPHUFLDOVSHHGVDUH
ORZHUSDUWO\GXHWRSRRUWUDFNFRQGLWLRQVRQVSHFLǩF
sections, but an additional major cause of train
delays is an obsolete train dispatching and control
system, including some compulsory stops at more
than 3782 unprotected level crossings.
,QWUDǫ FLQWHQVLW\LQ6HUELDPHDVXUHG
WKHWRWDOWUDǫ FXQLWVSHUURXWHNPDVTXLWHORZ
at approximately 30% of the EU-27 average.
,QUDLOZD\WUDǫ FLQWHQVLW\RQWKH6HUELDQ
network was 75% of that in 2008. Backlogs have
accumulated with regard to telecommunication
systems, signalling systems, power supply,
catenaries and interlocking systems, with the
age of over three-quarters of the systems being
31-40 years (81% of signalling system is more than
30 years old). This also highlights the severe lack
of investment over the last 10 years as less than
2% of systems have been modernised3. A similar
situation is found in other Western Balkan areas,
with an additional problem of there being many
borders over a relatively small area, which causes
ORQJGHOD\VDQGLPSHGHVWKHIUHHǪRZRIWUDǫ F
in the region and also between Europe and the
Middle East.
Although this is the current situation in the region,
there are now concrete plans to improve railways
in the Western Balkans. As part of its Enlargement
Strategy, the European Commission has committed
up to €1 billion to the Western Balkans Investment
Framework (WBIF) over the 2014-2020 period for
improving key transport and energy corridors within
the Western Balkans and the EU. This initiative, also
known as the Connectivity Agenda, is part of the
@GlobalRailway
GLOBAL RAILWAY REVIEW | Volume 23, Issue 05
DŽ%HUOLQ3URFHVVDžLWDLPVWRFUHDWHVDIHDQGHǫ
FLHQW
transport routes across core corridors. Within the
&RQQHFWLYLW\$JHQGDWKHFRǩQDQFLQJUDWHIRUUDLO
projects amounts to 50% (grant funding). In the last
WKUHH\HDUVHLJKWUDLOZD\SURMHFWVKDYHEHHQǩQDQFHG
which has provided momentum to secure additional
projects and plans to deploy ERTMS.
Regional assessment of
readiness to implement ITS
In order to assess the possibilities for signalling
improvement in the Western Balkans, the South
East Europe Transport Observatory (SEETO),
in cooperation with the World Bank, analysed
the current situation of ERTMS deployment in the
region. They subsequently developed a roadmap
for addressing the challenge of improving ERTMS in
the Western Balkans to meet the Trans-European
Transport Network (TEN-T) demands. Within
this study4, we wanted to demonstrate how an
assessment of ERTMS that covers legislative,
strategic and operational issues can be used to
develop a roadmap for ERTMS deployment that not
only overcomes the current fragmented approach,
EXWZLOOSURYLGHVLJQLǩFDQWHFRQRPLHVRIVFDOHIRU
implementation and operation through regional
harmonisation. Our focus was the extension of
the TEN-T network (see Figure 1) to the Western
Balkans’ main regional network, to improve
mobility within the region.
7KH:HVWHUQ%DONDQSDUWQHUVDUHDWGLǨHUHQW
stages of introducing ERTMS systems, usually
without the necessary interconnection between
PRGHVDQGEHWZHHQWKHGLǨHUHQWV\VWHPV
In common with other regions, ERTMS
LPSOHPHQWDWLRQVVXǨHUIURPLQVXǫ FLHQW
standardisation of information exchanges, market
actors’ disparate capabilities to use ICT, legal
requirements that hamper the use of ICT, as well as
data security and privacy issues.
For railways, the key considerations include
the following:
67
IN-DEPTH FOCUS | SIGNALLING & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
RIGHT: Extension of the
TEN-T Comprehensive
and Core Network to the
Western Balkans
NEDIM BEGOVIĆ is a
Transport Planning Manager
at South East Europe
Transport Observatory
(SEETO) where he has
been employed from
2010. He is responsible for
monitoring performance
of the Comprehensive and
Core Network in Western
Balkans, the preparation
of development plans,
as well as facilitating rail
reforms and ITS deployment
on a regional level.
68
FIGURE 1
Legislative framework
The interoperability directive, which provides the basis
for ERTMS deployment, has been adopted by almost
all Western Balkans partners. However, sublegal
acts which further specify technical details and
requirements of ERTMS deployment (TSIs) have yet
to be transposed (except in Serbia).
Strategic framework
The strategic framework for ERTMS deployment
has been adopted by the former Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia as a part of the National Transport
Strategy, and ERTMS is planned within the new
strategies in Albania, Serbia and Montenegro.
ERTMS deployment
In the Western Balkans, ERTMS deployment has
recently started with the on-going project of the
Bitola–Kremenica section of Corridor X where ETCS
Level 1 will be installed. However, several ERTMS
projects have been planned along Corridor VIII,
Corridor X, Corridor Vc as well as Route 2 and
Route 10, totalling more than 1,200km of lines.
An assessment was made of ERTMS status in the
Western Balkans for all three pillars of successful
ERTMS implementation – legislative, strategic and
implementation. Status was assessed on a scale of
0 to 3 (where 0 means zero progress and 3 means
full implementation) as shown in Table 1.
Roadmap for improving ERTMS
in the Western Balkans
As shown in Table 1VLJQLǩFDQWHǨRUWVDUH
required to implement ERTMS in the Western
Balkans. To address this, SEETO and the World
Bank have developed a roadmap for successful ITS
LPSOHPHQWDWLRQZLWKVSHFLǩFUHFRPPHQGDWLRQVIRU
each Western Balkan partner. We proposed that
several steps be carried out in order to speed up
deployment, but also ensure regional integration
of ERTMS and telematic applications to achieve a
consistent and harmonised deployment of ERTMS
across the region for interoperability with Europe.
The four main areas that were addressed are
as follows:
1. The implementation of EU directives and
EU standards
2. The introduction of ERTMS in strategic
planning and action plans
3. Harmonised deployment
4. Funding
Conclusions
The Western Balkan partners face many challenges
LQHǨHFWLYHO\LQWURGXFLQJ(5706+RZHYHU
their commitment to the TEN-T policy calls for
VWUHQJWKHQHGHǨRUWVWRZDUGVWKHVXFFHVVIXO
deployment of ERTMS and other telematic
globalrailwayreview.com
 GLOBAL RAILWAY REVIEW | Volume 23, Issue 05

