Northern Europe - Global Railway Review - Rail Industry News, … · 2014-05-30 · Northern Europe – a hotbed for development Norway’s population is increasing and the country’s

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NorthernEurope

Detailing the latest construction projects,investment plans and initiatives in

Denmark, Norway and Estonia

SignallingSupplementERTMS developments in the Czech Republic, plus a look at ERTMS harmonisation in Europe

Switches &CrossingsPerformanceElias Kassa, Professor for theDepartment of Civil & TransportEngineering, NTNU

Celebrating 20 years of working together in rail

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Northern Europe – ahotbed for development

Norway’s population is increasing and the country’s rail network needs

to keep up with growing transportation demands for both passengers

and freight. Not only is there a vital need for more capacity, but shorter

journey times, improved regularity and more frequent departures

are also essential.

Take Norway’s InterCity development for example, which includes

the construction of modern double-track lines between Oslo and the

towns of Lillehammer, Skien and Halden. The project has a total

investment cost of approximately €12.5 billion, and the aim is to

transform rail travel in eastern Norway by constructing double-tracks

plus various other constructions, including 21 stations. Some sections

are already under construction and the aim is to complete the entire

network by 2030 which will dramatically reduce travel times.

Elsewhere in Norway is the construction of the new Ulriken Tunnel

between Arna and Bergen as part of the Arna–Bergen double-track

project. The line is currently one of the most heavily trafficked sections

of single-track railway in Europe, with approximately 130 trains passing

daily. Work on this section is primarily intended to increase capacity, and

together with the overall national implementation of ERTMS in Norway,

the country’s railway administration is showing that it is committed to

developing rail transportation for a growing country.

Denmark is also investing heavily in railway infrastructure. The

Danish Government has allocated approximately €20 billion for large-

scale railway infrastructure projects over the coming decade, including

(among others): replacement of all signalling in the entire state railway

network with ERTMS by the end of 2021; installation of a catenary

system for electrical trains on approximately 550km of railway on four

separate sections of the Danish railway system by 2021; a new dual-

track railway from Copenhagen to Ringsted which will be Denmark’s

first railway for high-speed trains, scheduled to open in 2018; and

building of a railway line connecting to the future fixed link across the

Fehmarn Belt.

In a further step to develop the Scandinavian region and to open-

up the potential for wider rail connectivity, a project named

‘The Scandinavian 8 Million City’ has been established which is

looking to create a high-speed rail link that will physically connect

the eight million inhabitants who live in the corridor between Oslo

and Copenhagen.

With so many varied but significant development projects on-going

in Northern Europe, it is easy to see that this region will soon offer the

best rail services and connections in Europe. This edition of European

Railway Review begins with a comprehensive Northern Europe Profile

on page 14 – worth a read to bring yourself up-to-date with the latest

developments in Denmark, Norway and Estonia.

These topics and more formed the basis of European Railway

Review’s recent Scandinavian Rail Development 2014 conference held

in Oslo in April 2014, which brought together the heads of the region’s

railway operators and infrastructure owners into one room to discuss

and debate the future of rail in this area. The conference was a sold-out

success – for further information and details on how to purchase the

conference material including all speaker presentations, please visit

www.scandinavianraildevelopment.com/conference-material.

Another area of Europe under the spotlight in European Railway

Review’s next conference is Austria. Held on 11 June 2014 in Vienna,

Austrian Rail Development 2014 will focus on growing infrastructure,

developing passenger and freight services and highlighting the latest

signalling plans on the Austrian rail network. For more information

please visit www.austrianraildevelopment.com.

There is one standard theme currently running through the railways of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland andEstonia; that theme is development, writes Craig Waters, Editor of European Railway Review. Northern Europeis a current hotbed for investment and growth in the railway industry, and governments in Scandinavia arecontinuing to support the need for rail development with the allocation of funds in order to open-up the region’spotential. Construction of new tracks, establishing new cross-border links, and investing in new rolling stock areall elements of what can be seen in Scandinavia right now.

INTRODUCTION

European Railway ReviewV O L U M E 2 0 , I S S U E 3 , 2 0 1 4

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CONTENTS




3 INTRODUCTIONNorthern Europe – a hotbedfor developmentCraig Waters, Editor, European Railway Review

9 FOREWORDTime for change in Norwegian rail transportKetil Solvik-Olsen, Minister of Transport and Communications, Norway

11 NEWS

14 NORTHERN EUROPE PROFILE:DENMARKMajor railway projects in Denmark – shifting to a new approval processJesper Rasmussen, Deputy Director General,Trafikstyrelsen

18 NORTHERN EUROPE PROFILE:NORWAYThe new Ulriken Tunnel – drill and blast or TBM?Hans-Egil Larsen, Project Manager, Jernbaneverket

24 NORTHERN EUROPE PROFILE:SCANDINAVIAN REGIONThe Scandinavian 8 Million CityProject: Opening the door toEurope and the worldFloire Nathanael Daub, Project Manager for TheScandinavian 8 Million City Project

28 NORTHERN EUROPE PROFILE: ESTONIAInvestment and development is a priority in EstoniaAhti Asmann, Chairman of the Management Board, AS Eesti Radutee

Continued overleaf...

36 Looking towards 2030-2050 for anaffordable, automated, adaptable, resilientand high-capacity railwayLaurent Schmitt, CAPACITY4RAIL Coordinator, UIC

40 Track maintenance – rectification ofgeometrical deficienciesRicardo Alves, Track Engineer, REFER Engineering S.A.; and João Gonçalo MaiaVieira, Head of the Inspection and Diagnostics Department, REFER

44 Track stiffness optimisation to improve theperformance of switches and crossingsElias Kassa, Professor - Department of Civil and Transport Engineering,Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)

Harsco Rail is a global supplier forrailway track maintenance and con -struction with expertise in high qualityequipment, cutting-edge technology,and worldwide support. In the railwayindustry, our top priority is our cust -omers. Harsco is focusing on ourcustomers’ growth plans and optimisingour product and service offerings tomeet their needs. We are workingdiligently to supply railways across theworld with reliable solutions to keep ourcustomers’ tracks operating efficientlyand safely.

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OPTIMISING THE RESOURCES OF THE WORLD




48 POLANDWaiting for Pendolino trainsPiotr Malepszak, Director of the Railroads Office, PKP PLK S.A

51 FINANCEINEA: supporting rail projectsDirk Beckers, Executive Director, INEA

CONTENTSEDITORIAL BOARD:

Libor LochmanExecutive Director, Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER)

Robin GisbyManaging Director, Network OperationsNetwork Rail

Alex HynesManaging Director, Northern Rail

Alex VeitchEuropean Affairs and Sustainability ManagerRail Delivery Group

Andrew McNaughtonChief Engineer & Technical DirectorHigh Speed Two Ltd

Poul FrøsigSenior Adviser on Transportation, EU Interoperability, Signalling and Control Systems

RUSSELL PUBLISHING LTD

Ian RussellFounder

Josh RussellManaging Director

Craig WatersEditor

James AbbottTechnical Editor

Karen HutchinsonSenior Publications Assistant

Ben HollidaySales Director – Rail & Urban Transport Division

Tim DeanGroup Sales Director

Brian ClokeProduction Manager

Steve CrispFront Cover Artist

European Railway Review: Published by Russell Publishing Ltd, Court Lodge, Hogtrough Hill,Brasted, Kent, TN16 1NU, UK Tel: +44 (0) 1959 563311 Fax: +44 (0) 1959 563123Email: [email protected] Web: www.europeanrailwayreview.com

Russell Publishing Ltd is registered in England Number 2709148ISSN 1351 – 1599. Copyright rests with the publishers. All rights reserved. ©2014 Russell Publishing Limited

European Railway Review is published bi-monthly (six times per annum) and is available by subscription at £90.00 for a year which includes on-line membershipaccess. Back issue copies can be requested at £15.00 per copy.

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No responsibility can be accepted by Russell Publishing Limited, the editor, staff or anycontributors for action taken as a result of the information and other materials contained in ourpublications. Readers should take specific advice when dealing with specific situations. Inaddition, the views expressed in our publications by any contributor are not necessarily thoseof the editor, staff or Russell Publishing Ltd. As such, our publications are not intended toamount to advice on which reliance should be placed. We therefore disclaim all liability andresponsibility arising from any reliance placed on such materials by any reader, or by anyonewho may be informed of any of its contents. Published May 2014

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■ Project development and investments in Switzerland and Austria■ Level Crossing Safety Supplement with articles focusing on

Luxembourg, Ireland, Bulgaria and Portugal■ High-speed rail in Italy■ Rolling Stock Developments Supplement

Published July 2014. Don’t miss out on your copy – subscribe today. Visit www.europeanrailwayreview.com or contact Karen Hutchinson via email at

[email protected]

COMING UP IN THE NEXT ISSUE:

56 ERTMS: continuing to shapecompatibility and harmonisation in EuropeLibor Lochman and Jean-Baptiste Simonnet, Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER)

59 An openETCS@ITEA2 project updateKlaus-Rüdiger Hase, Project Leader – openETCS, DB Netz AG

65 The development of ERTMS in the Czech RepublicPetr Varadinov, Signalling Systems and ERTMS Applications Specialist Engineer, SŽDC

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As Minister of Transport for Norway, I am particularly concerned with

improving people’s daily travel – the journeys that people make

200+ times a year. We wish to improve commuting facilities around the

major cities of Norway, especially in Eastern Norway, where a large-

scale development of a new double-track is under way. The InterCity

development project includes railway lines between the cities of Skien,

Lillehammer and Halden through Oslo, as well as the new Ringerike Line

between Sandvika and Hønefoss. These are major investments and

projects that will take many years to carry out, but step one should be

completed no later than 2024. The InterCity development will reduce

travelling time and enable more departures. People will experience

commuting in a completely different way and it will facilitate the

expansion of suburban areas and commuter towns – more people

will be within the one hour limit of how far people are willing to

travel to get to work.

I want to develop railway services in areas where railway is the best

option. In addition to the commuter traffic in suburban areas, there is

also long-distance freight traffic. Here, maintenance is crucial. Many of

these lines are more than 100 years old and fail to meet modern

requirements. However, this has changed gradually over recent years.

The need for more investments in infrastructure has become more and

more evident, and allocations to both road and railway development

have increased. Most people will agree that the population growth in

the major cities require more funding of railways and other modes of

public transport. Therefore, our government will continue to increase

our spending, especially for maintenance of railways. We have

established an infrastructure fund to ensure more predictable future

spending on railways. Currently, the government spends approximately

NOK 30 billion, and spending is scheduled to reach NOK 100 billion

within five years.

Just as important as more money, is better organisation of

the sector. The Norwegian railway needs a reform, which is well on

its way, not just in the railway sector. One of the first things I did as

Minister was to set-up a project within the Ministry of Transport

and Communications to work on a major transport reform. The project

has four sub-projects – one for railways, one for roads, one for

funding and one which will look at a new scheme for the existing

National Transport Plan – a 10-year plan which is produced every

four years.

The aim of the railway reform is to make sure we have clear

objectives, an effective governance structure and a commercially viable

organisation of Norwegian railway services, in short: better train

services for the money we spend. What’s most important is that the

sector meets the needs of the passengers and freight industry.

Customer orientation is therefore a key element in the reform.

Competition is also important, not least when it comes to operation

of passenger transport. Fair completion makes the players more alert,

which will benefit passengers. The Norwegian Government eagerly

follows the EU debate and adoption of the Fourth Railway Package.

Let me emphasise that we do not want competition for the sake of

competition, but we want the positive effects of competition. We should

include competition in the areas of rail transport where it is natural to do

so. Hence, in the reform project we are now looking at which parts of the

railway value chain that are suitable for competition, how this

competition should be carried out and when it should be carried out.

I believe foreign railway companies in the future will have an interest

in operating passenger transport in Norway, but it requires a more solid

rail network than what we have today. We need to build new lines and

maintain the existing ones – a process currently underway.

In many debates, there is a tug of war between road and rail.

Our approach is to see the entire transport system in context and

acknowledge that the businesses and inhabitants of our country have

different needs. The transport system must be developed according to

these needs. Roads, railways, seaports and airports complement each

other. The clue is to find the right balance, which ensures that the system

runs as efficiently as possible for travellers. Some people live and work in

places where a car is the most rational mode of transport. For others it

will be a bicycle, or perhaps a combination of buses and trains.

Road development is important; we cannot escape this fact.

However, I am equally concerned with improving public transport into

the major cities, where railway services have its greatest advantage.

However, we have to do it in a smart way, making the most of each

Krone. This is a huge challenge, which is why we are in a hurry to get this

work well on its way.

As Minister of Transport and Communications for Norway, Ketil Solvik-Olsen is concerned with improvingpeople’s daily travel habits. For European Railway Review, Ketil explains that since the Norwegian ConservativeParty (Høyre) and the Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet) came to power in October 2013, a process has been inplace to make the country’s rail transport a better option both for passengers and freight, and that they havesignificantly increased the government funding of railways and started a process to modernise the organisationof the railway sector. Ketil writes that the Norwegian railway has a greater potential than what is utilised today,and something needs to be done about it.

FOREWORD




Time for changein Norwegian rail transport

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NEWS




Powerlines ‘on track’ in ScandinaviaPowerlines Group is the European specialist for the electrification ofmainline and mass transit. We provide customers with a service packageperfectly tailored to their needs, from the planning stage to installation,and to the subsequent maintenance tasks. The Group is one of the marketleaders in central Europe and has enhanced its position on theScandinavian market over the past few years.

In March 2014 the Mjölby–Nässjö overhead line construction projectwas brought to a very successful completion. The contract involved thelargest reconstruction of overhead line infrastructure in Sweden since1930. It was completed two weeks ahead of schedule without anydisruption of normal rail services. In this project, Powerlines was able toexhibit one of its greatest benefits – international teamwork. Newoverhead lines were erected on the first four construction stages for the80km double-track section between Mjölby and Nässjö, and on the finalstretch, the somewhat shorter (70km) single-track section betweenHässleholm and Astorp. The scope of the contract encompassed theerection of around 4,000 masts, the installation of over 800km of wire and250 sections of 15/15 catenary system.

Powerlines has also acquired additional orders with its 3rd-Rail. A

framework supply agreement has been made with the Powerlines Groupto provide Oslo’s underground with all the structural components requiredfor its 3rd rail system during the next six years. Powerlines’ 3rd-Rail is ahighly convincing solution due to the use of superior quality materials,guaranteed delivery schedules and long working lives. All raw materialsdeployed are 100% recyclable. Furthermore, the contract also includes anoption to carry out extension and installation work. Länsimetro contractedPowerlines with the extension of the underground infrastructure inHelsinki, and 30km of 3rd rail are to be delivered to Finland starting in January 2015.

Gerhard Ehringer, Powerlines’ CEO, explained: “We have been verysuccessful in Austria and Germany for many years and now have localteams operating in northern Europe. Our international involvement andextensive know-how in planning and installation enable us to guaranteethe successful completion of large-scale projects. We are able tocontribute experience gained in numerous European countries to developthe best possible solutions for our customers.”

www.powerlines-group.com

WSP becomes a shareholder of ORSWSP has taken the decision to invest in asmaller specialist consultancy organisation,Operations and Rolling Stock Consulting(ORS), with extensive experience andexpertise in railway business consultingthroughout the entire value chain, toaccelerate its penetration into the rail market.WSP’s investment in the company gives bothparties the opportunity to take advantage ofthe growing market and create a business thatcombines international rail businessexperience with in-depth technical expertise.

No other comparable private firmoperating in the European railway markettoday can offer a similar broad portfolio ofskills. For WSP, ORS Consulting represents anew departure in which business advice basedon expertise in rail systems is strengthenedconsiderably, while extending its range ofpurely technical and analytical services.

“Today we have a handful of associates,but we expect, with WSP’s support, to growto around 70 within 3-5 years,” says MatsÖnner – CEO of ORS. “Our people workwith the rail infrastructure engineeringexperts at WSP in Sweden, the UK, theMiddle East and around the world, whileadding to their portfolio genuine rolling stockas well as operations and maintenanceexpertise. Together, ORS and WSP present anew, strong, comprehensive rail offering tothe European markets as well as to theinternational markets. Our own experienceand network in combination with WSP’sglobal reach has already secured us ordersand enquiries from the Canada, Estonia, UK,Sweden, and the Middle East.”

“ORS has appointed staff with solid,broad experience in the railway markets,railway systems, operations and maintenanceand rolling stock,” says WSP Business AreaManager, Niklas Sörensson – the initiator ofthe acquisition of the company.

www.wspgroup.se

Rail in Denmark tobenefit from EU support

The European Union will co-finance with a combined total amount of over €50 million from the TEN-T Programme two studies to prepare Danish rail infrastructure developments. The studies, whichwill pave the way for the works, contribute to the realisation of the ‘Railway Axis Fehmarn Belt’(TEN-T Priority Project 20).

The first study, selected for just over €30 million of funding under the 2012 TEN-T Multi-AnnualCall, involves a new high-speed railway section between Copenhagen and Ringsted. The existing linethat runs via Roskilde is one of Denmark’s most heavily-used and strategically important routes, bothfor commuter traffic to/from Copenhagen as well as for freight traffic.

In 2012 a new dual-track line from Copenhagen to Ringsted via Køge was proposed, including anew station in the northern part of Køge (Køge Nord) and a maximum speed for passenger trains of250km/h. The study will specifically concentrate on the project management, detailed design forconstruction work and tender packages of this section.

The second study, also supported by the TEN-T Multi-Annual Programme, receives €19.7 millionto help look at solutions to increase the capacity of the Ringsted–Rødby section that connects to the Fehmarn Belt. Specifically, this study will look at project management, detailed design for theconstruction works as well as its tendering and awarding.