TABLE 1 Assessment of current state of ITS in Western Balkans

AREA MODE FOCUS ALB BIH MKD MNE SER KOS*

Directives and regulations 1 3 3 3 3 3

Legislative Railways Guidelines and specifications 0 0 1 0 3 0

Average 0.5 1.5 2 1.5 3 1.5

ERTMS Strategy 2 1 1 0 1 0

Reference system architecture 0 0 0 0 0 0

Strategy National
ERTMS Action Plan/
0 0 0 0 0 0
Implementation programme
SVETLANA VUKANOVIĆ
Average 0.66 0.33 0.33 0 0.33 0
is a Transport Specialist
in the World Bank where,
Infrastructure 0 0 1 1 0 0
for the past nine years,
she has been working on
Stations and Yards Systems 1 1 1 1 1 1
transport infrastructure
projects, rail restructuring
Deployment Railways Central 0 0 0 0 0 0
and ITS. Furthermore,
Svetlana has a PhD in
Control and Management 0 0 0 0 0 0
ITS from the Technical
University in Munich.
Average 0.25 0.25 0.5 0.5 0.25 0.25

applications. This can only be achieved by ensuring
that there is the correct legislative framework,
strategic plans and deployment strategy.
Our analysis shows that the implementation of
relevant regulations and standards is progressing
faster and more easily for those modes where
guidelines and interoperability standards applicable
to ERTMS are straightforward. However, awareness
of what is an ERTMS or other telematic application
DQGLWVEHQHǩWVLVVWLOOORZ7KLVLVDVLJQLǩFDQW
obstacle since most of the partners are struggling
WRVHFXUHVXǫ FLHQWEXGJHWIRULQYHVWPHQWLQ
infrastructure and a clear understanding of the
FRVWEHQHǩWRI(5706LQWHUYHQWLRQVLVFUXFLDOIRU
making a case for ERTMS. The fact that systematic
approaches and capacities for the introduction of
ERTMS are generally not in place, depends largely
RQWKHSROLWLFDOFRQWH[WDQGLVRODWHGHǨRUWVRI
individual practitioners.
The recommendations provide a basis for the
Western Balkans to address these issues and
use it as a kind of roadmap in the years to come.
The main recommendation is to establish the
long-lasting teams that will work across borders
with the goal of promoting ERTMS, raising
awareness and compliance with the best-practices,
by Western Balkan partners has revealed an
occasional lack of detailed costing and assessment
of funding solutions or sound plan for training
DQGUHWHQWLRQRITXDOLǩHGVWDǨ$QLPSRUWDQW
lesson for those conducting ERTMS planning is to
ensure that funding for ERTMS is comprehensively
considered, since a constraint in resources is one
of the greatest barriers to sustaining ERTMS in
the long-term. This requires not only a listing of
where funds could possibly be obtained, but a
funding strategy that charts a course toward the
actual acquisition of those funds. This can be
important information for consideration of the total
transportation funding package for the national or
regional transportation plan.
At a national level, measures are to be taken for
capacity-building activities (education, outreach,
best-practice material etc.) of organisations
to develop working knowledge of ERTMS
measures and systems and promote awareness
RILWVEHQHǩWV6SHFLǩFWUDLQLQJSURJUDPPHV
for transport practitioners in terms of planning, REFERENCES
developing and deployment of ERTMS projects
need to be undertaken. 1. Regional Balkans Infrastructure
Study Update, World Bank, 2015
Best-practice shows that starting properly 2. Bosnia and Herzegovina Railways
from the beginning is of utmost importance in policy note, World Bank, 2016

and enabling the development of contextual and ensuring sustainability of the proposed solutions. 3. Accelerating Railway Reforms
in Serbia, a roadmap, World
planning frameworks. The ERTMS strategy Therefore, it is advisable to properly establish the Bank, 2014

and regional framework must identify national and basic strategy, architecture and interoperability 4. Assessment of ITS deployment
on TEN-T Core Network in the
regional agencies’ responsibilities and supporting standards before moving to implementation. Western Balkans.S. Vukanovic, N.
Begovic, K. El-Araby, 2016, http://
functions to serve as the basis for inter-agency By following this route, the Western Balkan www.seetoint.org/wp-content/
uploads/downloads/2017/05/
agreements and commitments. partners will build a robust and sustainable ERTMS ITS-SEETO-2016.compressed.pdf

An overview of ERTMS deployment reported IUDPHZRUNZLWKVXǫ FLHQWLQWHUQDOFDSDFLWLHV

@GlobalRailway
69
IN-DEPTH FOCUS | SIGNALLING & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Development of
digital technologies
for Russian Railways

globalrailwayreview.com
70
 GLOBAL RAILWAY REVIEW | Volume 23, Issue 05

Some recent digital solutions employed by Russian Railways include an

automated train management system and a driverless system for shunting
operations in marshalling yards. (ǩP5R]HQEHUJ, First Deputy Director
General for JSC NIIAS, elucidates these developments in this article and
highlights the safety and security issues posed by such digital technologies.