The studies and their results are expected to produce a significant impact on local planning andgive a boost to the economy and the overall transport efficiency of the entire Baltic Sea region.

Both initiatives will be monitored by the Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA) andare set to be completed by the end of 2015.

http://inea.ec.europa.eu/en/ten-t/ten-t_projects/ten-t_projects_by_country/denmark/2012-dk-20010-s.htm

http://inea.ec.europa.eu/en/ten-t/ten-t_projects/ten-t_projects_by_country/denmark/2012-dk-20013-s.htm

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NEWS



www.europeanrailwayreview.com12

Safety is paramount on the railways and thenew north-south UK high-speed rail networkwill very much build on the industry’s best-practice. To ensure the highest safety measuresare put in place as the project develops, HS2 Ltd is joining RSSB to benefit from the expertise on risk analysis, standards and research.

HS2 Ltd’s Technical Director, AndrewMcNaughton said: “This is another importantstep in the development of a world-class 21st century railway system that will bringhuge benefits for the country. HS2 will free-upmuch-needed space on our current network,shorten journey times between our biggestcities and deliver jobs and regenerationopportunities. It is one of our StrategicRequirements to design HS2 so that it willoperate at a level of safety regarded as world-leading not just when it opens but throughoutthe century to come. The know-how of ourcolleagues, through RSSB, will be invaluablein securing this.”

RSSB’s Chief Executive, Chris Fentonsaid: “2026 may seem like a long way off, butthe manner in which HS2’s infrastructureoperates tomorrow needs to be consideredtoday. Through RSSB, we can support HS2 indesigning in safety and efficiency into itsinterfaces by providing access to industry’sshared knowledge base, data, analysis,standards, research, develop ment and inno -

vation as well as involving HS2 Ltd in tacklingcross-industry challenges. I’m delighted towelcome HS2 Ltd into our membership.”

Becoming a member of RSSB means thatHS2 Ltd links up with Network Rail, the trainand freight operating companies, rolling stockleasing companies (ROSCOs) infrastructurecontractors and suppliers in contributing tocross-industry collaboration to improve therail system as a whole, as well as accessing ashared capacity to understand risk, guidestandards and manage research, developmentand innovation.

The company joins the rail industry bodyin the ‘infrastructure manager’ category and itwill be an opportunity to determine how thenew rail link will work in practice whiledesigning in critical characteristics such as safety.

HS2 Ltd is the company responsible fordeveloping and promoting the UK’s new high-speed rail network. Its current projectionsuggests construction of the London-Birmingham section could begin in 2017, withthe route opening towards the end of 2026.Rail industry leaders see HS2 as a crucialcontribution to increasing capacity for therailway and a long-term investment inmodernising the nation’s transport system.

www.rssb.co.ukwww.hs2.org.uk

HS2 will free-up much-needed space on the UK’s current rail network

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COMLAB’s multi-band, multi-operatorrepeater system

Kapsch grantedapproval for thefirst GSM-Rsystem in PolandThe President of the Polish Office of RailTransportation (UTK – Urzędu TransportuKolejowego) has granted the approval for theoperation of the GSM-R system implemented byKapsch CarrierCom on route E30 on the BielawaDolna– Węgliniec–Legnica route.

The authorisation by UTK recognises (for thefirst time in Europe) that the implementation ofthe GSM-R system has been completed incompliance with the new Technical Specifica -tions for Interoperability (TSI) for the Control-Command and Signalling Subsystem (CCS).

The project completed by Kapsch wasofficially referred to as ‘Modernisation of railwayroute E30, Phase 2. Pilot Implementation ofERTMS/ETCS & ERTMS/GSM-R in Poland onstretch Legnica–Wegliniec–Bielawa Dolna’. It comprised the following services: design;construction; equipment delivery; launch; funct -ional configuration; testing and certification ofERTMS/GSM-R infra structure for the purpose of railway radio transmission; and ETCS Level 2.

www.kapschcarrier.com

EU funding to help eliminate rail bottlenecks in FinlandThe European Union will support with €12.8 million from the TEN-T Programme a projectaddressing one of the worst bottlenecks on the Finnish rail network. The project, selectedunder the 2012 TEN-T Annual Programme, will improve the railway line between the Finnishcities of Ylivieska and Oulu and includes construction of a new double-track line betweenRuha and Lapua. It is part of the broader Seinäjoki–Oulu project that aims to improve the mainrailway connection between the southern and northern parts of the country.

The project consists of upgrading tracks, bridges, rail yards and the elimination of levelcrossings. Upon completion, the benefits will include greater capacity, reduced journey times,an increased level of service and improved competitiveness of the railway sector overall.

The initiative will be monitored by the Innovation and Networks Executive Agency(INEA) and is set to be completed by the end of December 2015.

http://inea.ec.europa.eu/en/ten-t/ten-t_projects/ten-t_projects_by_country/finland/2012-fi-91036-p.htm

HS2 Ltd joins rail industry body

COMLAB offers a multi-band, multi-operatorrepeater system which has an off-air and fibre optic repeater in the same system. Not only does itserve the voice and data services for passengers, but it also provides security radio in case of an emergency.Safe and reliable communications is guaranteedwithin its entire range of operation for TETRA,TETRAPOL, DAB, GSM-R, GSM, UMTS, LTE andWi-Fi. COMLAB has considerable experience indeveloping, installing and maintaining its ownproducts and applications and in doing so achievingthe highest technical standards. Both analog anddigital systems are available for all frequency bandsand their system planning guarantees for an optimaltransmission. The tunnel radio system is available as asingle-band, extendable single-band or multi-bandsolution for up to 10 radio services. Operators areintegrated within the same repeater for the multi-bandsystems, frequency bands for the authorities fororganisation, rescue and safety or the mobile radio. In such instances the flexibility is available toindividually adapt all of the bands to the radionetwork planning. Therefore, the tunnel radio systemscan be integrated into the outside networks bysimultaneously avoiding inter ference and this can beachieved in an optimised way regarding handovers.

www.comlab.ch

NEWS




EVENTSAustrian RailDevelopment 201411 June 2014Location: Vienna, AustriaEmail: [email protected]: www.austrianraildevelopment.com

InnoTrans 201423-26 September 2014Location: Berlin, GermanyEmail: [email protected]: www.innotrans.de

Exporail Russia 201428-30 October 2014Location: Moscow, RussiaEmail: [email protected]: www.exporailrussia.com

If you have a diary event you wish to publicise, send details to Martine Shirtcliff at:

[email protected]

Siemensautomates high-speed rail route inNorthern SpainWorking as part of a consortium with Thales,Siemens is to supply the signal and controltechnology for a 50km-long section of the high-speed rail route between León and Asturias, asordered by the Spanish administrator companyAdministrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias(ADIF). The contract encompasses installationof the train protection systems, the centralcontrol technology, the communication andvideo monitoring technology and maintenanceof these systems.

The route section known as ‘Variante dePajares’ runs from La Robla to Pola de Lena inthe north of the country, and forms part of the120km-long high-speed line linking León and Asturias. The contract covers the delivery of train protection systems, the fixedtelecommunications systems, the CentralisedTraffic Control, auxiliary systems and the accesscontrol and video surveillance systems.

Installation of the train protection systemswill take place in two phases: the first phaseprovides for commercial commissioning withthe ASFA (Anuncio de Señales y

Frenado Automático) train protectionsystem provided by Siemens. Phase two of theproject will see the installation of the Thales-supplied ERTMS (European Rail TrafficManagement System) Level 2, which enablestrains to operate at speeds up to 350km/h.

www.siemens.com/mobility-logistics

Bombardier Transportation has starteddelivering its innovative BOMBARDIERTRAXX diesel multi-engine locomotives. Oneof the first customers, Südostbayernbahn(SOB), presented the locomotive on the SOBpremises in Mühldorf, Germany.

The new locomotive boasts an overallperformance of 2,252 kW and a top speed of160km/h. It meets the EU emission standardlevel IIIB and is fuel-efficient and quiet. A special feature makes all this possible: thelocomotive’s multi-engine concept of four

diesel engines with a performance of 563 kWeach. The diesel engines can be switched on andoff individually as required so the locomotiveonly uses the energy it actually needs.

The locomotives will bolster SOB’s fleet,operating on its rail network from the middle of2014. They will primarily pull the long double-deck trains on the mainline between Simbachand Munich, in southeast Bavaria.

BOMBARDIER and TRAXX are trademarks ofBombardier Inc. or its subsidiaries.

www.bombardier.com

A Bombardier TRAXX diesel multi-engine loco for Südostbayernbahn in Germany

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Hitachi Rail Europe gettingready for InnoTransWith only a few months to go, firms around theglobe are getting ready for the 2014 InnoTransexhibition in Berlin, Germany. Since the lastInnoTrans show, Hitachi Rail Europe hascelebrated tremendous successes in the UK –the contract win of an additional 30 trains for the Intercity Express Programme (IEP)brought the total number of trains to bemanufactured to 122, and all finance for theIEP was successfully raised. Construction ofHitachi’s new train factory in the north east of England is progressing well and the number of British and European suppliers toHitachi Rail is continuously growing.

At InnoTrans 2014, the companyshowcase will present Hitachi’s latestinnovations in the rail industry, as well as thebreadth of its product portfolio. At the heart ofthe Hitachi Rail stand, the new AT200 trainwill be presented, giving visitors a flavour ofthe latest travel experience in regional orsuburban commuting. In full life-size, the train

mock-up will focus on the train interiors,which are designed around passenger needsand can include features such as power points,on-board Wi-Fi and ample luggage space.

Although rolling stock is at the heart of thepassenger experience, the signalling andcommunications technology are what makesfaster travel a reality. At InnoTrans 2014,Hitachi Rail will demonstrate its EuropeanTrain Control System (ETCS) andCommunication Based Train Control (CBTC)systems. The OnBoard-Centered CBTC canoffer efficient metro operational facilities withdriverless capability, which is based on thecompany’s technology behind the control for97% of traffic in the Tokyo metro area. Nowadapted for the UK network, the technologywill be presented to the global rail industry at InnoTrans.

Visit the Hitachi Rail stand at InnoTrans inHall 4.2, stand no 304

www.hitachirail-eu.com

Bombardier delivers TRAXX locosto Südostbayernbahn in Germany

Major railwayprojects in Denmark – shifting to a new approval process

Among the large-scale railway projects are:

■ The Signalling Programme – replacement of all signalling in the

entire state railway network with ERTMS by the end of 2021

■ Electrification Programme – installation of a catenary system for

electrical trains on approximately 550km of railway on four separate

sections of the Danish railway system by 2021

■ A new dual-track railway from Copenhagen to Ringsted which will

be Denmark’s first railway for high-speed trains, scheduled to

open in 2018

■ Building of a railway line connecting to the future fixed link across

the Fehmarn Belt to be opened in 2021. The project includes

building of double-tracks, electrification and signalling and

upgrading speeds from 160km/h to 200km/h

■ The Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link providing a 17.6km-long immersed

tunnel for combined rail and road traffic connecting Denmark and

Germany, scheduled to open in 2021

■ A new Metro Line – the Cityring circle line will be a 15km

underground railway under central Copenhagen and will have

17 underground stations, scheduled to open in 2018

■ Upgrading of the core railway lines to reduce the travel time

between the major cities in Denmark, scheduled to be finished

by 2025

Denmark is investing heavily in railway infrastructure. The Danish Government has decided to allocateapproximately €20 billion for railway infrastructure in the coming decade. Jesper Rasmussen, Deputy DirectorGeneral, Trafikstyrelsen – Danish Transport Authority, explains more.

NORTHERN EUROPE PROFILE: DENMARK




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■ New light-rail systems opening in Aarhus in

2017 and in Copenhagen in 2020 – and

more are being planned.

EU legislation applies on all projectsThe EU legislation applies to most of these

projects, but even when it does not the Danish

national regulations are based on the same

principles and processes as the EU legislation.

The massive investments combined with

the fact that all the projects have to be

approved according to the new EU legisla tion

is challenging Trafikstyrelsen (the Danish

Transport Authority). In order to be able to deal

with this new approach, The Danish Transport

Authority has restructured the approval process

over the last couple of years, we have changed

the way in which we engage in projects, and we

have focused on upgrading and developing

skills of employees.

The common objective of our initiatives is to

ensure an effective and flexible approval

process while maintaining the high Danish

railway safety level. Projects should not be delayed due to internal

shortcomings or unclear processes.

Most of the infrastructure projects must comply with the TSIs which

have to be confirmed by a Notified Body (NoBo). As regards the safe

integration of projects, the Danish approval process follows the

Common Safety Methods on risk evaluation and assessment in

accordance with the EU-legislation.

Independent assessment of all projectsThe assessment body should always be appointed in the early stages of


A large-scale electrification programme is on-going in Denmark to install catenary onapproximately 550km of railway on four separate sections

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a project, enabling the assessor to closely follow the project from the

design phases and until termination. The close cooperation between

the assessor and the project ensures that technical solutions can be

evaluated quickly and that most problems can be solved up-front. In this

way the assessor can support the project in keeping time schedules,

thus reducing project risks in authority approvals.

The Danish Transport Authority is no longer performing NoBo or

assessment tasks. The Authority will still authorise placing into service

(APIS), but the core tasks of the authority change. One of the most

important new tasks is approval of the assessor’s competences and

independence and, not least, supervising that the assessor continuously

performs their job satisfactorily.

Supervision of assessors in multi-annual projects is a relatively new

authority task. Procedures and guidelines for assessor supervision

are established for smaller projects, while it is tailor-made for large

projects. The Danish Transport Authority supervises the assessor

throughout the project to ensure that the assessor’s competences

continue to match project needs. Besides ensuring a high safety level,

it is the objective that final approvals are not being delayed due to

shortcomings in the assessment.

The Danish Transport Authority uses a risk-based approach when

supervising assessors. The focus is usually on sub-systems or interfaces

that are complicated, new or in other ways pose particular challenges

for the assessor and the project. We are now developing supervising

strategies and plans for all major infrastructure projects in order to make

the supervision as effective and timely as possible.

A big challenge in multi-annual projects is to ensure continuity

in both assessment and assessment supervision. Over a period of

10 years, personnel and management can change several times.

Assessment and authority supervision must, in these cases, be

enshrined in a kind of quality system which keeps track with all

processes and unresolved issues.

New customised approval process The large projects are often complicated

involving interfaces between different

sub-systems and between old and new

infrastructures. This challenges the appr-

oval process.

In principle, the applicant could wait

years until completion of the project, then

finalise the assessor risk evaluation and apply

for APIS. However, this would be a very risky

process. In order to reduce project risks, the

Danish Transport Authority has introduced a

number of optional measures as supple -

ments to the final mandatory approvals.

These options are: Authority Approval

Process Plans, ‘executive meetings’, early

dialogues and ‘acceptances’.

The Danish Transport Authority recomm -

ends all major long-term projects to develop

an Authority Approval Process Plan. The

purpose is to ensure a common under -

standing of the way the approval process is

structured – the time-line, the

number of acceptances and appr -

ovals needed, and how the dialogue

between the project and the

Approval Authority is organised.

The AAPP is customised to acc -

ommo date the specific needs of

each project.

The Danish Transport Authority

offers regular ‘executive meetings’

where the top management from the

applicant and the authority meet to

discuss general project progress and

problems in the authority process.

These meetings facilitate mutual

trust-building and understanding

and they can solve problems and misunderstandings further down in

the project organisation. Sometimes the assessor participates in these

meetings. It is for the applicant to decide.

The Authority engages in a continuous and close dialogue with

all major projects from the very beginning of the project planning.

The dialogue involves not only the project as such, but also the assessor,

suppliers, other relevant public or foreign authorities. Early dialogue has

been applied in all major projects. Among other things, the early

dialogue has led to important early conclusions on rule application and

interpretation in projects – thus reducing project risks of the applicant.

An ‘acceptance’ is the Authority’s statement that the project has

handled the issue at hand satisfactorily so far, although the totality of

the project remains to be seen. Issues subject to an ‘acceptance’ can

be safety plans or process documents, for example. The use of

acceptances thus provides the project with an opportunity to get the





The building of dual-tracks and new lines are major projects in Denmark

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From 21 May 2015 all assessors on

large-scaleinfrastructure

projects in Denmarkshall be accredited

by the nationalaccreditation body, DANAK





Authority’s comments on safety critical issues throughout the project. In

this way, acceptances contribute to minimising the risk of project delays

when applying for the final APIS.

All these activities are liable to normal authority fees by the hour. In

principle, the projects decide how much they want to ‘invest’ in such

activities, i.e. how many acceptances are needed or how often

executive meetings are to take place. In practice, the planning of

the approval process is conceived in close cooperation between the

projects and the Danish Transport Authority.

New skills needed within the Danish Transport AuthorityThe restructuring of the approval process of railway infrastructure

projects triggers a need for changing the skills and competences of

Authority staff. A deep expert knowledge of technical systems and

sub-systems are no longer as essential as they once were. Instead, skills

in process management and profound understanding of EU legislation

are crucial for a continuous and smooth progression of the project

approval. In order to keep up with developments in legislation and

practice, much effort has been put into training and developing skills of

employees. Also, national regulations, procedures and guidelines have

been developed in order to support the new approval scheme – and

these efforts are on-going.

Immature market for assessorsOne of the biggest challenges of the new EU-regulation is the role and

function of the assessors. Evidently, this market is new and yet imma -

ture. There are few actors and the function of the assessors is still not

well established.

It is our intention to support the maturing of the assessor

market as much as possible. All customers (the applicants) should

have clear expectations on what they get when contracting with

an assessor.

From 21 May 2015 all assessors on large-scale infrastructure

projects in Denmark shall be accredited by the national accreditation

body, DANAK. Furthermore, we have established an Assessor Forum

for mutual learning among assessors. Finally, we are trying to identify

and communicate ‘good practice’ assessor examples to the entire

sector in seminars and conferences.

Approval of minor projectsMajor projects will always require an APIS. Today, all railway projects

comprising significant changes need an approval from the Danish

Transport Authority, while projects comprising insignificant changes

are handled by the infrastructure managers themselves. The ambition of

the Danish Transport Authority is that only major projects should

be approved by the Authority, while minor projects should be handled

by infrastructure managers in accordance with their safety manage-

ment systems.

Jesper Rasmussen has an M.sc. and a Ph.D in SocialSciences. Between 1994 and 2007 he was Head ofDivision and Deputy Director-General for the Agency of Trade and Industry in the Ministry of Enterprise. Since 2007, Jesper has been Deputy Director General ofTrafikstyrelsen (the Danish Transport Authority) withinthe Ministry of Transport and is responsible for railwaysafety and aviation safety departments.

The new Cityring circle line 15km-long underground railway beneath central Copenhagen is scheduled to open in 2018

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More about the projectEssentially, the laying of double-tracks between Arna and Bergen

comprises two projects: a new tunnel between Arna and Fløen, and a

double-track from Fløen to Bergen with a new signalling and

interlocking system. The new interlocking system at the station in

Bergen will also have the capacity to control the station in Arna.

In addition, the existing tunnel tube will be upgraded when the new

tunnel is completed, and Arna station will be modified and upgraded.

The existing tunnel was completed in 1964. The Ulriken Tunnel is

currently one of the most heavily trafficked sections of single-track line

in Europe1. The project came about mainly because the current section

between Arna and Bergen is a bottleneck that limits the capacity for

passenger and goods traffic on the Bergen Line.

The travel time will not be significantly reduced as a result of the

new tunnel. It is primarily intended to increase capacity, so that

passengers will have more departures to choose from and will thereby

NORTHERN EUROPE PROFILE: NORWAY




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The new UlrikenTunnel – drill andblast or TBM?The line between Arna and Bergen in Norway is one of the most heavily trafficked sections of single-track railwayin Europe, with approximately 130 trains passing daily. This section is a bottleneck for rail traffic to and from thestation and freight terminal in Bergen. The Norwegian National Rail Administration (Jernbaneverket) is currentlycarrying out a competitive tender procedure for the construction of the new Ulriken Tunnel between Arna andBergen as part of the Arna–Bergen double-track project. Two alternative construction methods are envisaged:conventional drilling and blasting or the use of a tunnel boring machine (TBM). On the closing date for tenders atthe end of February 2014, tenders had been received based on both methods, and the choice of method will bedecided during the negotiations with the contractors. It is estimated that the total investment in the project willbe NOK 3 420 million. Hans-Egil Larsen, Project Manager at Jernbaneverket provides more details.

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have more flexible public transport services. The train takes eight

minutes between the two stations – which is 15 minutes less than the

journey would take by car or bus. The frequency of departures will be

increased from two to four per hour, so that travellers will enjoy metro

frequency between Arna and Bergen. In addition, having two tunnel

bores reduces the vulnerability associated with only having one.

For goods traffic, the average time saved will be 10 minutes and

the trains will also be more punctual. This will be possible since the

goods trains will depart from a separate track. This could save as

much as 30 minutes on some goods train departures.

Main conceptThe main concept for the double-track between Arna and Bergen is

as follows:

■ Upgrading of the tracks and station area in Arna

■ A new tunnel parallel to the existing Ulriken Tunnel

■ A new passing loop inside the tunnel near the end of the tunnel

on the Arna side

■ Upgrading of the existing Ulriken Tunnel as regards fire, escape and

rescue considerations

■ A new double-track railway bridge in Fløen

■ Development of the station area, including a separate track for

goods trains

■ A new signalling and interlocking system for the whole section.

Arna station will be modified and will have two tracks to a 350m-long

platform for regional trains, and a 175m-long platform for local trains.

The pedestrian underpasses will be altered and widened, and new

ramps and new stairs will lead from the underpasses to the station and

the platforms. Alterations will also be made to the station building

among other things to meet universal design requirements.

The existing tunnel through Mount Ulriken has no evacuation

routes. A second tunnel bore will substantially increase safety and cross

passages will be established every 500m thereby enabling evacuation

through either tunnel bore. The new tunnel

will be built parallel to and south of the

existing tunnel. From the Arna side, the first

1,000m of tunnel in the direction of Bergen

will be an extension of two tracks at Arna

station: the main track eastward and the dead-

end track for local trains. Connections will be

established between these tracks and the

existing tunnel.

On the Fløen side, the project includes

a new double-track bridge across

Møllendalsveien road. Changes to the tracks

means that alterations will also have to be made to the signalling

system. When the development is completed, the signalling system for

Bergen station will include the whole section to Arna.

More about the new Ulriken TunnelThe tunnel contract includes two open-air zones and one tunnel

zone. The open-air zones are located in Arna and Fløen, respectively,

with the new railway tunnel running between the two open-air zones.

The open-air zone in Arna includes a rig area and a parking area.

Barracks, office rig, a cleaning plant, etc. will be located in the rig


The tunnelcontract includes

two open-airzones and one

tunnel zone

area, and it will include the interface

and portal of the construction tunnel.

Temporary parking spaces for passengers

will also be established here.

The Storelva River runs through a

culvert under the station area and this

culvert will be extended and upgraded. In

the cutting for the new railway tunnel, the

line will cross under the E16 highway and

the FV237 county road, and a concrete

culvert will be constructed under these

roads. Road traffic will have to be re-routed

during several phases of the construction

work and other local road adjustments will be required.

The open-air zone in Fløen consists of several rig areas, with access

to the main rig area from Møllendalsveien road. From the main rig area,

a construction tunnel will be built to provide access to the railway

tunnel, and the contractor will have to establish a plant for cleaning the

water from the tunnelling process. Office rigs for the contractor and

the client will also be built on this side of the tunnel.

In Fløen, a new railway bridge will be built adjacent to the existing

bridge. Later, when the new bridge and tunnel have been put into use,

the existing bridge will be demolished and replaced by a new one.

The contract comprises an approximately 7,800m-long rail tunnel

between the open-air zones, approximately 800m of which will have

two tracks (three tracks in some places) with a single track through the

rest of the tunnel.

The tunnel will have two diagonal tunnels for tracks to the existing

tunnel. In addition, there will be 16 cross passages between the new

and the existing Ulriken Tunnel. Technical buildings will be established

in conn ection with nine of these cross passages. Each cross passage will

be designed with two concrete walls with doors, so that they form a

sluice room between the new and the existing tunnel.

The railway tunnels will typically have the following cross sections:

■ Single-track tunnel: approximately 81m2 (drill and blast)

■ Double-track tunnel: approximately 140-300m2.

Jernbaneverket has invited offers for the use of TBM as an alternative to

conventional tunnelling (blasting). The theoretical tunnel cross-section

will have a diameter of approximately 8.74m and the typical cross

section will be approximately 60m2. The length of the TBM section will





In Fløen, a new railway bridge will be built for the new parallel tunnel tube. The new Ulriken Tunnel to the right.

The UlrikenTunnel is currently

one of the mostheavily trafficked

sections of single-track line in Europe

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be approximately 6,770m. The plan is for a

one-bore tunnel to be constructed using a TBM

from the Fløen side. This is in order to minimise

the transport distance for rock that may be

dumped in Store Lungegårdsvann Lake, which is

located nearby.

When subsequent works have been completed

and cable conduits have been installed, the tunnel

will be handed over to the railway-technical

contract for superstructure and electrical works.

Fløen has some historical buildings that will

have been dismantled in advance and these

will need to be rebuilt under a separate contract

once the new Ulriken Tunnel has been completed.

Main worksThe scope of the project covers the following

main works:

ArnaWidening of the water culvert in Storelva River will

be needed, along with house demolitions, a new

technical building, and the upgrading of tracks,

station area and station building.

TunnelA new tunnel bore, parallel to the existing Ulriken Tunnel plus a new

portal and re-routing of roads will be needed, along with nine technical

buildings in the cross passages, 32 fire walls in cross passages, and the

upgrading of the existing Ulriken Tunnel.

FløenConstruction of a new double-track railway bridge in Fløen is needed,


Arna station will be upgraded and a new passage loop constructed at the beginning of the newtunnel tube. The new Ulriken Tunnel to the left.

along with the dismantling/demolition of houses in Fløen plus a new

double-track to Bergen station, including a new signalling system.

ChallengesThe biggest challenge for the project is that it is Norway’s first

competitive tender for the construction of a transport tunnel with the

option of using a TBM. We have therefore not had many

corresponding reference projects to help us.

Another factor that creates a challenging framework for

implementation of the project is that, as far as possible, ordinary train

operations must continue as normal throughout the production phase.

The construction work will take place close to existing infrastructure,

and the section is heavily trafficked.

This will entail limitations and planning, particularly as regards

the following:

■ Tunnel construction with portals, cross-overs and points

■ Construction of a new railway bridge

■ Upgrading of the existing tunnel

■ Widening of the electrical culvert under Arna station.

In the event that conventional tunnelling is chosen, restrictions will apply

as regards blasting times and maximum tremors. The plan is to have a

maximum of three blasting windows for the tunnel to take account of

train operations in the nearby existing tunnel. Inspections must also be

carried out of the existing tunnel after each blast. Regardless of

which construction method is chosen, some parts of the tunnel will have

to be drilled and blasted, so that these restrictions will have to be

complied with.

Storelva in Arna is a salmon river and this must be taken into

account when work is carried out on extending the electrical

culvert. The flood situation in this area must also be considered when

planning the work.

We also face a technical challenge when building the passing loop

inside the mountain on the Arna side.

Award criteriaJernbaneverket will award the contract to the tenderer with the

financially most favourable tender. The evaluation of tenders will be

based on the following criteria and relative weighting:

■ The tender prices – 90%

■ Assignment organisation – 4%

■ Assignment implementation – 4%

■ Quality, HSWE and the natural environment – 2%.

A decision on the choice of method and contractor is expected by the

end of April 2014. However, regardless of which solution is chosen in

the end, it is good for Jernbaneverket to gain experience of how drill

and blast construction compares with the use of a TBM.

Reference1. Network statement.





Chief Engineer Knut Karevoll from Jernbaneverket in front of a TMB during an inspection visit to Grenoble in summer 2013

Hans-Egil Larsen has a technical and commercial collegeeducation. He has more than 15 years of experience of thetunnelling sector and, since Novermber 2012, has servedas Jernbaneverket’s Project Manager for the constructionof a double-track between Arna and Bergen, including thenew Ulriken Tunnel.

Nordic Rail has been established since 1995; as the show organiser, what was your aim in creating this event for the rail industry?The purpose of Nordic Rail was to create a platform for companies,

organisations and people in the industry to come together and talk

about the current situation and prospects for the railways. Railway-

related issues are often complex and solving them calls for a concerted

joint effort from everyone involved.

The aim has always been to highlight the railway, strengthen its

competitiveness and prompt a discussion about what the future holds.

I think we have achieved this latter in particular, and that’s also why

we’re the leading railway fair in the Nordic region.

For those who have never visited Nordic Rail, why should they attend and what can they expect to see and learn?I think they should come to Nordic Rail for three main reasons. Firstly

and most importantly, Nordic Rail is a trade fair for future business. This

is because a large part of the fair is about finding not only new contacts,

but also new business opportunities.

Secondly, the fair is a great chance to find out about all the

latest products and innovations in the industry. We always strive to

show the latest leading-edge technology for safer, more sustainable

railway transport.

The third reason people should attend is all our interesting

seminars, which have always been an important and much-appreciated

part of the Elmia Nordic Rail. It’s tremendously exciting to follow the

latest discussions about the future of the railway, and if you want to

learn something new the seminars are definitely the place to be.

For supplier companies who want to target the Nordicmarket, who will they meet if they exhibit at Nordic Rail?Well, the question is more, who will they not meet? Nordic Rail attracts

virtually everyone involved in the development of the railway, from

decision-makers and experts to vehicle manufacturers and suppliers.

I’m very proud of this mixture, and I know that a varied attendance from

different parts of the industry lays a strong foundation for doing

business in the Nordic railway industry.

Having said that, I must stress that not only is it Nordic companies

and organisations that come to Nordic Rail – we generally have

exhibitors from around 40 countries, and 40% of the visitors are

international. So yes, the fair does focus on the railway in the Nordic

region, but it is very much an international fair.

With the major investments planned throughout the Nordic region, what opportunities are there for visiting companies?Some €58 billion is being invested in infrastructure in Sweden alone in

the next 10 years, and the figures are roughly the same in Norway and

Denmark. This means there are tremendous opportunities for

companies visiting Nordic Rail.

Above all I can see great opportunities in operation and

maintenance of the Swedish railway, where the government is investing

some €9.5 billion over 10 years – considerably more than has previously

been spent.

At the same time there are several interesting new projects in the

pipeline. Personally, I think it will be fascinating to see the intended main

lines emerge on the Stockholm–Gothenburg and Stockholm–Malmö

stretches. The government has already decided to build two sections for

high-speed trains, and that decision obviously entails great future

opportunities for Swedish and foreign companies alike.

The high-speed lines are just one of several major railway projects

in Sweden, and our neighbour Denmark is planning to modernise part

of its rail network for around €3.8 billion. That too is an exciting project

which mainly aims to link Denmark together and to electrify several

sections of railway.

Since 1995, Nordic Rail has established itself as a leading trade fair in Scandinavia. What new elements can we expect to see at the next event?We are continuing to focus on and develop last year’s success of

matchmaking for authorities, contractors and subcontractors. It was a

highly successful concept and a great opportunity for everyone to find

new business opportunities.

In conjunction with Nordic Rail, we are also organising Nordic

Road for the first time. Nordic Road is a unique trade fair in the

Nordic region focusing on roads, road signs and other systems and

equipment. It’s a concept I firmly believe in, and a nice complement to

Nordic Rail and our third trade fair, Future Transport, which is a joint fair

for all modes of transport.

On 6-8 October 2015, Nordic Rail will once again invite therailway industry to Jönköping in Sweden for an opportunity forcompanies, organisations and industry peers to discuss whatthe future holds for rail in Scandinavia. In an exclusive interviewfor European Railway Review, Jörgen Nyström, BusinessSector Manager for Elmia Nordic Rail, explains what visitors canexpect to gain from the next event.




INTERVIEW SPOTLIGHT

www.elmia.se/nordicrail

The Scandinavian 8 Million City Project:

Opening the door toEurope and the world

Sustaining Scandinavian competitivenessThe countries of Scandinavian have built a good foundation for meeting

basic transport needs through decades of infrastructure investments.

However, a number of macro trends and challenges threaten the long-

term economic growth of the Scandinavian region, including:

Regional competitiveness is in decline and has dropped from a

ranking of 7.3 five years ago to an average of 10.6 today and thereby

below the top 10 according to the World Economic Forum. The world

map has rapidly changed over the last two decades and 75% of

global economic growth is now being produced in emerging markets

far from Scandinavia.

The Scandinavian capitals and the surrounding regions are the

fastest growing in Europe, which is facing one of its most dramatic

economic, cultural and social changes in history. This is putting

In an increasingly globalised economy, the demand for efficiency and mobility is increasing. Bigger and strongerregions are needed to attract and retain people and companies who will create the wealth of the future. City regions have become the engines in developing the knowledge and information-based community. The development of The Scandinavian 8 Million City Project1 is rooted in the philosophy that collaboration formsa firm basis for development in a globalised world. Floire Nathanael Daub, Project Manager for The Scandinavian8 Million City Project explains that by exploring the potential of cooperation, jobs can be created and innovationmilieus can be enhanced. Cooperation over long distances requires appropriate infrastructure for bothpassengers and freight. Whilst Europe and the world have been expanding their green infrastructure to stimulate growth – for example through massive investment in high-speed rail – such investment has been slowto progress in Scandinavia.

NORTHERN EUROPE PROFILE: SCANDINAVIAN REGION








enormous pressure on the existing

infrastructure. To manage the growth, a

more holistic and cross border planning

approach is needed.

The Nordic countries have decided to become carbon neutral by

2050. One of the major challenges for achieving this are emissions from

the transport sector which, in 2010, accounted for 36% of all CO2

emissions in the Nordic countries. In contrast to the rest of the world,

90% of all land-based freight transport is transported on roads. Freight

volumes are expected to double by 2030.

The countries are insignificant individually and the demographic

sizes of the Scandinavian countries are now comparable to cities like

London, Mumbai, and Istanbul. In addition, the economies are

characterised by export-driven small- and medium-sized enterprises.

Our neighbouring regions have invested massively in strategic and

effective transport hubs to increase access and mobility of both people

and goods – for example the airports of Hamburg-Berlin, Amsterdam,

Brussels, London and Frankfurt each have bigger catchment areas than

the total population in Scandinavia.

In 2021, the cross-border tunnel under the Fehmarn Belt will be

ready and together with a modernised InterCity rail network in

Denmark, new freight capacity will be added and high-speed trains will

be able to reduce the travel time from Copenhagen to Hamburg

down to 2 hours and 30 minutes. It is now up to the Swedish and

© O

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By establishing a new rail link between Oslo and Copenhagen, which can operate both high-speed andintercity trains, the travel times can be drastically reduced to only 2.5 hours

Cred

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The Scandinaviancapitals and the

surrounding regionsare the fastest

growing in Europe

Norwegian governments to develop their rail network in such a

manner that they can take advantage of this new connectivity and

connect to the rapidly expanding European high-speed network.