I
N RUSSIA, railways account for more
than 45% of the national cargo turnover
and over 25% of the passenger turnover and
consequently remain the most important mode
of transportation in the country. In the context of
Industry 4.0 and a highly competitive transportation
market, the sustainable development of this
VLJQLǩFDQWVHFWRURIWKHWUDQVSRUWDWLRQLQGXVWU\
is largely dependent on the drive to develop and
implement innovative technologies.
One of the most important tasks in the Russian
Railways’ 2020 programme for innovative
development is the implementation of the Digital
Railway integrated project.
Increased competitiveness requires a transition
to the digital business model that involves the
coordination of all processes, online business
and service management. This is the part of
digitalisation that is built on the rapid development
and implementation of IT in client-oriented
industries and is already a hallmark of today’s
global digital economy.
The key prerequisite for the construction of a
digital railway is the fullest possible integration
of information and communication technologies
(ICTs) that connect the user, vehicle, train control
system and infrastructure, i.e. the development of
new end-to-end digital technologies to organise
the transportation process. From this perspective,
of particular interest are the technological
innovations in railway infrastructure maintenance
DQGUDLOZD\WUDǫFPDQDJHPHQWDQGVDIHW\
Many key elements of the digital railway
infrastructure are already in place and operated
by the Russian Railways, largely due to the

Cybersecurity issues – which are increasingly prevalent

in the context of widespread use of digital technologies
– are of great importance for Russian Railways