To sustain economic growth and the changeover to a low

carbon society, the Scandinavian countries must integrate their

economies and labour markets through more effective interfaces

for people and goods transport both intra- and inter-regionally. If the

perspective is changed from a narrow focus on nation-states to a

broader inter-city and mega-regional focus that includes 12 million

habitants between the capitals, the potential for large-scale transport

investments such as a high-speed rail between the key Scandinavian

cities and rest of Europe, becomes much more obvious and important

to prioritise.

The Scandinavian 8 Million City ProjectComprised of three countries and four metropolitan cities, including

two capitals, the idea behind The Scandinavian 8 Million City Project is

to simply extend what has now been proved to be the most successful

integration project between two countries in the Copenhagen-Malmø

region into a truly Scandinavian scale.

The Vision for 2030 – not so far in the distant future – is a high-

speed rail link that will physically connect the eight million inhabitants

and contribute to making this mega-region one of the world’s most

competitive. A high-speed rail link will

allow travellers to leave Oslo Central

Station and arrive in Copenhagen

approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes

later. From Oslo it will also be possible to

reach Stockholm (via Gothenburg) in

less than 3 hours and even Oslo to

Hamburg will be an attractive destination

by rail due to the fixed link between

Denmark and Germany. And from

Hamburg the rest of the European rail

network will be accessible.

14 partnersThe partners include the majority of local

and regional authorities as well as three

government agencies along the corridor between Oslo, Gothenburg

and Copenhagen, and this is an extended continuation

of the partnership in a precedent project named COINCO (Corridor of

Innovation and Cooperation). The City of Oslo and Business Region

Göteborg are leading the project.

The Scandinavian 8 Million City Project is co-funded by the EU

and was approved for funding through the Interreg IV-A Öresund-

Kattegat-Skagerak programme in December 2011, and will run until

autumn 2014.

The project is organised into the following three Work

Packages (WP):

WP 1: InterCity trains and Green Freight CorridorFocuses on short-term milestones regarding the existing

InterCity network to increase the performance for both passengers

and freight.

WP 2: High-speed railThe focus has been on organisation and financing models to build

separate tracks for high-speed rail.

WP 3: CommunicationsGiven that the overall objective of the project is to secure binding

resolutions for the transport sector, WP 3 is dedicated to communi -

cations activities.

The project’s main goal is that Danish, Swedish and Norwegian

governments reach a common and historical decision regarding

investments in a modern Scandinavian rail network.

From a national to a Scandinavian planning perspectiveNorway and Sweden have carried out extensive national

feasibility studies to test the marked potential for high-speed rail.

In 2009, the Swedish high-speed rail study was published2 which

concentrated on the core routes to and from Stockholm and did not

test whether a line should be built between Copenhagen to Oslo (via

Gothenburg and Malmö).

In 2012, the Norwegian rail authorities published a study of five

corridors in Norway. Two of these corridors extended into Sweden to

reach Stockholm and Gothenburg. However, it is worth noting that only

the northern section of the Oslo to Copenhagen route was evaluated

and that virtually all of the investment was restricted to sections of the

corridor within Norway. This meant that whilst the proposed route

would capture a significant volume of local Norwegian traffic, the

journey times were not competitive with other modes over longer

distance journeys.

While the Swedish study showed a positive return on the

investment for society, the conclusions in the Norwegian study were

that passenger volumes were too small to justify the investment costs.

The aim for The Scandinavian 8 Million City Project was to test if a

Scandinavian planning perspective could strengthen the businesses for

high-speed rail in Scandinavia. In order to build on the existing studies

and to make an accurate basis for comparison, the same models and

consultants that had been involved in the previous national studies

where used. The following parameters were different from the previous

national studies:

■ A cross-border Scandinavian planning perspective

■ Instead of building a new direct line between Oslo and Stockholm,

trains were routed through Gothenburg to take advantage of

the already planned high-speed rail line between Gothenburg

and Stockholm

■ Dynamic effects due to labour market integration between the

Scandinavian capitals and in-between cities

■ Significantly higher marked shares for freight transport on rail due

to more capacity on the existing network. Between Oslo and

Gothenburg (Scandinavia’s biggest harbour) up from today’s

9% marked share to 50-60%

■ Four-six years construction time due to modern building

technique’s with prefabricated bridges. This also gives significant

lower CO2 emissions during construction.

The results show that a T-network (Oslo–Gothenburg–Copenhagen and





A high-speedrail link will allow

travellers to leaveOslo Central Station

and arrive inCopenhagen

approximately 2 hours and

30 minutes later

Stockholm–Gothenburg) between the Scandinavian capitals are

able to attract passenger volume’s that are comparable to other

successful high-speed rail investments in Europe. In general, the

long-distance mobility is higher in the Scandinavian countries

compared to the European average and this adds up for a lower

population density. On the Copenhagen to Oslo corridor, the

service is estimated to attract 9.4 million passengers per year

– the high-speed rail service between Paris and London counts

9.7 million passengers a year.

Benefits for society will far outweigh the investment requiredOur calculations show that state-support is needed, since a pure-

private-investment is not profitable without taking into account

indirect economic effects that will be difficult to isolate – especially

the positive growth effects on intermediate cities and freight

transport to move from the roads to the existing rail network.

This will increase accessibility, improve traffic safety, and drastic-

ally reduce the impact of transport on the environment and

climate. Public Private Partnership (PPP) is well-suited for several

sub-packages.

This is about connecting Scandinavia’s most important

metropolitan areas and knowledge environments and making

them into one collective and strong innovation and labour

market area. Scandinavia will gain an efficient and sustainable

transport system that opens-up the possibility to live in some of

Europe’s most attractive areas, while simultaneously gaining access

to one of the world’s most exciting labour markets. People could

easily live in the Gothenburg region and commute to Norway or

Denmark – or vice versa. Companies, organisations, universi ties

and colleges will find it easier to find staff and researchers with

the right expertise. All kinds of businesses will be able to estab-

lish themselves in attractive locations for reasonable prices.

At the same time, the foundations are in place for flexible

connections to an improved communications network within the

region, as well as joining fast connections to other regions such as

Stockholm and Hamburg.

Mega-region potentials can only be translated into benefits if

we jointly take action. A cross-border high-speed rail connection

including improved regional trains as well as freight trains is a very

robust strategy in order to realise the mega-region potential in a

sustainable way.

References1. www.8millioncity.com2. Gunnar Malm, SOU 2009:74

NORTHERN EUROPE PROFILE


www.europeanrailwayreview.com

Floire Nathanael Daub is Project Manager for The Scandinavian 8 Million City Project. He iseducated as an Architect/Urban Planner andspecialises in the relation between transport-infrastructure and urban development. Beforejoining the public transportation sector, he co-founded Futureproof, dedicated to city master-planning, and on several occasions has been teaching

at The Oslo School of Architecture and Design. His work careerstarted at the architecture office Space Group.

Investment anddevelopment is apriority in Estonia

Close co-operation is vital in an open railway marketAS Eesti Raudtee – Estonian Railways Ltd – was one of the first railway

companies in Europe to implement the legal separation of its rail-

way infrastructure and operating companies, derived from discussions

of principles of the 4th Railway Package of the European Commission,

which covers standards and authorisation for rolling stock, independent

management of infrastructure, liberalisation of domestic passenger

services, plus workforce skills.

The idea of separating network owners and rolling stock operators

is to reform the rail sector in a way that improves competition in the

sector by creating independent and equal opportunities to all railway

enterprises, and opening the market. It is critical to remove sources that

can cause conflicts of interest whilst sustaining the infrastructure

company’s control over all functions essential to ensure effective

operation of the railway network and performance of the central role as

a railway administrator.

On 3 September 2012, AS Eesti Raudtee officially separated the

subsidiaries of EVR Cargo Ltd and EVR Infra Ltd (currently Eesti Raudtee

Ltd). Though considering the size of the Estonian market and the

country’s railway network, as well as the location and railway width

NORTHERN EUROPE PROFILE: ESTONIA




Ahti Asmann, Chairman of the Management Board at AS Eesti Radutee explains that a series of majorimprovements have been carried out to the railways in Estonia over recent years, and 2014 is set to continue thistrend. Following the recent separation of the country’s rail infrastructure and cargo enterprises, the next aim isto bring about extreme changes in the quality of passenger traffic in Estonia. Already seen in early-2014 was theopening of a brand new passenger train park, plus the approval of the Estonian Government’s Development Planof Transportation 2014-2020, which further demonstrates the higher goals for the development of railwaytransportation in the country.





(1,520mm), which is somewhat different from the

average in Europe, some conclusions to this

separation decision can be made.

Overall, separating railway enterprises brings

along improvements in competition by increasing

transparency that has a positive influence on the

overall effectiveness. On the other hand, it fragment -

ises the sector which can cause ineffectiveness.

As the different parts of the railway sector are very

tightly bound, consolidation is of essence to ensure

maximum effective use of existent resources, as well

as planning future investments to the right time,

place and volume.

In Estonia, the situation of several railway

operators acting on the market simultaneously has

actually already prevailed over the past decade.

From that perspective, the railway market was open

before the 4th Railway Package was discussed. Also,

as in Eesti Raudtee the bookkeeping and financial

planning of subsidiaries EVR Cargo Ltd and EVR Infra

Ltd were separated already, the juridical division

didn’t bring along a substantial change.

As to the furtherance of competition, the effect

to the railway sector in Estonia, due to its small size, is

not as notable as it could be in bigger markets.

Even though there was no considerable positive

or negative influence in the field of competition,

some challenges have arisen since separation. One of

the biggest challenges has been planning invest -

ments in a way that is aligned with the development

plans of cargo and passenger traffic enterprises,

as well as the governmental development

plans of the transportation and railway sector.

As a railway infrastructure only carries a

purpose together with trains and train

operators, it is essential to maintain a very close

co-operation with both cargo and passenger

operators, as well as other participants of the

railway market, to ensure that the infrastructure

doesn’t start ‘living its own life’. Discrepancies

of interest often emerge in these discussions

that must be attended to with most severity.

Governmental role is vital The separation has considerably complicated financial and income

planning, so the need for governmental contribution as a con-

ductive and intermediary force has increased. In February 2014, the

Estonian Government approved the Governmental Development

Plan of Transportation for 2014-2020 in which context the aspects of

transportation that need governmental financing or regulations are

being discussed.

The vision set in the Development Plan identifies railway

development as one of the main instruments to achieve the set aims in

the field of the entire country’s transportation. Priority in railway

development is to increase the quality of railway connections that

maximises the potential in international, domestic, regional and local

transportation by raising both the connection speeds and frequency of

departures. The main goal is to turn railway transportation into a fast,

safe, and comfortable way of travelling by enhancing the quality

and safety of the rail network.

Important growth for 2014-2020 is also planned for international

railway passenger traffic. If in 2012 train traffic formed 0.9% of the entire

international passenger traffic, then by 2020 it should reach 2%.

The ambition for the Tallinn–St. Petersburg and Tallinn–Moscow lines

are even higher; by 2020 the number of passengers should have

almost tripled compared to 2012.

A fast, comfortable and frequent railway system is relevant also in

the North–South direction. The location of the Rail Baltic that connects

Estonia to the international railway corridors in Europe has to be

chosen, which requires the close co-operation of all Baltic States.

Small and open economy depends remarkably on international

trade. According to the Development Plan, one of the most important

aspects of economic development in Estonia is international cargo

transportation. Effective use of our abundant marine space by

connecting existing highly modernised harbours to the rest of the infra -

structure network is one of the main agents in improving the

international competitiveness of Estonia, enabling us to participate

in the trade between Europe, Russia, and Asia. Goods arriving to, or

leaving from, the ports should preferably be transported by railway.

Currently, 18 electric and 16 diesel Stadler trains are in use in Estonia

In 2013, a total of €26.5 million

was invested

However, domestic cargo transportation is

reasonable on a few routes due to the

shortness of lines.

Planning investments carefullyTo fulfil the aforementioned requirements,

investments are inevitable. An investment

plan has been developed by Estonian

Railways for the 2014-2020 period to

reach the set goals. For both passenger

and cargo traffic, priority is given for

investments that warrant safety and

emergency potential.

In 2013, a total of €26.5 million was

invested, of which €22.5 million derived

from EU funds (the Cohesion Fund of the

European Union and the Regional Develop -

ment Fund of the European Union).

The first stage of major projects,

including the renovation of the Tallinn–

Keila–Paldiski and Keila–Riisipere lines, and

reconstruction of the railway contact

network on the Tallinn–Keila–Paldiski and

Keila–Vasalemma lines, implemented in last

three years was concluded.

Stage 2 of renovation works is

planned during 2014 and beyond, mainly

including the renovation of station rails

and rail switches, with planned invest-

ments and financial aid from the

European Union totalling approximately

€6.9 million.

The project for reconstructing contact

networks, including cargo stations in Keila

and Järve, by the end of 2014 will con-

tinue, and €6.1 million will be invested in

the project. These investments are important for maintaining the

west directional electric train traffic and increasing travel times in

that direction.

In the field of cargo transportation, improvements include widening

the railway in the ports of Sillamäe and Paldiski to provide sufficient

capacity and competitive railway connections between Estonian ports

and the 1,520mm railway network.

Other investments for 2014 include the overhaul at Muuga and the

Tapa–Narva line totalling approximately €10 million. The investment

mainly budgets for the renovation of reception and dispatch roads and

increasing the capacity of Vaivara Station in accordance with the

development perspectives of the port of Sillamäe. Passenger platforms

at the 9th station on the same railway line will also be renovated – works

costing approximately €3.4 million.

One of the priorities is continuing the renovation of worn sections

of the Tapa–Tartu railway line in order to maintain current travelling

speeds and create perspective for higher speeds in the future. The total

cost of the project is estimated to be €4.2 million, €3.3 million of which

will come from the European Union.

Other larger investment areas include the renewal of communi -

cation and security devices (traffic organisation systems and crossing

automatics) for €5.3 million (including €2.4 million from our own funds)

and the overhaul of railway bridges for €3.7 million.

During 2009 to 2013, approximately 13% of railroads under-

went major renovations, and 100% of passenger waiting platforms have

been renovated.

Progress in passenger traffic implies furtherimprovements to railway safety Investments made during recent years have been the basis for a

huge leap in the popularity of railway passenger transporta tion in

Estonia. On 1 January 2014, Estonia changed the entire passenger

train park overnight which resulted in passenger train traffic on all

domestic railway lines being operated by brand-new Stadler FLIRT

electric and diesel trains. There are currently 18 electric and 16 diesel

trains in use.

Results can be seen in statisticsIn the first quarter of 2014, over 1.2 million passengers used the

domestic railway lines (the entire population of Estonia is 1.3 million).

The most popular lines were near the capital Tallinn and between Tallinn

and Tartu, the second biggest town in Estonia. In March 2014, over

455,000 passengers used the new trains, which is 45% more than during

the same period in 2013. By the end of 2014, a total of 5.6 million

passengers are estimated to have travelled on domestic railway lines.





Ahti Asmann graduated from the Tartu University Facultyof Economics and Business Administration with an MBAin Finance and Banking in 1995. From 1994 he workedwithin the SEB Group and was CEO between 2007 and2009. Between 2010 and 2012, Ahti was General Managerof the SEB Group in Ukraine. Ahti has been Chairman ofthe Management Board of AS Eesti Radutee, the nationalrailway company of Estonia, since 2012.

By the end of 2014, a total of 5.6 million

passengers areestimated to

have travelled on domestic railway lines

Old and new lines side-by-side – infrastructure investment is vital in Estonia for future growth

OPTIMISING EUROPEAN RAILWAYSAcross most of Europe, railway signals are to be replaced to optimise and harmonise railway operations.

COWI has acquired Danish railway consultancy Apsilon,which has specialised within signalling, ERTMS and remote control systems for optimising railways in Europe and Scandinavia.

Signalling systems are the backbone of day-to-day railway operation, and with Apsilon, we can create strong synergy effects and strengthen our railway activities in the Scandinavian and European markets.

Explore us at www.cowi.com

Strukton Rail builds, operates and maintains railway systems.As a full service provider we have extensive knowledge of allelements of the rail infrastructure. Our goal is to make railtransport an attractive option by offering efficient, climate-smartand reliable transport solutions in Scandinavia and Europe.

www.strukton.se

One stepahead for better

railways

Strukton recently completed the acquisition of Balfour Beatty Rail Scandinavia – what does theacquisition include?The acquisition comprises of the entire business including workforce,

plant and equipment as well as ongoing contracts in Sweden, Denmark

and Norway.

How does the new acquisition provide substantial savings to the railways in a tough economic climate?It generates economy of scale and an increased production

capacity for our company, which will enable us to decrease over-

head costs and other fixed costs. Through this, we are able to

offer our customers cost-efficiency. It also enables us to meet

future market demands as we are expecting an increased order

level for the Swedish and Danish markets from 2015 onwards.

Scandinavia is one of our most important markets within the overall

Strukton Rail Group.

How does the acquisition affect the future strategy of the group and what synergies can you expect tobenefit from?The acquisition is part of Strukton Rail’s long-term plan to expand in

Scandinavia. We will strengthen our position on the Scandinavian

market as a total contractor of all railway capabilities carried out

as multi-disciplinary projects, single-disciplinary projects or as

maintenance works. The scope includes service and delivery of power

supply, workshop assembly and engineering and we can also provide

services for project and construction management, commissioning,

training and documentation

With considerable investment taking place in the Scandinavian rail sector, the future looksencouraging – which projects can we expect to see Strukton working on?Strukton Rail will be active within all areas of building, maintaining and

renewing of railway infrastructure right across the Scandinavian region.