@GlobalRailway
71
IN-DEPTH FOCUS | SIGNALLING & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
HǨRUWVRI-6&1,,$6ǁDPDMRULQGXVWU\GHVLJQDQG
research institute.
For instance, Russian Railways have developed
and implemented the technology for the
construction of a High Accuracy Coordinate
System (HACS) and associated digital track and
infrastructure models (DTMs). These provide
the common time and space system for the
description of basic infrastructure elements and
are the basis for the construction of digital route
maps for on-board train protection units and the
high-precision navigation positioning of vehicles.
This technology enables gradual automation
of design and repair activities as part of
coordinate-based track maintenance. The project
uses the HACS and DTMs and is called the
Integrated Railway Infrastructure Spatial Data
System (KSPD IZHT). Currently the system
covers 6,000km of the operational length of
the Russian Railways network. During the
pilot operation, a whole range of functional
tasks were completed that relate to the spatial
determination infrastructure geometry: automated
LGHQWLǩFDWLRQRIVWUXFWXUHFOHDUDQFHVFDWHQDU\
geometry, visibility of crossings, as well as
automation of per design track positioning.
The Intelligent Rail Management System
(ISUZHT) is being phased in on the Russian
One of the most important tasks in the Russian Railways’
2020 programme for innovative development is the
implementation of the Digital Railway integrated project
72
Railways network. After 2020 this system is
expected to replace the miscellaneous automated
systems that are still operated by various divisions
and units of the company. It is focused on
comprehensive automation of primary processes
of planning and management of the transportation
process and uses a single description for all
required infrastructure and processes elements.
The ISUZHT platform is an integrator of
automated transportation process control systems
employed by the Russian Railways. It is based on
the principles of integration and the intelligent
processing of all primary information regarding the
status of the transportation process. This includes
the status of signalling systems; speed and weight
of trains; location of locomotives, trains and
wagons; presence of speed limits in line sections;
and the technical condition of rolling stock,
automation equipment, etc.
The system is based on the principle of adaptive
planning. The purpose of ISUZHT is to substitute
the intelligence of dispatchers with computer
intelligence using methods of machine learning and
DUWLǩFLDOLQWHOOLJHQFH7KHSODWIRUPHQFRPSDVVHV
the existing horizons of transportation process
planning – from annual and monthly planning,
as well as multiday and shift-day planning of all
types of resources (including traction resources), to
train handling planning. To date, ISUZHT hardware
and software systems have been deployed in
the information and computing centres of a
number of railways in Russia with a total length
of approximately 50,000km.
As part of the project, an automated train
management system was developed for high
WUDǫFFRQGLWLRQVLQWKH$XWRPDWHG'LVSDWFKHU
Automated Driver mode. The system allows for
automated control of trains running per normal
schedule, while supervising it in real-time using the
satellite-navigation positioning system as part of
the on-board train protection system. In the event
RIFRQǪLFWVWKHV\VWHPSHUIRUPVDQDXWRPDWHG
calculation and applies an alternative schedule to
DYRLGFRQǪLFWDQGUHVWRUHWKHSODQQHGVFKHGXOH
Control commands and information regarding
changes to the train schedule, as well as temporary
restrictions, are transmitted in real-time to rolling
stock via a secure radio channel.
This technology is implemented in the large-scale
reconstruction project of the Moscow Central
Circle (MCC), which was successfully completed
in September 2016. In order to relieve the
passenger transportation system of the dig city,
a reconstruction of the 54km-long ring railway
around Moscow, which had been built in the last
century to carry industrial freight, was completed.
Thirty-one stations were reconstructed or rebuilt,
including 17 interchange stations that connect
with metro stations, public transportation stops
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capacity of your
railway network.
Built by rail experts: Rail Control
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IN-DEPTH FOCUS | SIGNALLING & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
and suburban railway lines. Currently, more than
300,000 passengers ride on the MCC every day.
On the MCC, the Automated Dispatcher/
Automated Driver system is integrated with the
combined train separation system. The latter is based
on an automatic block system with audio frequency
track circuits integrated with a computer-based
in-station interlocking system, as well as on-board
safety devices, and enables trains to run according
to the moving block principle. Depending on the type
RIWUDǫFWZRPRGHVRIRSHUDWLRQDUHSRVVLEOHWKH
OLJKWVLJQDOOLQJPRGHIRUIUHLJKWWUDLQVRIǩ[HGZHLJKW
and length, and signal-free mode for accelerated
movement of electric trains with a minimum interval
RIǩYHPLQXWHVRUOHVV
The MCC Automated Driver system allows
for a phased transition to the use of automatic
(unmanned) control systems to replace
human personnel.
Russian Railways attach great importance to this
approach, taking into account the economic, human
and security factors. Another important aspect is the
reduction of labour-intensity and the development
of operator functions. In the long-term, employees
will need to upgrade their skills and knowledge
necessary to assume control.
The replacement of subway drivers is underway
in a number of countries, where electric trains don’t
even have driver cabs. The introduction of such
solutions has become part of digital technology
introduction programmes in the railway industries
of several countries.
However, unlike metros, railways are open
systems, where anything can happen. As such,
in Russia we promote the use of trains controlled
remotely by an operator with an attendant or
RǫFHUSUHVHQWRQERDUGLQFDVHVRIHPHUJHQF\
rather than a fully-automated unattended mode
VSHFLǩHGE\,(&
Of course, there are some challenges to be met
UHODWHGWRDXWRPDWLFLGHQWLǩFDWLRQRIREVWDFOHV
on track. Some testing is currently under way to
tackle them.
Another example is a driverless system
for shunting operations in marshalling yards
(MALS-BM). Such a trial is already in operation
at Luzhskaya Station where the shunters are
controlled via a digital radio channel with
continuous automatic supervision of their
location using track circuits, augmented GPS/
WRHǨHFWLYHO\DFWLQXQXVXDOVLWXDWLRQVZKHQLWLV
Russian Railways have developed and implemented
the technology for the construction of a High Accuracy
Coordinate System (HACS) and associated digital track and
infrastructure models (DTMs)
74
*/21$66QDYLJDWLRQZLWKGLǨHUHQWLDOFRUUHFWLRQ
and the digital yard layout model. The purpose
of this project is to validate the procedure for
simultaneous control of several shunting units from
a single remote workstation.
At present in the automatic mode, operations are
performed by an equipped locomotive approaching
DVHWRIFDUVDQGFRXSOLQJZLWKYHULǩFDWLRQ0RUH
important operations are still performed with the
assistance of a driver.
globalrailwayreview.com