Right now we are active in different projects such as the installation of

ERTMS in Denmark (S-bane and F-bane, subcontractor to Siemens and

in consortium with Thales). In Sweden, we are in the planning phase of

building the Citybanan – an important project which will expand the

railway connection in central Stockholm. We will soon enter the tunnels

to start the construction work.

What are the core long-term goals and objectives for Strukton?First and foremost is to be our customer’s first choice. To be able to

reach that position we also want to attract the market’s most committed

and innovative employees. Through operational excellence we are

aiming to become our customers’ and employees’ first choice. We

are focused on making the journey from ‘good to great’!

In an exclusive interview for European Railway Review, Robert Röder, CEO of Strukton Rail AB, discusses the company’s recent acquisition of Balfour Beatty Rail Scandinavia and what this means to Strukton and its future position in the railway marketplace.




INTERVIEW SPOTLIGHT

www.strukton.se

Becomingour customer’s

first choice

TEL: +49-(0)211-36977-0

FAX: +49-(0)211-36977-31

E-Mail: [email protected]

www.sekisui-railwaytechnology.com

SEKISUI CHEMICAL GmbHCantadorstr.3

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Germany

FFU SYNTHETIC SLEEPER CALMMOON RAIL FFU SLIM TIE

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Track Systems SUPPLEMENT

SPONSORED BY:

36 Looking towards 2030-2050 for anaffordable, automated,adaptable, resilient andhigh-capacity railwayLaurent Schmitt, UIC

40 Track maintenance – rectification ofgeometrical deficienciesRicardo Alves, REFER Engineering S.A., and João Gonçalo Maia Vieira, REFER

44 Track stiffnessoptimisation to improvethe performance ofswitches and crossingsElias Kassa, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)

© m

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a / S

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ock.

com

Looking towards 2030-2050 for anaffordable, automated,adaptable, resilient andhigh-capacity railway

Following the White Paper on European Transports published

in 20112, CAPACITY4RAIL proposes to bring a system vision of

the railways looking towards 2030-2050, by developing new con-

cepts in the fields of infrastructure, freight, operation and monitoring,

towards an affordable, resilient, innovative and high-capacity

railway system.

The capacity issue is addressed in three different ways:

1. A more efficient use of existing resources by optimising operating

strategies, enhancing traffic planning, improving transhipment

procedures and improving the operational procedures to reduce

the time needed to recover from traffic disruption

2. A reduction of the non-operational capacity-consumers, through

the design of resilient, reliable and low-maintenance infrastructure

and vehicles, non-intrusive inspection, fast renewal and con -

struction processes

3. An increase of the performance of existing resources, through

significant improvements of wagons manoeuvrability and

equipment to answer freight customers’ needs for higher reliability

and performance.

In order to best address this approach, the project has been broken into

the following six sub-projects:

■ SP1: Infrastructure

■ SP2: New Concepts For Efficient Freight Systems

■ SP3: Operation For Enhanced Capacity

■ SP4: Advanced Monitoring

■ SP5: System Assessment and Migration to 2030-2050

■ SP6: Management, Dissemination, Training and Exploitation.

These sub-projects are organised in a container-shaped way, where the

transverse sub-project 5 ensures the vision-building and the multi-

criteria assessment of the innovative concepts in a comprehensive

system view.

TRACK SYSTEMS S U P P L E M E N T




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CAPACITY4RAIL1 is an EU co-funded research project that started at the end of 2013 within the 7th FrameworkProgram and is planned for a total duration of four years. Under the coordination of the UIC, it brings togethera wide range of stakeholders in an ambitious partnership. Laurent Schmitt, CAPACITY4RAIL Coordinator at theUIC, provides more details.





Building a vision for 2050The crucial research and development benefit of CAPACITY4RAIL lays

in the systemic and holistic approach to the development of new

concepts for future infrastructure, vehicles, communication, and

operation technologies.

In its transversal sub-project ‘System Assessment and Migration’,

CAPACITY4RAIL is providing the framework for the target-oriented

development of new concepts for railway infrastructure, freight and

operation, by defining the long-term vision as well as the technologies

and short-, mid- and long-term steps. However, the latter will be

necessary to enable practical solutions that contribute to the ‘end

game’ to be developed and demonstrated.

One of the very first tasks of CAPACITY4RAIL is to define

a comprehensive roadmap to describe the necessary steps to

develop and implement innovation and to progress from the current

state-of-the-art to a shared global vision of the 2050 railway along

realistic scenarios.

Five major criteria have been defined that describe the 2050 railway

and against which the innovative developments will be assessed.

Thus, the future railway system should be:

■ Affordable: for the customers and the investors, with limited capital

and operational expenditures, minimised life cycle cost and lowest

environmental impact

■ Adaptable: the railway system will be able to cope with daily,

monthly, yearly or seasonal variations of the demand, but will

also have sufficient reactivity to adapt unplanned temporary

modal shifts

■ Automated: for optimised performance and to help planners

respond dynamically to planned and unplanned changes

■ Resilient: able to recover not only from major disruptions, but also

daily minor perturbations

■ High Capacity: a railway with virtually no constraints on operations,

that can accommodate customer demand at any time and tolerate

interventions with minimal impact.

InfrastructureReleasing operational capacity from infrastructure through a higher

reliability, a lower need for maintenance and an optimisation of

maintenance and monitoring procedures have already been a recurrent

concern in past projects, such as INNOTRACK3 or AUTOMAIN4, which

provided significant advances and concept developments.

CAPACITY4RAIL will keep building on these results and

achievements, also considering that significant progress in terms of

track availability for running trains and increased resilience will come

only through achieving a major breakthrough and step change in the

design of a new track system.

The ‘Infrastructure’ sub-project has three research streams:

Innovative slab track concepts will be developed with a global total

LCC- and RAMS-driven design approach, in view of potential

application for mixed traffic, but also for very high-speed, with the

following distinctive features:

■ Affordability through cost savings in design and construction with

prefabricated elements and modular construction techniques

■ Advanced maintainability through health monitoring of actual

deterioration status and plug-in-place for sub-systems replacement

■ Low maintenance through embedded signalling and energy supply

■ Resilience to natural hazards mainly from extreme weather

conditions including heavy rain and flooding.

The performance of very high-speed track systems will also be given

particular attention. The identified limiting factors and obstacles to very

high-speed (above 350km/h) will be addressed especially through the

development of improved design methodology in terms of vehicle-

track interaction and effect of track irregularities on bridges behaviour

and settlement issues in transition areas.

At last, switches and crossings are one of the most critical

components in terms of reliability and maintenance needs. Basing on

failure mode analysis, the CAPACITY4RAIL project will develop

breakthrough innovative concepts for switch design solutions including

voestalpine Schienen: good is good, but better carries it!

Taking the proverbial wisdom literally, voestalpine Schienen GmbH,acknowledged technology leader in the area of heat treated premium rails,continues to offer new, even higher performing and more cost-saving railsolutions to its customers worldwide.

It is the result of inherent necessity that today, heat treated rails arewidely accepted and used in many rail tracks. voestalpine Schienen GmbHhas pioneered this step-change and already produced several million tonnes of heat treated HSH® rails which were delivered to customers all overthe world.

However, the potentials provided by heat treated premium rails are stillfar from being fully tapped. Therefore, voestalpine – true to its corporateslogan ‘One Step Ahead’ – opens a new chapter in the deployment ofadvanced heat treated rail steel grades.

One is the use of voestalpine’s ‘Ultra-High-Carbon’ heavy haul-provenheat treated rail steel (brand name 400 UHC® HSH® corresponding to theEuronorm grade R400HT) also for loaded mixed traffic tracks. Its micro-structure remains 100% perlitic and is produced on the basis of anecologically aware low-alloy concept which also enables proper weldability.In comparison with the heat treated ‘base grade’ R350HT the new railsolution offers twofold higher resistance to wear and formation ofcorrugation and twofold higher resistance to rolling contact fatigue (RCF)due to later crack initiation and slower crack propagation.

However, innovation does not stop with mainline traffic. voestalpinealso added a new steel grade to its range of grooved rails. Reprofiling of suchrails by deposit welding (without pre-heating) is a common maintenancestrategy of tramway operators to extend the operational lifetimesignificantly. Although this procedure is also already traditionally used forheat treated grooved rails (brand name HSH® 290GM corresponding toEuronorm grade R290GHT), voestalpine developed a special low-carbonvariant: HSH® 290GM-CL. The advantages of this new rail steel grade areoutstanding deposit weldability as simple as with standard grooved rails,however in combination with the hardness of heat treated steels.

Both rail steel grades are commercially available and will be featured at InnoTrans.

www.voestalpine.com/schienen

The container-shaped project breakdown

optimised sensor strategies, reduction of stresses and wear and

resilience to winter conditions.

FreightWith regard to freight, CAPACITY4RAIL analyses the still existing gaps

and bottlenecks which undermine the modal shift of freight traffic to

rail and proposes technical and operational solutions for attracting

shippers and logistic operators towards a competitive and sustainable

rail transport system6.

Considering the most important concerns of shippers with

regard to a competitive, frequent, reliable and highly reactive service

with continuous flows of information on the transport progress,

CAPACITY4RAIL is developing innovative concepts in view of a major

evolution of the performance of both combined transport and industrial

block trains.

Several technological step changes are considered in the

project, including:

■ Higher breaking performances allowing better manoeuvrability of

freight trains for a better interleaving into mixed traffic

■ Automatic coupling and decoupling of wagons, associated with

RFID identification for industrialised operations in marshalling yards

■ ‘Intelligent’ sensor-equipped wagons allowing faster break testing

and continuous monitoring of the wagon condition

■ All these innovations supported by fundamental investigations on

the vehicles design, structural stresses and wheel/brake shoe

contact conditions.

Infrastructure design and operation procedures will inevitably account

for these new characteristics of the freight traffic.

Economic assessment of the potential benefits will be carried out

and a roadmap to implementation will be drawn to ensure that such

innovations are not only affordable but can also be efficiently inserted

into the current practice.

OperationsThe ‘Operation’ sub-project is building on the on-going ON-TIME EU

FP7 project results5, aiming to achieve automated and resilient

operations that will enhance capacity on the railways.

The ON-TIME project developed new improved timetabling and

real-time traffic management techniques, as well as real-time

information to traffic controllers and drivers in order to help maximise

the available capacity on the European railway network, decrease

delays and improve traffic fluidity.

CAPACITY4RAIL will take the work further and develop what will be

decision support systems into automated systems. This will enable the

future controllers of the railway to focus on fulfilling the challenges

of, for example, running ‘on demand’ train variations in resource

allocation and collaborative working within and between countries,

an improved efficiency of trans-shipment at nodes, while the systems

take care of routine operations and recovery from small or even

medium perturbations.

In addition to these developments for a higher level of automation,

the ‘Operation’ part of CAPACITY4RAIL is specifying guidelines for

emergency and requirements for incident management plans to handle

large incidents including those caused by extreme weather.

With the challenge of operating new (and more) traffic and high-

performance trains on innovative infrastructures, with improved

information flows to drivers and controllers, the ‘Operation’ sub-project

will take care of optimising the benefits of the other technological

advances of the project.

Advanced monitoringSqueezing extra capacity by reducing the time available for

infrastructure maintenance operations and planning has been the

objective of the recently ended AUTOMAIN4 project.

This requires a high level of quality monitoring information in order

to have a continuous knowledge of the system condition to carry out

the right maintenance at the right time, meaning that monitoring

strategies have to be optimised to obtain relevant information when

needed that can be cross-correlated with other sources.

Moreover, the monitoring process itself needs to be non-intrusive,

i.e. with no impact on operations, and maintenance free.

Monitoring systems currently in use on railways are often

designed to proceed with measurements at one time and/or at one

specific location.

But outside the railway industry, advanced monitoring technologies

are already in use, including low-cost, miniaturised, low-power

consuming autonomous sensors, associated with wireless data

transmission facilities. Learning from other industries, CAPACITY4RAIL

is investigating ways to implement such components into both future

and existing infrastructure, and to develop associated strategies for a

non-intrusive and highly automated monitoring.

OutputsBuilding on previous useable results, the project will deliver both

technical demonstrations and system-wide guidelines and recomm -

endations that will be the basis for future research and investment,

increasing the capacities of the rail networks in the future.

The development steps and necessary technologies will be

mapped against Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs). The success of the

project will be demonstrated by the increase of TRLs of key

technologies, which will be assessed to identify meaningful

demonstrators within the project, the need for further developments in

future initiatives or necessary work in follow-up research projects or

initiatives such as Shift²Rail.

ConclusionThe work in CAPACITY4RAIL has been designed in such a way to





The Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) and the three types of

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THE FUTUREOF

MOBILITY

guarantee the greatest interaction between the working groups

and ensure results that are relative to the research community and

will be deployed in the field.

Whilst the first four SPs will take a top-down approach to the

research, by examining the state-of-the-art and working on

the key elements that will move the technologies forward,

SP5, ‘System assessment and migration’, takes a bottom-up

approach and first looks at the boundaries and requirements that

exist within the rail system and defines the constraints to the

overall system approach.

CAPACITY4RAIL brings together a large range of major active

stakeholders of all fields: railway operators; infrastructure

managers; track systems suppliers; rolling stock manufacturers;

wagon keepers; logistic providers; engineering companies; and

research laboratories, all supported by universities on a firm

scientific basis. This ensures a deep integration in the railway

industry, a full awareness of the customer’s needs and of the

system constraints and abilities, as well as an intimate connection

to past and on-going research and to future research initiatives.

References1. www.capacity4rail.eu

2. European Commission (2011): White Paper. Roadmap to a Single EuropeanTransport Area – Toward a competitive and resource efficient transport system.European Commission, Brussels, 2011.

3. INNOTRACK (2010): Innotrack, Innovative Track Systems. ConcludingTechnical Report. Anders Ekberg & Björn Paulsson, eds. INNOTRACK EU FP6 project 031415, under the coordination of UIC.

4. www.automain.eu

5. ON-TIME (2012): Deliverable D1.1 – Principles, Definitions andRequirements. ON-TIME EU FP7 265647 project, under the cooperation ofd’Appolonia.

6. Armand Toubol A., Castagnetti F., Olsson B. (2014): CAPACITY4RAILproject. The wagon load activity technology innovations: new freight wagons and trains. Proc. of Transport Research Arena 2014, Paris, 14 –17 April 2014.



www.europeanrailwayreview.com

AcknowledgementsThe author gratefully acknowledges the European Union for fund-ing the CAPACITY4RAIL research project, all the project partnersand especially the following individuals who have taken an active part in the elaboration and preliminary description of work for thebasis of this article:■ Pierre-Etienne Gautier, Systra■ Bo Olsson, Trafikverket■ Meena Dasighi, Network Rail■ Gunnar Baumann, Deutsche Bahn■ Burchard Ripke, Deutsche Bahn

Dr. Laurent Schmitt joined the UIC in 2011 asInfrastructure Senior Advisor in charge of thecoordination of research work in the Track andStructure and Train-Track Interaction sectors and involved in EU-funded projects related toinfrastructure. He is also the Coordinator of theCAPACITY4RAIL EU-funded research project.Seconded from SNCF where he was in charge of

innovation and prospective in the Track Maintenance EngineeringDivision, Laurent had been previously working for eight years in theSNCF Innovation and Research Department as Project Manager in the field of track mechanics and especially as SP Leader in theInnotrack EU project. Laurent graduated as an Engineer in Geology in1990 and obtained a PhD in Civil Engineering in 1994.

Track maintenance – rectification ofgeometrical deficiencies

Track measuring work and maintenance planningREFER – the Portuguese rail infrastructure manager – is continuously

improving its track maintenance plans and procedures. There is a

deliberate intention to ground interventions on the know-how of track

maintenance, combined with the measureable knowledge of

infrastructure status, by means of ever more diverse and precise

inspection systems, allowing predicting and prioritising the necessary

maintenance activities.

It has been almost 50 years since the Portuguese infrastructure

manager bought its first track inspection vehicle and it has been

systematically evaluating the infrastructure ever since. It started out with

a self-propelled vehicle that would measure track geometric

parameters with a contact chord system with a maximum inspection

speed of 30km/h, only adding a computer in 1980. Running with speeds

of up to 120km/h, REFER is currently working with an updated vehicle

and inspection system, allowing the evaluation of all track geometric

Geometrical deficiencies in rail tracks tend to occur after a given period of time, all depending on how intensethe traffic is or on how inherently instable the track foundation may be. The identification of such deficienciesthrough measurement and its correction is fundamental for the efficient and safe performance of a railway andtherefore subject of a substantial share of the maintenance budget of any infrastructure manager. How is thisparticular aspect of track maintenance performed in Portugal? Explaining more for European Railway Reviewis Ricardo Alves, Track Engineer at REFER Engineering S.A., and João Gonçalo Maia Vieira, Head of theInspection and Diagnostics Department at REFER.





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parameters with an inertial system, rail profile wear and corrugation

with independent laser systems, catenary static geometric parameters

and also track gauge with a laser system, plus ballast contamination

with ground penetration radar.

Though personnel started using very basic ultrasonic equipment

in the 1950s for localised verifications (joints), REFER has been

completely self-sufficient in terms of continuous rail inspection since

1980. A fully dedicated team of experts covered the entire Portuguese

rail network in terms of ultrasonic inspection, finding and classifying all

different types of rail defects. Safety and productivity issues associated

with manual continuous inspection led to the first sub-contracted

continuous ultrasonic inspection campaign in 2010. Even with an annual

inspection campaign covering most of the network, the know-how

gained over 30 years of ultrasonic experience, naturally fixed

maintaining in-house all manual verification of the primary results

collected from the vehicle’s inspection.