The MALS shunting automatic locomotive
signalling system was developed by JSC NIIAS
– initially to operate in driver assistance mode
approximately 10 years ago – and during this
period it was actively used in the Russian Railways
facilities. The use of MALS reduced the negative
safety impact of the human factor. An analysis of
statistical reports on locomotive operations shows
that most cases of the system’s interference in
the train control process, including emergency
stops, are due to the driver’s attempt to overrun
the allowed speed limit manually, which previously
remained unnoticed if it didn’t result in accidents.
With MALS all cases of speeding are logged and
transferred to diagnostic workstations, e.g. in
locomotive depots.
Visualisation of locomotive movement
parameters and crew actions, a system of
locomotive control commands at duty workstations,
and display of route and signal aspect information
on MALS on-board monitors enable mutual
PRQLWRULQJRIWKHWUDǫFVDIHW\RIVWDWLRQSHUVRQQHO
and locomotive crews and ensure process
transparency. MALS enables the shunting and
train operations in one area of the station to be
FRPELQHGZLWKDQLQFUHDVHGWUDǫFVDIHW\OHYHO
and automatically takes account of the loads of
each locomotive equipped with the MALS system
and the station as a whole. The information
ZRUNVWDWLRQVLQVWDOOHGDWWKHRǫFHVRIWKHVKXQWLQJ
dispatcher and yard master, as well as the process
protocols of the systems operation, display the
current status of the train, including the location
of shunting locomotives and the results of work
performed for a given period of time. With the help
of this information, it is possible to optimise the
current planning of the shunting operations and
shorten the interoperation intervals or analyse the
previous periods of the system and station activity.
It should be noted that the MALS system – like
all the aforementioned innovative technologies
– meets the requirements for cybersecurity, is
interfaced by means of safe and secure protocols
with railway automation devices, and features a
functional division of vital and non-vital systems
that eliminates the possibility of wrong-side failures
caused by the operation of information systems.
Cybersecurity issues – which are increasingly
prevalent in the context of widespread use of digital
technologies – are of great importance for Russian
Railways. As early as 2013, the Cybersecurity
Expert Council of the Russian Railways was
established, followed shortly by the establishment
of the Centre for Cybersecurity in JSC NIIAS, who
jointly developed basic regulatory documentation.
Russian Railways have carried out a lot of work
and accumulated a lot of experience, during which
time a thorough check of their computer-based
railway signalling and remote control devices and
@GlobalRailway
GLOBAL RAILWAY REVIEW | Volume 23, Issue 05
systems has been performed. This enabled cyber Cybersecurity
YXOQHUDELOLWLHVWREHLGHQWLǩHGDQGDQLQGXVWU\ requirements
standard and method for cybersecurity testing and
have become
FHUWLǩFDWLRQRIFRPSXWHUEDVHGUDLOZD\VLJQDOOLQJ
and remote-control devices to be developed.
an integral part
Cybersecurity requirements have become an of any tender
integral part of any tender documentation for documentation for
newly developed and implemented devices. newly developed
In practice, computer attacks against railway and implemented
signalling and remote control systems can lead to
devices
violation of functional safety and wrong-side failures.
$WWKHVDPHWLPHWKHQXPEHUDQGHǨHFWLYHQHVV
of cyber-attacks against industrial automated
control systems has been steadily increasing
year-on-year. Undoubtedly, under conditions of an
RSHQWHFKQRORJ\PDUNHWWKHFRQVROLGDWLRQRIHǨRUWV
of all interested parties is required. In this regard,
JSC NIIAS actively supports and participates in
LQLWLDWLYHVRI8,&EHLQJLWVDǫOLDWHGPHPEHUVXFK
as the Digital Platform and Cybersecurity Platform.
In our opinion an open exchange of experience
and best-practice is extremely important, as is
the joint development of an international railway
VROXWLRQLQWKHǩHOGRIPHWKRGRORJ\IRUF\EHUVHFXULW\
assessment of computer-based railway signalling
and remote control systems.
In addition, given the increasing digitalisation
of all business processes of the railway industry,
it is necessary to tackle the following key issue
– namely, how to divide vital and non-vital
systems safely. After all, the blending of vital
and non-vital functions leads to the impossibility
of proving the safety of the system (either from
the point-of-view of functional safety, or from the
point-of-view of cybersecurity). Here, we fully agree
with Dr Marc Antoni, Director of UIC Rail System,
who believes that LJV\VWHPVFDQEHFRPSOLFDWHG
EXWVKRXOGQRWEHFRPSOH[Lj
Of course, innovative technologies such as big
EFIM ROZENBERG
data, IoT and blockchain are likely to open up new graduated from the
prospects, and their approbation in the railway Moscow Institute of
industry is already under way. We believe that Railway Engineering in
it should be very cautious and based on further 1974 and began working in
the Design and Research
development of already existing systems, primarily
Department for Automatics
to increase the opportunities for comprehensive and Telemechanics of the
risk assessment, predictive maintenance of design bureau of the Main
infrastructure and rolling stock, improving the Directorate of Signalling
mobility of service personnel and changing the and Communications within
the Ministry of Railways.
priorities in technical planning service. However,
Since January 2008 Efim
it is necessary to clearly distinguish the purpose has been working as First
of the technologies – i.e. control command or Deputy Director General of
information action – and regulate their interaction JSC NIIAS and he is also the
in order to avoid reducing the safety of vital Chief Designer for Traffic
Safety on Russian railways.
control and command systems and to avoid
In 1983 Efim was awarded
creating new types and classes of vulnerabilities the academic degree of
for them when using cloud technologies. Without Candidate of Technical
DGGUHVVLQJWKLVLVVXHWKHHǨHFWLYHQHVVDQGHYHQ Sciences, and in 2005 Doctor
feasibility of implementing such technologies of Technical Sciences.
could be questioned.
75
IN-DEPTH FOCUS | SIGNALLING & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

ERTMS/ETCS on RFC6
Mediterranean Corridor

Rail Freight Corridor 6 (RFC6) aims to make

international rail freight transport more competitive
and attractive. For Global Railway Review, RFC6’s
Stefano Marcoccio (ERTMS Team Leader) and
Andrea Galluzzi (Managing Director), cover details of
the ERTMS/ETCS strategy along this important corridor.

W
ITHIN the nine initial corridors environmental externalities in terms of reduction
envisaged by EU Regulation of gas emissions and reduction of roads and
913/2010, Rail Freight Corridor 61 highways congestion. Since 1999 STEFANO
MARCOCCIO has worked in
(RFC6) is the most interconnected
the control and automation
corridor in Europe, since it is crossed by six ERTMS strategy along RFC6 field, configuring and carrying
other freight corridors. Otherwise known as The implementation of ETCS (European Train out the implementation of
the ‘Mediterranean Corridor’, it stretches from Control System) on corridor routes is one of the numerous Automatic Process
Almería–Valencia/Madrid–Zaragoza /Barcelona– fundamental goals that led to the creation of Control Systems in chemical
plants. He has been employed
Marseille–Lyon–Turin–Milan–Verona–Padua/ (5706WKH(XURSHDQ5DLO7UDǫ F0DQDJHPHQW
at RFI S.p.A since 2003 and is
Venice–Trieste/Koper–Ljubljana–Budapest–Záhony 6\VWHP5)&LVFRPPLWWHGWRIXOǩOOLQJWKH currently a Project Manager
– and is expected to become a major European LQWHURSHUDELOLW\FULWHULDGHǩQHGLQWKH'LUHFWLYH in the CCS Department. His
freight corridor, linking South-Western and Eastern 2008/57/EC. In particular, in order to comply with focus is following the ERTMS
EU countries. In fact, it represents a key access WKHFRQWUROFRPPDQGWHFKQLFDOVSHFLǩFDWLRQVIRU Level 2 Pilot Line, ERTMS L1
Limited Supervision at Swiss–
gateway to the Ukraine and therefore has the interoperability, RFC6 is currently deploying ETCS
Italian border lines and ERTMS
SRWHQWLDOWRGLYHUWSDUWRIWKH(XURSH$VLDWUDǫ F on its lines. L2 on the Milano–Chiasso
ǪRZVWKDWFXUUHQWO\WUDYHOE\VKLS7KHUHIRUHWKH line. In 2015 Stefano also
WUDǫ FGHYHORSPHQWDORQJ5)&PXVWDOVRWDNH RFC6 ERTMS Working Group became ERTMS Team Leader
DFFRXQWRIWKHVLJQLǩFDQWSRWHQWLDOLQFUHDVHLQWKH The ERTMS Committee was launched in 2007 for Rail Freight Corridor 6.

rail market share and consequent reduction of following the creation of the EEIG Corridor D.

globalrailwayreview.com
76

The initial mandate of ‘Creating the conditions
for the deployment and the seamless use of ETCS
(European Train Control System) on the Corridor’
KDYHEHHQIXOǩOOHGE\WKHPHPEHUVE\SURSRVLQJ
topics to be dealt with to ensure interoperability
of ETCS trains. In that respect, several Working
GLOBAL RAILWAY REVIEW | Volume 23, Issue 05
WKHDSSURSULDWHRUJDQLVDWLRQWRVXSSRUWWKHHǨRUW RFC6 is
at corridor level for the harmonisation of ERTMS approximately
technical and operational rules.
7,000km-long
Moreover, according to the feedback of railway
and the most
XQGHUWDNLQJVLWLVQHFHVVDU\WRVWXG\VLPSOLǩHG
and harmonised procedures for authorising the interconnected corridor
*URXSV:*VZHUHGHǩQHG7UDLQ&DWHJRULHV
Braking Curves, Change Requests, National Values
and Harmonization of Operating Rules. The most
important result was achieved by the Train
Categories WG that produced, in association with
Corridor C, a request for additional ITCs (International
Train Categories) for ‘other categories’ (Freight train
with G brake, Freight train with P brake). The request
was accepted by ERA (European Railway Agency)
during a workshop and now it is included in SRS
vehicles as far as ERTMS subsystem are concerned. in Europe, since it is
Finally, with the ERTMS breakthrough initiative crossed by six other
proposed by the European Commission that freight corridors
DLPVWRGHǩQHVKRUWWHUPDFKLHYHPHQWVDQGWKH
means to establish a reliable and stable ERTMS
system, it is pushing corridor organisations to
have a proper structure to deal with it.
ERTMS operational rules
RFC6 is approximately 7,000km-long and the
6\VWHP5HTXLUHPHQWV6SHFLǩFDWLRQ(7&6
The Regulation 913/2010 envisages, among
the responsibilities of RFC6, the development
and harmonisation of ERTMS along the
corridor. The deployment of the ERTMS along
the corridor clearly depends on national decisions
and negotiations with EC. On the other hand,
according to the experience gained in recent years,
it has been noted that the deployment of ERTMS can
bring problems related to the lack of harmonisation
EHWZHHQQHLJKERXULQJFRXQWULHVGXHWRGLǨHUHQW
DGRSWHGYHUVLRQVRI(5706DQGGLǨHUHQWWHFKQLFDO
and operational national rules that have to be
taken into account). The EEIG for RFC6 is therefore
© 2016 Mediterranean Corridor – RFC 6
@GlobalRailway
most interconnected corridor in Europe, since it is
crossed by six other freight corridors. It is expected
to become a major European freight corridor,
linking south-western and eastern EU countries,
providing a multimodal link to the ports of the
western Mediterranean with the centre of the EU.
As such the ERTMS operational rules will assume
a primary role and for this reason a dedicated
Working Group was created.
The WG shall begin by analysing the EU and ERA
GRFXPHQWWRDVFHUWDLQLIDQGKRZWKHUXOHVGHǩQHG
in it can be implemented by the infrastructure
managers and railway undertakings on the BELOW: RFC6
corridor, and under which conditions to implement Europe Map
77
IN-DEPTH FOCUS | SIGNALLING & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