The current maintenance strategy is based on the internalisation of

most of the inspection, as a way to retain know-how and condition

based knowledge within the infrastructure manager. The plan is to

maintain and develop all current fields of inspection, as adding

important new areas to work on. On-going refurbishing and developing

of a new inspection vehicle, starting with the evaluation of the

dynamic geometric parameters of the catenary infrastructure, will

follow with plans to develop in-house capabilities related to the


Table 1: Rates of recuperation for different types of track: Type 1:modernised track in continuous welded rail; Type 2: un-modernisedtrack in continuous welded rail; Type 3: un-modernised jointed track

REFER’s EM-120 track geometry recording car

ultrasonic continuous campaigns. REFER is also evaluat-

ing the advantages and the possibility of adding a system

dedicated to the visual and laser inspection of the track

major constituents.

REFER is increasing the number of personnel dedicated

to the inspection of the Portuguese infrastructure – namely

ultrasonic experts and new teams for switch and crossing

evaluation. The latter is a new area where REFER is

determined to internalise the inspection component –

however, maintaining for the meantime all sub-contracted

maintenance activities in switches and crossings. The

extensive training programme of these teams is on-going in

order to fully assume the activity in 2015.

All of this knowledge coming from the inspection directly

supports all maintenance operations. The different layers of

factual data gathered overtime, analysed in combination with

all the previous implemented maintenance activities and subsequent

results, together with the strong maintenance know-how collected

from the maintenance teams spread along the network, allows for

full diagnostic – even of the more complex matters. Evidences of

the necessity to intervene, risk analysis and strategic orientations,

are all inputs to the definition of the operational (short-term)

maintenance plans.

Operational maintenance plans are now a part of REFER’s asset

management planning. Developing these capabilities will increase the

robustness of condition based activities and expenditures forecast.

Having an asset degradation model for track will enable REFER to

predict activity volumes and costs in the long-run (20 years),

complementing strategic orientations with the life cycle cost analysis of

the different types of assets.

As the short-term maintenance plan (established for a timeframe of

three years) is evermore the result of a combined effort to analyse

technical, financial, operations and strategic inputs, it is often necessary

to find support in the know-how concentrated in REFER’s engineering

branch, in order to define the most adequate approach to the railway

system. Focusing on track geometric parameters, it is usual in

maintenance to identify sections requiring tamping that also indicate

the need for a more specific study in terms of track geometry





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Using the reliable long chord method which has already proven itspracticability in the Amberg Tamping VMS 3000, the inner track geometryand the absolute position are determined in a single operation. And correctiondata are available in real-time.

The combination of tacheometry and automatic tripod allow fullyautomatic control point surveying without user interaction. In combinationwith the field-proven two-trolley mode, this allows maximum accuracy andenormous surveying performance to be achieved.

For shorter measuring sections, such as turnouts, multi-track sections orfor projects with brief track access windows, the total station can be placed ona tripod and the system can be operated in the so-called tripod mode.

The ability to expand from one to two completely independent indi-vidual systems rounds out the multifaceted application possibilities of thissystem perfectly.

For more than 30 years Amberg Technologies has been one of the leadingsuppliers of specialised system solutions for the geo-referenced acquisitionand processing of infrastructure construction data. Thanks to profoundknowledge and a consistent focus on the area of infrastructure development(especially railway construction and tunnelling), the system solutions andservices offered by Amberg Technologies AG are highly respected worldwide.

www.ambergtechnologies.ch

Measurement of curvature with a 20m chord at the gauge side of the reference rail





correction. Sections of track with fixed points

such as bridges with no ballast, switches,

crossings and other constraints to the track

geometric correction, are frequently forwarded

for deeper analysis in order to produce the

optimum applicable study during tamping,

promoting the effectiveness and long durability

of the intervention.

The data obtained by track measurement

is invaluable both for the planning of the

maintenance tasks needed to be performed in

the immediate future and for long-term analyses,

where it is accessed if upgrades in the track

structure or in its foundation are necessary. In the

latter, such upgrades are carried out by

contractors under the supervision of REFER with

the aim to reduce maintenance cycles –

especially tamping and lining of the track.

Obtaining relevant data on track geometry is

also essential to financial planning. If a given rail

track has geometrical deficiencies and these are not corrected, a lower

speed limit must be imposed as a safeguard against accidents.

Such speed limitations cause delays to the trains and so REFER – as

the infrastructure manager – has to pay indemnities to the operators

for such track-related delays. Over time, the amount of those

indemnities is far higher than the cost of addressing the causes of the

deficiencies in the first place, either by ballasting, tamping and lining

the track or, if such is the case, by a more thorough intervention in the

track infrastructure.

The analysis of the recorded data on a long-term basis also gives a

reliable indicator of existing pathologies in the drainage system of the

track. Insufficient drainage is, in many cases, the origin of track

instability, leading to geometrical deficiencies that deteriorate the

efficiency and safety of the railway exploration. Furthermore, an instable

foundation leads to internal stress instability in a continuous welded rail

and therefore results in the buckling of the track.

Correcting geometrical deficiencies by tamping and liningAs the track segments with geometrical problems are identified by the

measurement works, a maintenance plan is established whereas

the ones with a more difficult planimetry (i.e. interconnected curves or

fixed points such as bridges, switches or station platforms) are subject

of specific planimetrical studies. For such studies, complementary data

is collected ‘in situ’ usually by the team charged with the calculations.

The planimetrical study generates a series of values for the

parameters (cant, cant gradient, curve radius, warp, etc.) that have a

significant effect on curve performance which includes safety,

passenger comfort and wear and tear of equipment and rails.

These studies are supplied for the maintenance team that is going

to perform the tamping on each branch of the rail line and are

compatible with the software used in modern tamping machines.

Immediately after the tamping and lining comes the process of

dynamic track stabilisation in order to anticipate the initial settle-

ments of the track structure in a controlled way. Thus, not only more

durable track geometry is obtained but also its resistance to lateral

displacement is increased.

Effectiveness of tamping and liningOver the years, experience has showed that track tamping is only

significantly effective in the correction of geometrical deficiencies

in lines that have a stable foundation and at the same time a

superstructure still in good condition. Track branches that suffer from

poor drainage or have a superstructure whose components such as

sleepers or the rail itself are worn out have a much lower rate of

recuperation for the parameters of levelling and alignment.

The results of this survey from our annual maintenance reports are

categorical: the rectification of planimetrical deficiencies must go hand-

in-hand with a sound investment plan in track upgrading. Unfortunately,

such upgrades are unlikely to happen in the near future given the

financially-strained situation of Portugal. Nevertheless, REFER will

continue to strive to maintain safety levels in its network.

Ricardo Alves is a Civil Engineer specialising in trackupgrade and maintenance and has worked in REFER sinceFebruary 2002 as a Track Engineer – most recently atRefer Engineering S.A. Between 1996 and 2002, Ricardoworked as an Engineering Manager for one of the main rail contractors in Portugal, being involved in severalupgrade works along the Portuguese rail network. For REFER, Ricardo has worked in the upgrade of the

Lisbon to Porto Line and also in maintenance.

João Gonçalo Maia Vieira is a Civil Engineer speciali -sing in railway inspection systems. João has worked atREFER since August 2006 as a Track Engineer. Between2006 and 2009, João was mainly dedicated to thehomologation of track work equipment (e.g. tampingmachines), acceptance of track works, monitoring of theinfrastructure and standards development. BetweenOctober 2010 and November 2012, João represented

REFER in the EIM/ERA Working Group for the Infrastructure TSI. João co-represented REFER in the successful international project INTERAIL,funded by the UE (7th Framework Programme) for the development of anovel integrated rail inspection system, that occurred between October 2009and March 2013. Since September 2009, João has been Head of theInspection and Diagnostics Department at REFER.

A dynamic track stabilser at work

Track stiffnessoptimisation to improvethe performance ofswitches and crossings

One obvious suggestion to reduce the maintenance effort is reducing

the turnout population in the network. Some researchers are now

focusing on using more durable and advanced materials, such as

Chromium bainitic steel grade ‘CrB 1400’ which have shown to triple

the S&C life time in comparison to a standard rail steel grade R350HT1.

Others suggest adopting a preventative maintenance strategy instead

of corrective maintenance to reduce the overall maintenance costs of

S&Cs.

On the other hand, there is a high demand by railway

administrations for a novel and optimised S&C design, both the turnout

Switches and crossings – or otherwise known as ‘set of points’ or ‘turnouts’ – provide a railway network withoperational flexibility by enabling vehicles to be directed from one track (or line) to another. The most commonswitch and crossing (S&C) layout (see Figure 1, page 45) consists of a switch panel, a crossing panel and a closurepanel between the two. Even though S&Cs are an important track asset in the rail network, they are one of theweakest links in the network demanding very high maintenance costs in comparison with plain lines. Severalremedies are proposed by different researchers to reduce the high maintenance costs associated to S&Cs. Elias Kassa, Professor for the Department of Civil and Transport Engineering at the Norwegian University ofScience and Technology (NTNU) explains further.









geometry and the support stiffness, to reduce the maintenance

frequency of S&Cs. These require detailed understanding of the forces

and their effect on the degradation modes. The structural design of the

switch support can be optimised so that a more uniform stiffness is

obtained along the turnout by minimising the abrupt stiffness changes

at the switch panel and crossing panel. The geometry design entails

both the general layout of the turnout, such as the curvature, transition

curves, track gauge, etc. and the rail profile change within the switch

and crossing panels, by that to provide a smooth running surface for the

train wheels. Advanced models are needed to study the dynamics of

the train-turnout interaction and the wheel-rail interface within the

switch to perform geometry design optimisation of an S&C.

This research work is part of the research at NTNU – Norwegian

University of Science and Technology – to demonstrate how the vertical

stiffness of the track is optimised, possibly by adjusting the rail pad and

under sleeper pad stiffness along the turnout. In this way the abrupt

changes in track stiffness due to the appearance of two rails or changes

in a rail cross-section could be reduced and wheel-rail contact forces

minimised. A simple numerical procedure is followed based on varying

the measured track data parameters of the vertical track stiffness.

Simulation toolsIn recent years, multi-body simulation (MBS) packages have been used

for the prediction of railway vehicle dynamics and associated wheel-rail

contact forces2. In particular, S&C studies use such simulations due to a

need for a better understanding of the dynamics and the wheel-rail

interaction which, hence, is used as input for the optimisation exercise.

A track model based on a moving mass-spring-damper system with

7 degrees-of-freedom (dof) coupled to each wheelset is implemented

(see Figure 2). Such type of moving track model is particularly suited to

this study as its high simulation speed facilitates the large number of

simulations required for the optimisation process. Additionally, the

model accounts for the variations in track stiffness along the turnout

through time-varying stiffness and damping values. These variations in

bending and torsional stiffness of the rails are mainly due to the

continuous variations in shape of rail cross-sections and the size of

the sleepers, but also due to variation in ballast support of the

sleepers along the turnout.

Track receptancesTo set a frequency range where the 7-dof moving track models can be

used with a sufficient accuracy, and to obtain a rough estimate of the

contribution of rail pad flexibility on the total track stiffness, vertical

track receptance is calculated and compared with a Finite Element (FE)

model of a track. The upper spring-damper element value (kp, cp)

represents the change in the rail and rail pad stiffness and damping

values of the track, while the lower stiffness and damping values (kb, cb)

for the spring-damper pairs represent the combined flexibility of the

sleeper and ballast of the track system (see Figure 2). Although the

simple moving track model represents the combined rail and rail pad

flexibility by a single spring-damper element (kp, cp), the track

receptance is able to match the FE model results up to 400Hz.

Measured track receptances with single point excitation applied on

the rail head of the switch and stock rails, both in vertical and lateral

directions, were used to obtain input data for the 7-dof model. The

receptances were measured at three locations in the switch panel at

4.5m, 9.1m and 21.85m from the front of the turnout. The linear

stiffness and damping values for the spring-damper pairs of the 7-dof

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Gud

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Figure 1: Components of a turnout

Figure 2: Moving track model with 7-dof (degrees-of-freedom)

track model is determined by fitting the receptances of the

moving track model to the measured track receptances. The increment

of the upper and lower stiffness element is almost at the same rate.

The stiffness at the second measurement location (9.1m) is increased

by 40% compared to the stiffness at measurement point 1 (4.5m), while

the increment at the third measurement location (21.85m) is 70%

compared to the first point.

Track stiffness optimisationTwo alternative stiffness variation models are developed to improve the

smoothing of the large change in track stiffness along the switch panel.

The optimisation procedure is to limit the maximum variations of the

track stiffness from 70% to only ±30%. This ±30% track stiffness change

is expected to be gained by adjusting the rail pad stiffness. The

influence of the rail pad stiffness variation along the switch on the global

stiffness and its effect on the wheel-rail contact forces is investigated.

In the first stiffness optimisation model (kp_v1), the value of kp is

increased by 30% at location 1 and reduced by 15% at location 3,

keeping the value at location 2 unchanged. This can be achieved by

placing stiffer rail pads starting from some distance before the front of

the turnout. This gives a smaller change of kp values along the switch

panel: 416MN/m, 448MN/m, 462.4MN/m at location 1, 2 and 3,

respectively. The stiffness values in the second alternative model (kp_v2)

limits the stiffness increase between location 1 and location 3 down

further, to about 8%. This is obtained by increasing the value of kp at

location 1 by 28%, and reducing by 6% and 19% at location 2 and 3,

respectively. This gives values of kp at the three locations of

409.6MN/m, 441.6MN/m, 454.4MN/m. Figure 3a shows the stiffness

variation applied with the two stiffness arrangements.

However, optimising only the kp values in the switch panel does not

bring significant improvements. Together with the kp optimisation, the

lower spring-damper element stiffness (kb) variation is also considered

in the optimisation exercise. The value of kb is changed by a maximum

of ±20%, from the measured values. The kb value increased by 20% at

location 1, reduced by 10% at location 2 and reduced by 20%

at location 3, which gives 39MN/m, 41MN/m and 46.8MN/m,

respectively (see Figure 3b). Keeping the kp values as nominal and

varying kb reduces the wear index by almost a half, from 10N to 5.3N.





The Norwegian University of Science andTechnology (NTNU)

The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) – with itsmotto ‘Knowledge For A Better World’ – aims to create the basis for thedevelopment of knowledge and to create value – economic, cultural andsocial. NTNU is one of the largest universities in Norway withspecialisations in technology and the natural sciences. Railway is becomingone of the core areas of research within the department of Civil andTransport Engineering at NTNU. Please visit http://www.ntnu.edu/

Figure 3: (a) Variation of kp and (b) variation of kb along the switchpanel for the nominal and optimised arrangement

Figure 4: Wear indices (Tγ) with combinations of kp and kb variations.(Top) contact with the stock rail (Bottom) contact with the switch rail

(a)

(b)

A relatively large reduction in the wear index is obtained when

optimised kp and kb stiffness values are applied together. As shown in

Figure 4 (page 46), the maximum wear index, which is at 10.7m from

the front of the turnout, reduced from 18.9N to only 9.5N, which is a

good improvement on the performance of the S&C.

ConclusionA vertical track optimisation process is carried out using numerical

simulations, in the switches and crossings. A moving track model with

7-dof and varying track model parameters (rigid masses, stiffness and

damping) to incorporate the variation in track stiffness along the

turnout, is implemented. The track model data are extracted from track

receptances measured at three locations in the switch panel.

Optimising only the kp value (only changing the rail pad stiffness) shows

a slight reduction in the maximum wear index. A considerable

improvement in the wear index is obtained when both kb stiffness value

(using varying under sleeper pads) and the kp are optimised.

References1. A Zoll, Assessment of Rail Materials for Switches and Crossings, Proceedings of the

2nd International Conference on Railway Technology, Ajaccio, Corsica, France, 8-11 April 2014, pp.1-7

2. D Nicklisch, E Kassa, J Nielsen, M Ekh and S Iwnicki,Geometry and stiffnessoptimisation for switches & crossings, and simulation of material degradation,ProcIMechE, Part F, Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit, 224, 2010, pp.279-292


Dr. Elias Kassa is a Full Professor of RailwayEngineering at the Norwegian University of Science andTechnology (NTNU) Norway since March 2013. He hasbeen working actively for the last 12 years in railwayrelated activities. He is responsible for railway education atMaster and PhD levels at NTNU and he is invited lecturerat other universities. Prior to his position at NTNU, Elias has been involved in a range of railway specialised

projects in Sweden and the UK, and has published papers of his work inscientific journals. Elias obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in civilengineering from the Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia in 1998 and hisMasters degree in 2002 and PhD in 2007 both from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden. He has practical experience and is highlyknowledgeable on railway engineering – mainly in the permanent-way(track superstructure) including switches and crossings, railway-vehicleinteraction and wheel-rail interface.

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Waiting for Pendolino trains

In December 2014, 20 EIC Premium trains, commonly known as

Pendolinos, will commence regular services on Polish tracks. The

units, purchased by the domestic operator PKP Intercity, are to link

Warsaw with the largest cities: Gdańsk, Wrocław, Krakow and

Katowice. The preparations for this momentous event have entered

their most important phase. Dynamic tests of the Pendolinos on

the network managed by PKP PLK S.A. were completed shortly

before the end of 2013.