ANDREA GALLUZZI
graduated in Mechanical
Engineering and worked for
a management consulting
company from 1997 to
2000. From 2000 to 2003
he worked for Alitalia as
Maintenance/Ground
operations Quality Auditor.
Since then he has worked
in various railway safety
roles at companies including them. Any incompatibility shall be highlighted and and Hungary and the overlapping L1 & L2 section
Ferrovie dello Stato, RFI,
Trenitalia and within the
Regional Transport System.
At the end of 2008 he was
appointed in Ferrovie dello
Stato holdings as Head of
Safety and Interoperability
within the FS Brussels
Representative office. Since
2013 Andrea has been
the Managing Director of
Rail Freight Corridor 6.
REFERENCES
1. www.railfreightcorridor 6.eu
clearly described. The main deliverable shall be
describing the harmonisation principles and the
related proposed procedures after consensus within
the WG.
This document shall be followed by the
description of these principles in each national
set of rules. Each document, rule, standard, rule
book etc. that should be created or amended to
incorporate the proposed principles and procedures
shall be outlined. Finally, a national implementation
guide shall be produced for each IM and RU
WRGHVFULEHWKHQDWLRQDOZRUNǪRZQHHGHGWR
integrate these creations and amendments in the
existing documentation.
ERTMS on RFC6 as a pioneer
RFC6 can also be considered as ‘ETCS Gym’ due to
GLǨHUHQWSLORWSURMHFWVVXFKDV/HYHO%DVHOLQH
on conventional lines in Italy (Milano Lambrate–
Treviglio), or the Level 1 International Section
EHWZHHQēULV]HQWS¬WHUDQG=DODFV¬E+XQJDU\
where it will be possible to test the dynamic
WUDQVLWLRQRIGLǨHUHQWQDWLRQDODSSOLFDWLRQV,QWKLV
regard ETCS represents an opportunity for railway
undertakings to use their own rolling stock and
provide open access, opening up competition
and potentially bringing prices at market level.
Interoperability
Until the deployment of ETCS, railway undertakings
have to change their locomotives every time they
cross a border otherwise they must equip these
locomotives with multiple expensive on-board
FRQWUROFRPPDQGV\VWHPV7KHǩUVWFKRLFHKDV
a negative impact on travel time and on rolling
stock management. The second one is expensive.
With ETCS, they will be able to use locomotives
that can run from origin to destination with a
single on-board control command system. This
will facilitate improved asset management, save
ēULV]HQWS¬WHUǁ%REDNPEHWZHHQ6ORYHQLD journey time and reduce costs.

Global Railway Review asked Stefano Marcoccio:

WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE FACING THE

RAIL INDUSTRY IN PROGRESSING WITH MODERN
SIGNALLING AND TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEMS?
“Regarding the implementation of ERTMS
in European Freight Corridors, the industry
faces the major challenge of achieving true
rail interoperability in the field of signalling.
The application of trackside ERTMS (Levels 1
and 2) is desirable for the industry to have a
flexible approach to system implementation
across different nations. The ERTMS specifications
have enabled custom-built systems to meet
national requirements, even in accordance with
the NSA’s safety regulations. The real challenge
is therefore to exploit the potential of ERTMS
flexibility and to maintain interoperability at
the same time. Therefore, maximum attention
should be given to the border lines where
dynamic transitions will be performed from one
network to another. These lines can be considered
the real interoperability test. Currently, several
corridor border lines have been equipped with
ERTMS and have showed positive results for
dynamic transitions.

globalrailwayreview.com
78
 EVENTS

EVENTS DIARY
Keeping you up to date with upcoming events in the global railway industry

03 Expo Ferroviara 2017

Date: 3–5 October
04 Harnessing
Digitalisation:
Big
Location: Milan, Italy Data in Rail
october Date: 4 October
Location: Munich, Germany

10 Elmia Nordic
Rail 2017
31 Intelligent Transport Conference
Date: 31 October
Location: London, UK
Date: 10–12 October
Location: Jönköping, Sweden

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Date: 21–23 November
Location: Brisbane, Australia

november

For more information about other industry events, or if you are interested in setting up a media partnership, go to:
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NOW

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79
INDUSTR Y PRODUCT NEWS

INDUSTRY PRODUCT NEWS

A selection of recent products and announcements
from the global railway industry
The greatest show yet