Historic moment On 24 November 2013, a new chapter opened in the history of the

Polish railways. It was on that day when a Pendolino train taking part in

certification tests reached the speed of 293km/h on the Central Rail

Line linking Warsaw and Katowice. Not only was it the fastest speed

ever reached by trains in Poland, but also the best result ever for the

Pendolino trains in general. The test rides were performed in

compliance with applicable safety rules on the part of the test section

The manager of the Polish state-owned railway infrastructure – PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe S.A. (PLK S.A.) – is implementing the largest investment programme in its history; its value, between 2012 and 2015, will amount to over €6 billion. For European Railway Review, Piotr Malepszak – Director of the Railroads Office atPKP PLK S.A – explains that the main characteristics of this huge programme are all about the optimal utilisationof the Pendolino trains which are to roll onto Polish tracks later this year, plus important infrastructuremodernisation works.

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that was suitable for accelerating to such a

speed. During the course of the tests, PKP

PLK S.A. was able to verify the traction

network and the new tracks, whereas PKP

Energetyka examined the power supply

system. The outcome of the tests showed

that, in practical terms, both the train and

the infrastructure are ready for regular

Pendolino services on Polish tracks starting

from December 2014. The experience

gained during the tests will be applied

at the decisive stage of preliminary work

prior to launching regular services with the

new trains.

Preparatory work is almost overThe current investments realised by PKP PLK

S.A. in order to prepare its infrastructure for

launching regular services with EIC Premium

trains are in progress on three main parts of

the network: on the E65 line between Tricity

and Warsaw; on the Central Rail Line

between Katowice and Krakow; and on the

so-called Koniecpol link – the railway lines

that are to create a connection between

Warsaw and Wrocław. On the first of the

aforementioned sections, work has nearly

been completed. What remains to be done is

the last part of the line between Malbork and

Iława. Moreover, modernisation of this line

comprises construction of a few missing

engineering structures which will contribute

to the elimination of level crossings. This, in

turn, will make it possible to augment the

maximum speed on the line to 160km/h.

Thanks to all this, in December 2015 EIC

Premium trains will be able to cover the route

from Warsaw to Gdańsk in approximately

3 hours. In subsequent years, once the

ETCS Level 2 system is commissioned,

the maximum speed on this route will

increase to 200km/h, which will result in a

further reduction in travel time.

200km/h on the Central Rail LineWork on the Central Rail Line focuses on the modification of

engineering structures. By December 2014, a few dozen viaducts,

culvert, bridges and level crossings will have been adapted to the needs

of the Pendolino trains. Before regular EIC Premium services are

launched on the Central Rail Line, track grinding and tamping need to

be performed. Other key work necessary for Pendolino services

to commence will be performed also by PKP Energetyka, which is in

charge of modernising the line power supply system. These efforts will

help the operator make the best use of the Pendolino’s potential as well

as to increase the maximum speed to 200km/h. Based on the

experiences gained while running the trains at this speed, in the years

to come they may gradually start to travel even faster. However, in

December 2014, the passengers will enjoy tangible benefits of the work

currently in progress. An EIC Premium train will take us from Warsaw to

Katowice and Krakow (approximately 300km) in less than 2.5 hours.

Only 3.5 hours to WrocławThe coming months will see yet another breakthrough in terms of

railway services on the Warsaw–Wrocław route. Currently, it takes well

over 5 hours to cover it by train. In December 2014, the Pendolino trains

will take you from one of these agglomerations to the other much

quicker. This will happen due to the results of the work currently being

done on the Central Rail Line, as well as due to the investments

PKP PLK S.A. is committed to improving the railway infrastructure in Poland

being implemented on the Opole–Wrocław line and revitalisation of

two parts of the line between Włoszczowa and Opole. Work under this

project will comprise in total the overhaul of nearly 160km of railway

lines with the objective being a travel time of less than 4 hours on the

Warsaw–Wrocław route, and 3.5 hours in the future.

Busy year The investments being realised during 2014 by PKP PLK S.A. go

beyond the future Pendolino routes. In fact, they cover nearly all

transport corridors in Poland. Work has already started on, amongst

others, modernisation of Rail Baltica.

Moreover, the projects commenced in

previous years will be continued. This

pertains to, for example, modernisation of

tracks on the section from Krakow to

Rzeszów, the railway line from Wrocław

to Poznań, or from Warsaw to Łódź. The

total value of the investment programme

implemented by PKP PLK S.A. in 2012-

2015 is over €6 billion. Just for 2014 alone,

the outlays on the modernisation of railway

infra structure will be almost €2 billion,

which will make it possible to commission

1,500km of upgraded tracks. Effective

spending of such enormous sums was

facilitated by introducing new standards of railway investment

implementation. A prelude to changes in the investment processes

was an audit and risk assessment performed for all infrastructure

projects ordered by the company. The process ended in March 2013.

Its outcome was a repair process which is a prerequisite for successful

implementation of the planned investment undertakings.

Risk managementOne of the main tasks delegated to PKP PLK S.A. units by the

Management Board in 2013 was the introduction of a new investment

risk management policy. As a result, a specialist Project Management

Office was established within the company’s structures, whose goal is

on-going project monitoring. It is also responsible for supervising the

plans of actions aimed at reducing the risk pertaining to the projects

that are being realised and monitored by the management.

The improved efficiency of the investment plan implementation was

also due to, amongst others, greater involvement of the teams in

optimising the process of procuring administrative decisions, stricter

control via on-site monitoring, as well as due to implementing a short-

and medium-term system of forecasting the demand for strategic

materials (rails, turnouts, breakstone etc.).

The right conclusionsPKP PLK S.A. has learnt its lesson from the problems with the

implementation of large-scale infrastructure investments in other

industries. For this reason a package of new tender regulations was

developed which will be of special importance in ensuring effective

investment implementation under the new EU perspective for

2014-2020. The key changes that should be mentioned here are

the contractors’ obligations to present a detailed investment

implementation schedule. Such a schedule, aside from giving

milestones and partial tasks, should also specify equipment and

personnel assets that the contractor will deploy in a given project

realisation phase; moreover, it must also provide data on financial

guarantees for the project. For these reasons, the schedule has become

the basic tool for cooperation with contractors. It allows for very careful

management of the investment projects.

Search for the best contractorsTo meet the expectations of its contractors, PKP PLK S.A. simplified the

procedure of granting contractual advance payments as well as

introduced a regulation allowing for inclusion into the new contracts of

permits for making payments towards the contractors for incomplete

work, namely the so-called ‘partial’ payments. At the same time, the

infrastructure manager announced strict application of contractual

penalties if the deadlines indicated in the schedule for specific

investment phases are not met, or if the schedule is not kept up-to-

date. Also the method of selecting infrastructure investment

contractors has been changed. With respect to its most important

investments, PKP PLK S.A. will use two-stage tenders. At the first stage,

the bidders will be analysed with regard to their experience and

performance potential, whilst at the second stage – the best of them

will be invited to take part in financial negotiations. This procedure

should help reduce the impact of the lowest price criterion as the main

one in selecting investment contractors.

Investment projects will be completed fasterAll these modifications should result in a maximum utilisation of EU

funding under the current EU budget perspective; however, they will

also guarantee effective implementation of the investment process in

2014-2020. The amount of €10.5 billion, which is nearly PLN 44 billion,

is to be spent on rail transport in this period. Because of that,

PKP PLK S.A. developed the Domestic Railway Programme (a pro -

gramme document for the 2014-2020 financial perspective) which

includes investment projects worth in total PLN 58.6 billion. Moreover,

the infrastructure manager will apply for the means under EU’s new

financial facility – ‘Connecting Europe Facility (CEF)’. In 2013, a long-

term programme of railway investments was developed for the projects

submitted for the CEF competition in 2014. In compliance with it, as

part of the first call for applications for the aforementioned facility,

PKP PLK S.A. will file five comprehensively prepared projects worth in

total PLN 8 billion. It means that in subsequent years, the investments

of PKP PLK S.A. will not only be far from slowing down, but in fact they

will markedly accelerate.

POLAND




Since August 2008, Piotr Malepszak has beenprofessionally connected with PKP Polish Railway LinesS.A., initially as a specialist in the Office for High-SpeedRail, and now currently as the Director of the Office of RailRoads and Plenipotentiary of the Board for therevitalisation of railway lines. Piotr is co-author of the firstprogramme of the revitalisation of the Polish railwaynetwork and is the author of the concept of improving the

technical parameters of the railway infrastructure, among others, by bettermatching the range of investments for infrastructure needs. Piotr currentlycoordinates the work associated with key investments within PKP PolishRailway Lines S.A., including projects involving Pendolino.

In December 2014, 20 EIC

Premium trains,commonly known

as Pendolinos, will commence

regular services onPolish tracks

FINANCE




From 1 January 2014, TEN-T EA became INEA. Beyond the

management of the legacy of the TEN-T network and of the Marco Polo

programmes, INEA now holds an extended mandate covering the

implementation of parts of Union programmes in the field of transport,

energy and telecommunications infrastructure (the new programme

Connecting Europe Facility – CEF) and in the field of transport and

energy research and innovation (parts of Part III Societal Challenges of

the Horizon 2020 Specific Programme).

Through this extended mandate, INEA will allow stakeholders to

benefit from the agency’s long-standing expertise and high quality of

programme management and service delivery. It will also provide a

single access point for funding for all potential beneficiaries. Finally,

bringing together the management of infrastructure and research

projects in the fields of transport and energy within INEA is expected to

result in significant economies of scale and synergies between such

activities – ultimately to benefit economic growth and EU citizens.

On-going INEA project portfolioINEA is currently managing approximately 400 open projects out of

almost 600 that were launched between 2007 and 2013.

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INEA: supporting rail projects

The Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA)1 is the successor to the Trans-European TransportNetwork Executive Agency (TEN-T EA), which was originally created by the European Commission in 2006 tomanage the technical and financial implementation of its TEN-T Programme dealing with transport infrastructureand the TEN-T network. Over the years, the TEN-T EA has demonstrated to be a well-organised agency whichperforms its mandated tasks in an effective and efficient manner. Dirk Beckers, Executive Director of INEAprovides further details about the Agency, its key rail projects, and what the future holds.

During this period, 14 Calls for Proposals were issued under Multi-

Annual and Annual Calls for Proposals. In the Multi-Annual Calls, around

80-85% of the available budgetary resources are allocated to

promoting TEN-T Priority Projects, traffic

management and cross-border sections;

whereas the Annual Calls devote around

15-20% of the available budgetary

resources for smaller projects covering the

different modes of transport. A special one-

off Call, under the European Economic

Recovery Plan (EERP), was published in

2009 to give an immediate boost to the

European economy. Thirty-nine projects

were selected under this call, with a total

available funding of €500 million.

The projects selected for funding

between 2007 and 2013 received a total of

€6.72 billion of actual support.

The Marco Polo Programme has also

awarded support to 146 projects aimed at

shifting the transport of freight from road to rail and other forms of

transport, totalling funding of €283 million in EU grants. Ninety of these

projects focused on modal shift to rail, with EU funding amounting to

€163 million.

Policy background for EU rail infrastructure projectsIn the past decades, the European Union has considerably developed

the legislation encouraging competitiveness and market opening in the

rail sector. The overarching idea has been that greater competition

makes for a more efficient and customer-responsive industry. Efforts

have concentrated on opening of the rail transport market to

competition, on improving the interoperability and safety of national

networks and encouraging the development of a well-integrated rail

system leading to ‘European’, rather than ‘national’, railways and on

developing rail transport infrastructure.

The latter was a clear priority already in the 2001 Transport White

Paper with its modal shift objective, and the 2004 TEN-T Guidelines

clearly focused EU investments in rail and water transport with 18 out of

the 30 priority projects identified being rail projects.

The 2011 Transport White Paper aims to create a Single European

Transport Area with more competition and a fully integrated transport

network which links the different modes and allows for a profound shift

in transport patterns for passengers and freight. It made a clear

commitment to rail for both passenger and freight transport and a

dedication to the use of the pan-European traffic management system

ERTMS. In particular, the Commission singled out specific rail goals

which will contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by

60% by 2050, notably by:

■ Completing a high-speed rail network (2050)

■ Tripling the length of the high-speed rail network (2030) and

maintaining a dense railway network in all Member States

■ Having a majority of medium-distance passenger transport by

rail (2050).

As of January 2014, the new 2013 TEN-T Guidelines and Connecting

Europe Facility (CEF) Regulation form an important building block in the

development of a well-functioning Single European Railway Area by

closing the gaps between Member States’ transport networks,

removing bottlenecks that still hamper the smooth functioning of the

internal market and overcoming technical barriers such as incompatible

FINANCE




Table 1: The top five rail projects by actual EU support

Member ActualStart Project States EU Support

Title of the project Year Status Involved (€)

New Lyon–Turin Rail Link – Franco–Italian Common Part of the 2007 Ongoing France, Italy 395,300,000International Section (Studies and Works)

The freight and passenger rail link between Lyon and Turin will act as a key node between northern and southern Europe (London/Amsterdam/Paris–Milano) and west and east (Lisbon–Budapest). It will considerably shorten travel times for high-speed passenger traffic and provide an environmentally-friendly response to the steadily increasing demand for freight transport over the Alps.

Studies and works for the construction of Fehmarn Belt fixed rail-road link 2007 Ongoing Germany, Denmark 204,900,000

The Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link project involves the construction of a tunnel to form a fixed road and rail link spanning the 19km-wide Fehmarn Strait between Germany and Denmark.

High-speed line Rhine–Rhône, eastern section 2007 Ongoing France 198,000,000

The Rhine-Rhône high-speed rail line between Dijon and Mulhouse will connect the Paris region to eastern France and to Switzerland as well as Germany. It will also eventually link eastern France to the high-speed line between Paris, southern France, Italy, and Spain.

TEN-T Priority Project #1, Brenner Base Tunnel – Studies 2007 Ongoing Austria, Italy 193,400,000

The Brenner Base Tunnel project foresees the construction of two low-gradient parallel tunnels envisaged mainly for the transport of heavy goods across the Alps. It will run for 55km from Innsbruck (in Austria) to Franzensfeste/Fortezza (in Italy).

TEN-T Priority Project #1, Brenner Base Tunnel – Works 2007 Ongoing Austria, Italy 168,200,000

The Brenner Base Tunnel project foresees the construction of two low-gradient parallel tunnels envisaged mainly for the transport of heavy goods across the Alps. It will run for 55km from Innsbruck (in Austria) to Franzensfeste/Fortezza (in Italy).

The rail projects managed

by INEA range fromambitious large-

scale internationalundertakings such as

the Brenner Basetunnel in the Alps tosimple line upgradesat the regional level

FINANCE




standards for railway traffic. Investment under

CEF will therefore be focused on:

■ Removing bottlenecks

■ Enhancing rail interoperability

■ Bridging missing links

■ Improving cross-border sections.

EU rail infrastructure projectsRail has been an essential part of the

TEN-T Programme, especially throughout the

entire 2007–2013 financial framework of

the Commission.

Of all the projects established during the

2007–2013 period, 270 were rail projects

(including both rail and European Rail Traffic

Management System – ERTMS) and the corresponding funding

allocated to the sector was over €4.3 billion. By far the highest,

this represents the importance of the sector to European TEN-T policy

aims overall.

Key rail projectsThe rail projects managed by INEA range from ambitious large-scale

international undertakings such as the Brenner Base tunnel in the Alps

to simple line upgrades at the regional level (see Table 1, page 52).

To give some other concrete examples, the Agency pro-

vided implementation support for a global project which constructed

a 44.4km-long section of high-speed line between the Spanish

town of Figueres and Perpignan in France.

The specific project, which included the

construction of an 8.2km-long tunnel and

a number of viaducts, received just over

€60 million in EU TEN-T co-financing.

It was completed in 2009, and has

improved mobility across the Franco-

Spanish border and increased the overall

safety of rail transport.

The TEN-T Programme also funds

smaller infrastructure improvements if

these are deemed to have a positive impact

on TEN-T network development and

European mobility as a whole. Another

Agency-managed project, receiving a total amount of EU TEN-T

co-financing of €2.2 million, supported the construction of a new

2.2km-long section of single track line between Cattolica and Pesaro on

the Italian Adriatic coast. Although the length of the works may seem

insignificant, the project removed a large bottleneck which was slowing

down north-south passenger and freight rail traffic as a whole in Italy.

Funding channelled to rail infrastructure does not only include

improvements to lines and laying down new tracks. As part of the EU

priority to make transport smarter, €482 million has been allocated to

projects focusing on ERTMS (see Figure 1), in order to foster the

adoption of a common European train management standard which

will ensure faster connections and an increased level of safety.

When summed to the other rail projects this yields an impressive

€4.3 billion for the entire rail sector.

A concrete example of a successful implementation of an ERTMS

project is the equipment of 97 Austrian locomotives with the latest

version of the European Train Control System (ETCS), one of the two

integral elements comprising the ERTMS system. The project, which

was supported by the EU project to the tune of €7.3 million, guarantees

railway interoperability on a significant section of ERTMS Corridor E

located between Austria and Romania – about two-thirds of the

total length of the corridor connecting southeast Europe to the heart

of the EU.

Future outlookINEA will continue to follow-up the implementation of rail infrastructure

projects through the final part of the 2007–2013 TEN-T Programme to

improve the European rail sector’s performance and increase its

attractiveness, in line with the European Commission’s priorities

outlined in the Transport White Paper. It will also be responsible for the

projects to be launched under CEF Transport, where the first call for

proposals will be launched later this year.

The Agency will also soon be responsible for its first transport

research projects – which will, however, not specifically involve the rail

sector as this will be undertaken by the new Joint Undertaking

‘Shift2Rail’, which is currently being established between major rail

stakeholders and the European Commission. INEA will nevertheless

collaborate with this Joint Undertaking to exploit synergies between

the research and implementation phases.