=Ÿşşúşɻ=şúƗȥžĔúɔúĭúîŰşęƥîÒŰęłĸ RAILWAY Interiors Expo heads to Prague,

ƠúîĔúŜŸíĭęîȦłĸǰdzɁǰǴgłƐúĶíúşDZǯǰǶȦŰł

ÒĸôɔşúĸúƑÒĭúƖŜúşŰŦ provide a vital showcase of all the latest and

FOR almost 100 years Furrer+Frey has been
ôúĭęƐúşęĸčúĭúîŰşęƥîÒŰęłĸŜşłħúîŰŦÒşłŸĸôŰĔúƑłşĭôȰ
from mega projects in the metros of Shanghai,
Beijing, Delhi, Lucknow (pictured), Lima and Seoul,
to bespoke solutions such as the bascule bridges
of New England or the swing bridges of Istanbul.
Furrer+Frey’s dynamic team tailor solutions to
local needs through innovation. Whether as design
contractors, material suppliers or consultants,
Furrer+Frey are the experts on all matters related
ŰłúĭúîŰşęƥîÒŰęłĸÒĸôşúĸúƑÒĭŦȫ
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Projects, explains the company’s innovation
strategy: “We pride ourselves on being thought-
leaders in our industry; any investment we make
in innovation needs to drive our business and the
industry forward. Our core strength lies in our
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collaboration projects with many universities
ęĸîĭŸôęĸčpƖČłşôȦęşĶęĸčĔÒĶȦ”ĔúČƥúĭô
and Cambridge. Part of this is funding an
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Noel Dolphin, Director of Furrer+Frey
GB explains further: “With all our projects
we have taken lessons and inspirations from
other industries to drive forward innovation
– not only on a technological level, but also
ęĸŰĔúƑÒƗɔƑúƑłşĪȦČłşĶŰúÒĶŦÒĸôÒŜŜşłÒîĔ
next-generation railcar interior developments.
Railcar manufacturers, operators and
designers will be able to take a close look
at all the very latest railcar interior designs,
technologies and components. Visitors
will be greeted by everything from seats to
ƦłłşęĸčȰîłĶŜłŦęŰúĶÒŰúşęÒĭŦȰŦÒĸęŰÒşƗŸĸęŰŦȰ
lighting; soft furnishings; infotainment
systems; and so much more. This year almost
100 exhibitors are expected from countries
including Canada, Japan and the USA – not to
mention a very strong European contingent.
The show, which was launched in 2004,
regularly attracts more than 2,000 attendees
from all over the world. As well as the highly
targeted exhibition, another big draw is
the carefully curated two-day, two-stream
conference, which, like the exhibition, is free-
to-attend. This year almost 50 speakers will
share their experiences and ideas – including
representatives from Fraunhofer FEP; Idesign
Sweden; NewRail; Ostende Vienne Orient
Experience; PriestmanGoode; SNCF; Spirit
Design; and Vienna University of Technology.
In addition, tangerine will treat attendees
to exclusive design workshops. Networking
ŜşłħúîŰŦȫɔJĸĸłƐÒŰęłĸęŦŦłĶŸîĔĶłşúŰĔÒĸ
opportunities continue into the evening of
technological development. It is an attitude
Tuesday 14 November 2017 with a drinks
ÒĸôÒŦŰÒŰúłČĶęĸôȫžĔúĪúƗČłşŰĔú¥ZĭęúŦęĸ
party open to all attendees.
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Register online now for your free entry
and complexity – both on capital and whole
pass: www.railwayinteriors-expo.com
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Accelerometers for rail applications

THEĔęčĔɁŦŜúúôşÒęĭŦúîŰłşĔÒŦŜşłčşúŦŦúôŦęčĸęƥîÒĸŰĭƗƑęŰĔŰĔúÒôôęŰęłĸ
łČłĸɁíłÒşôĶłĸęŰłşęĸčŦƗŦŰúĶŦŰłîĔúîĪŰĔúşúÒĭɁŰęĶúŦŰÒŰŸŦÒĸôŦÒČúŰƗɔłČ
trains, reduce maintenance costs, and improve passenger comfort.
ŠɔŠęúƠłŰşłĸęîŦȦJĸîȫŜşłƐęôúŦŜęúƠłúĭúîŰşęîȦe+e”ȦÒĸô%ÒîîúĭúşłĶúŰúşŦ
to meet custom requirements for these important rail applications. PCB®
has been designing and manufacturing accelerometers for 50 years and
îŸŦŰłĶęŦęĸčŦúĸŦłşŦŦŜúîęƥîÒĭĭƗČłşÒƐÒşęúŰƗłČşÒęĭÒŜŜĭęîÒŰęłĸŦŦęĸîúǰǸǸǷȫ
These accelerometers are used in a variety of rail applications including,
but not limited to, bogie and gearbox monitoring, wheelset monitoring,
şęôúɔŞŸÒĭęŰƗĶłĸęŰłşęĸčÒĸôíşÒĪęĸčŦƗŦŰúĶŦȫŠ® works alongside systems
integrators whose expertise is essential to understanding rail monitoring
programmes. Sensors have been developed to meet the continually changing
demands of the rail industry and environmental requirements, while being
in compliance with overall monitoring strategies.
PCB® provides custom and stock accelerometers with rugged
îłĸŦŰşŸîŰęłĸȦŦŸşčúŜşłŰúîŰęłĸȦƥĭŰúşęĸčȦîÒŦúęŦłĭÒŰęłĸȦĭłƑŦĶłĪúƠúşł
halogen cables, and TEDS IEEE 1451.4. Sensors are also available for modal
analysis and ride quality testing. Inside the train, cabin noise measurements
may be captured via a wide range of microphone products. In addition to
accelerometers and microphones, PCB® has a proven record of providing
vibration, pressure, force sensors, load cells, torque transducers and strain
sensors, for a wide range of measurements required for rail applications.

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Keeping Commerce on Track
Harsco Rail has been pioneering mechanized track maintenance for more than 100 years. Today, Harsco
still leads the way with practical, customer-driven solutions that set the standard for insight, innovation
and performance – keeping the wheels of commerce moving forward.

F O R F U R T H E R I N F O R M AT I O N , P L E A S E C O N TA C T: T +44 (0) 1773 539480 E UKSALES@HARSCO.COM WEB HARSCORAIL.COM

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HALFWAY TO THE FUTURE

You will find everything about the transport and infrastructure
of the future gathered in one place in October when the entire
industry meets at Elmia in Jönköping, Sweden.

VISIONS & TECHNOLOGY LIVE CRASH TESTS!

CONDITIONS & POLICIES OVER 350 SWEDISH AND
LOGISTICS & TRANSPORT INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITORS
DEALS AND PROJECTS

THREE FAIRS – ONE MEETING PLACE

ELMIA FUTURE TRANSPORT, ELMIA NORDIC RAIL & ELMIA NORDIC ROAD
JÖNKÖPING, 10 – 12 OCTOBER 2017

elmia.se/futuretransport
elmia.se/nordicrail
elmia.se/nordicroad