INEA will always strive to offer the best added value to both the

European Union as well as its project stakeholders, to guarantee a

continuous flow of funding and ensure that rail is supported in line with

the overall policy priorities of the White Paper, TEN Guidelines and

CEF Regulation.

Reference1. http://inea.ec.europa.eu / [email protected]

Dirk Beckers was the Executive Director of TEN-T EAfrom its creation in 2007 and throughout its mandate. SinceJanuary 2014, Dirk is now the Executive Director of theInnovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA). Hehas been a European Commission Official since 1988, andhas extensive experience in the fields of transport, energyand research, and in the management of financial andhuman resources.

Figure 1: Actual EU support by mode of transport

INEA will always strive to offer

the best added value to both the

European Union as well as its

project stakeholders

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With Alstom, designing uidity becomes a reality

www.alstom.com

Alstom designs sustainable and global railway solutions tailored to each operator and public authorities they serve. Whether people are planning transport systems, operating them, or riding them, Alstom irons out obstacles. We create systems that meet daily the new challenges of smarter mobility by building and maintaining solutions that run smoothly and ef ciently. To us, success is when passengers, who enjoy seamless and safe journeys, make this new mobility their own and fully integrate it in their lifestyle.

ALS_Affiches_500x700_UK_50%.indd 12 03/07/13 09:09




Signalling &Telecommunications

SUPPLEMENT

SPONSORED BY:

56 ERTMS: continuing to shape compatibilityand harmonisation in EuropeLibor Lochman and Jean-Baptiste Simonnet,Community of European Railway andInfrastructure Companies (CER)

59 An openETCS@ITEA2project updateKlaus-Rüdiger Hase, DB Netz AG

65 The development of ERTMS in theCzech RepublicPetr Varadinov, SŽDC

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ERTMS: continuing toshape compatibility andharmonisation in Europe

One of the challenges faced while developing the new system was to

ensure that safety, reliability and quality of service for train operations

would be improved or at least maintained.

The criteria for success would be to reduce the life-cycle costs of

the control-command and signalling systems and, in particular, enable

railway actors to buy systems and parts from different suppliers.

25 years on and the principle target, interoperability, is not yet achievedIn 1993 the first elements of an ERTMS mock-up were made available,

with the first demonstrators available from 1999 onwards. However, the

first complete system specification could only be achieved in 2008.

ERTMS is now implemented in various countries but divergent

ERTMS development was launched in 1989. The objective was to shape a harmonised and unified system forsignalling, train control and train communication. The main drivers of this decision were not only to facilitateinteroperability across the European railway and to improve technical compatibility (e.g. compatibility betweenvendor solutions) but also to harmonise and facilitate operations (e.g. harmonised human-machine interfaces),explains Libor Lochman and Jean-Baptiste Simonnet from the Community of European Railway and InfrastructureCompanies (CER).

SIGNALLING & TELECOMMUNICATIONS S U P P L E M E N T




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requirements and processes jeopardise the

desired interoperability.

Since 2012, binding European ERTMS

deployment plans are available for each

country but the systems installed are still

mutually incompatible, even within a given

‘ERTMS corridor’. In addition, in each country,

specific certification processes have to be

applied and railway undertakings have to

follow national or even local operational rules.

A system authorised in one Member State

will most probably not be accepted in a

neighbouring country without new develop -

ment or at least demonstrations.

All this after 25 years – when ERTMS

would now naturally need to benefit

from innovation.

In high-density areas, ERTMS should allow interfacing with

automatic train operations to increase line capacity, while in low- density

areas, satellite applications could enable a reduction in infrastructure

investments and maintenance costs. These add-on functions as well as

the attempt to define ‘low-cost’ solutions for a ‘regional ERTMS’ are

opportunities to improve the system but will have to be carefully

addressed to avoid any disruption to

interopera bility principles.

These new challenges come at the

same time as the need to complete

the convergence towards a stable and

compatible system; at a time when

there are still numerous changes or

new functionalities in the pipeline that

have not yet been resolved or at

least scheduled.

ERTMS deployment shall becoordinated and predictableMajor ERTMS investment programmes have been launched and some

countries are planning to equip their entire network. Regrettably

however, the financial constraints are often delaying the programmes.

‘Interoperability through corridors’ can only become a reality if

there is a serious and synchronous commitment by all the Member

States involved in each corridor. The appointment of a European

coordinator for ERTMS is a positive step forward, but now concrete

actions have to be taken to smooth out deploy ment and guarantee a

coordinated European approach.

ERTMS specifications have been periodically revised over the last

years, allowing positive progress towards interoperability and stability.

Never theless, the successive versions impose high re-authorisation

costs in the various countries. If a single authorisation process for

ERTMS systems that is recognised and valid all around Europe cannot

be enforced, railways will be ruined by the re-certification burden and a

single railway area will never become a reality.

Trackside installations have to use stable specificationsA new release of the ERTMS specification is planned to be

published soon but the top priority remains the same as in 2012

when the last version was adopted: trackside installations have to use

stable specifications.

Installing continuous trackside ERTMS coverage along the principal

European corridors is still the key challenge. None of the corridors are

completely equipped with TSI-compliant ERTMS yet. Only correctly

installed continuous trackside ERTMS coverage along the principal

European lines will provide the necessary incentive for train operating

companies to invest in on-board ERTMS equipment (which would

otherwise be a waste of money).

A huge effort has been made to define ex-ante solutions to ensure

the compatibility between ERTMS baselines. For already installed

trackside ERTMS, some adaptations or upgrades will still be necessary;

but the upcoming ERTMS specification should allow the design

of on-board equipment compatible with more than one certified

trackside installation.

Infrastructure managers, railway under takings and vehicle lessors

cannot solve the problem by themselves: the European Railway

Agency as well as the suppliers have to play an active role to guarantee

that certified on-board equipment is compatible with any certified

(i.e. TSI-compliant) trackside installations without the need for

any further enhancement, test or authorisation. It is the important

duty of the National Safety Authorities to only authorise fully

TSI-compliant equipment.

Incentive schemes need to be developed for on-board ERTMS investment by the RUsERTMS was designed in the late 1980s, when most railways were

integrated companies. Then, benefits on line capacity could have

balanced some of the migration costs for rolling stock.

Nowadays, railway undertakings have to prepare massive

investments for ERTMS without being able to justify it by an added

value for the railway customers (especially in the case of freight and

high-speed services). ERTMS itself does not bring more customers for

train operating companies; moreover, the burdensome investment

costs for railway undertakings may lead to higher prices thus decreasing

the modal share of railway.

Financing mechanisms as well as loans and subsidies have to be


With ERTMS progressively being deployed in all Member States, ensuring the compatibility of thepast, present and future systems is the key challenge.

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The cost of ERTMS assembly

in trains still has to be made

easier to bear

made available to reduce the necessary

investments for railway undertakings.

Reliable trackside migration plans are

needed to allow railway undertakings to plan

the upgrade of their fleets in the most

economical way. These plans should also cover

the decommissioning of the current trackside

part of the national train protection system

which is to be replaced by ERTMS; this is of

utmost importance to make the best use of the

residual value of the existing fleets.

In addition, the cost of ERTMS assembly in

trains still has to be made easier to bear. The

modularisation of the system (definition of

the interfaces, architecture allowing to change

some technology without impacting the core

functions and performance) is still a key

challenge for its maintenance and viability,

influencing its cost.

There is still a future for ERTMSLet us always keep in mind the principle

challenge faced by railways: competitiveness in

terms of quality, service and price vis-à-vis the

other transport modes.

ERTMS allows smooth and safe operations

on many lines in Europe. In most cases, the performance of the system

is satisfactory. One could say that ERTMS is a valid answer to the

problem of harmonising European solutions for signalling and traffic

control, even though some measures are still needed to solve the

remaining national incompatibilities.

It is an answer that can be built upon

for the future. With ERTMS progressively

being deployed in all Member States,

ensuring the compatibility of the past,

present and future systems is the key

challenge. In a complex environment where

different authorities, vendors and users are

involved, the management of the various

facets of ERTMS has to be carefully

handled in order to protect the investment

already made and encourage new investors

to trust ERTMS.





Libor Lochman has been Executive Director of CERsince 1 January 2012. Libor graduated at the TransportUniversity in Zilina and has doctorate in electronics fromthe West-Bohemian University Plzen. He has a strongbackground in Control-Command and signalling systems.Prior to his role as CER Deputy Executive Director andLead of Technical Affairs (2007-2011), Libor acted asDirector of the Railway Test Centre – a facility for testing

European rolling stock, infrastructure and signalling components in Prague(2000-2005). Libor joined the Editorial Board of European Railway Reviewin January 2013.

Jean-Baptiste Simonnet has been Senior TechnicalAdviser at CER since 2012. He graduated from theGrenoble Polytechnical Institute in 2000, and worked asProgramme Management Officer in the defence andaeronautic industry, steering the design, certification and support of safety critical systems. In 2007, Jean-Baptiste joined SNCF and acted as Project Buyer fornew-build train tenders and contracts. As CER Senior

Technical Adviser, Jean-Baptiste covers a range of technical issues includingrolling stock, safety and ERTMS regulations.

KEYMILE presents new generation of LineRunner SCADA NGtransmission systems

KEYMILE has enhanced its modular LineRunner SCADA NG transmissionsystem for mission critical railway telecommunication networks. Newfeatures include line interfaces for transmitting via 4-wire SHDSL andoptical fibre with SFPs. Maximum data rates of up to 25 Mbps are nowachievable.

KEYMILE’s LineRunner SCADA NG is used in mission-criticalnetworks belonging to railway companies. Network operators can fit it withdifferent line interfaces, allowing flexibility with regard to the transmissionmedium. There are various different interfaces for transmission via opticalfibre that differ in terms of bandwidth and transmission range. A new lineinterface now enables the use of SFPs. Furthermore, railway companies canalso transmit data with an E1 interface via an SDH/PDH network.

LineRunner SCADA NG is applied if accurate data transmission isrequired in tough ambient conditions and where space is limited. Thereforethe transmission system needs to be able to function outdoors and operateextremely reliably and safely in tough climates. Network operators can use itin a temperature range of -40°C to +70°C. In addition to the user interface,each LineRunner SCADA NG has two line interfaces. Furthermore, itfunctions as a repeater and media converter.

Similarly to public telecommunications networks, Ethernet/IP is alsobecoming more important in telecontrol and SCADA networks. Due to therising frequency of these protocols, Ethernet/IP data also increasingly has tobe transmitted in these networks in addition to serial data. Therefore, thetransmission system should support both options. LineRunner SCADA NGand the associated equipment turn the system into a compact, flexible andreliable transmission solution.

www.keymile.com

One of the challenges faced while developing the new ERTMS system was to ensure that safety,reliability and quality of service for train operations would be improved or at least maintained.

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ERTMS allows smooth

and safe operationson many lines

in Europe

openETCS®: the basicsThe basic principles of the openETCS® concept have already been

highlighted in previous publications2,3 – openETCS® is a new approach

to specify, design, tender, further develop and maintain on-board units

for the unified European Train Control System (ETCS) to better meet

railway undertaking’s needs to equip trains in a more economical way,

based on open standards on various levels, including interface

definitions and Open Source Software (OSS), initiated by some major

European railway operators. The openETCS® initiative is characterised

by the following two components:

1) A commercial component, requesting for the tendering process for

new ETCS On-Board Units (OBU) OSS license options for the

software inside the OBU, as well as some selected tools, in order to

avoid ‘Vendor Lock-in’ situations for further system maintenance

and long-term support

2) A strategic component, given by an accompanying R&D project for

implementing a concept called ‘Open Proofs’4 with the goal to

provide three major results: a) a software development tools chain

for creating the following artefacts; b) a formalised specification

derived from the ETCS natural language System Requirement

Specification (SRS) Subset-026, which can be directly used as an

executable model of the system for direct verification of functional

definitions; c) a non-vital ERTMS OBU software package generated

from this formalised specification in order to be used inside a

European Vital Computer (EVC) providing the sector with a vendor-

neutral reference device for (laboratory) OBU or track site

acceptance test purposes.

All artefacts created in the project were supposed to be licensed

under an open source license, preferably the European Public License

(EUPL), utilising cost sharing effects, accelerating innovation,

standardising software production, improving software productivity and

system security by more transparency, and in the longer run providing

vendor-independent very long-term system support, securing

operator’s investments.

At the time when the above-mentioned article was written,

a three-year ITEA2 project within the EUREKA R&D framework with

more than 30 European partners from approximately 10 EU Member

States led by Deutsche Bahn was about to start, still waiting for final

funding decisions.

Project start in 2012In early-2012 it was not yet clear which EU Member State’s funding

authority would finally provide public funding according to the ITEA2

funding scheme. While project approval is centralised by the

ITEA2 organisation, a EUREKA cluster for “Information Technology for





The openETCS® concept consists of two components: a commercial one, requesting open source licensed ETCSOBU software, plus a three-year openETCS® R&D project within the ITEA2 cluster of the EUREKA R&Dframework. Now almost halfway through, the project has already reached one of its mayor milestones – providinga tools chain for formalising the ETCS system specification (SRS Subset-026), generating a reference softwarefrom the formal specification. Tools can be freely downloaded from the openETCS®website1. Activities are nowconcentrating on the conversion of the ‘prose’ SRS into a formalised executable model and verification andvalidation tasks. Klaus-Rüdiger Hase, Project Leader – openETCS at DB Netz AG, explains more.

An openETCS@ITEA2project update

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European Advancement”, individual funding decisions are made on

national level. The national organisations have their own agenda and

therefore it took almost a year between the first positive decision made

by France and the last one by Spain. The latter is worth emphasising

since funding was provided despite all financial turbulences at that time.

Further funding is provided by the Brussels region in Belgium and last

but not least by the German Ministry of Research and Education. Up to

now, all 32 partners who have signed-up

for this project are still on-board. All

partner and basic project information can

be found on the official ITEA website5.

Despite pending funding decisions,

the project was able to successfully start as

scheduled on 1 July 2012 and was online2

and productive within less than three

weeks thanks to an open source repository

framework providing state-of-the-art

Git® version control repository services

provided by GitHub®. GitHub is a hosting

service providing free-of-charge hosting

for open source projects but charges only

for private repositories, which are not

accessible to the general public6.

While the technical set-up was accomplished within a few days, the

legal set-up for a fully open European R&D project was a complete

novelty for an industry that never had applied open source in the past,

and therefore it took almost six months to reach the current status.

For this openETCS@ITEA2 project however, following the ‘open proofs’

philosophy, full transparency of the entire process of document and

software generation was an essential goal. Even decision-making

processes are public and therefore fully transparent. Therefore a

completely new legal contract had to be created. In order to make sure

that the open source software and open source documents can be used

commercially, one aspect had to be guaranteed right from the

beginning, and that is called ‘IP cleanness’. This means that all artefacts

(documents, software, etc.) are using the same Intellectual Property

Rights (IPR) concept and artefacts must not be ‘contaminated’ neither

by elements ‘stolen’ from other closed source projects, nor other even

open source items, not compatible with the project’s IPR profile and

therefore potentially violating third party’s IPR.

Pioneering a fully open software project for safety critical softwareSince this is most likely the first public project in the railway sector, which

results will eventually be used in commercial safety critical devices, the

legal liability provisions needed to be fully in-line with European legal

liability and product responsibility laws. Most open source license

concepts have their origin in the U.S. and therefore in almost all cases

are not fully compliant with the European legal system. That has been

recognised by the European Commission (EC) who had therefore

already issued a first version of the ‘European Union Public License’

(EUPL7) in 2007, which was then refined as version 1.1 in 2009. The EUPL

in its current state was mainly made for software in the sense

of computer programmes and does not cover all aspects of

documentation. However, since much of the safety work results in

elaborate documentation, mainly text, but also drawings and

occasionally pictures, the ‘openETCS Open License Terms’ (oOLT) are a

combination of the EUPL V.1.1 and complemented by the ‘Creative

Commons – by – Share Alike 3.0’ (CC-by-SA 3.08 license or so-called

‘Wikipedia License’. The latter is particularly suitable for all textual and

graphical artefacts and widely used in the open source community; a lot

of CC-by-SA licensed material is available on the internet that can be

used within the openETCS® project.

On the other hand for all potential users

of the project results, it must be simple to

meet the license terms: artefacts found on

the openETCS® GitHub repositories can be

freely used, modified and redistributed, as

long as sub-licensing is taking place under

the same terms and conditions as acquired.

That means the oOLT carries a so-called

‘Copy-Left’ provision, which secures the

freedom of an artefact to be used for any

purpose, freedom to analyse it, freedom to

modify it and freedom to redistribute it, but

forbids that project results are redistributed

under proprietary licenses. This helps that

future improvements are flowing back to

the project.

Everyone can actively participate in the

openETCS® project – i.e. read documents,

download and try out any software and then

write comments, critique, make suggestions,

or provide improvements by using the ‘issue

tracker’ which is an easy to use online editor

on the web. The person responsible for that





Figure 1: Tools Chain providing a seamless workflow from a natural language (‘prose’)specification to a formalised, model-based representation of that specification and code generationto be made available for executing on a defined software interface

openETCS® is a new approach to

specify, design,tender, further

develop andmaintain on-board

units for the unified ETCS

particular repository, usually the work

package leader or task leader, has then to

react in due time to those issues. The only

requirement is that individuals have to

register with the GitHub service and as long

as their contributions do not exceed a certain

volume, no special paperwork has to be

processed. However, once contributed

material exceeds a certain limit, usually

200 characters, contributors have to reveal

their identity to the project office and need to

agree in writing with the terms and conditions

of this project, in order to make sure that the

IPR is kept clean. Posted issues can be

discussed by other parties and once they are

settled, they get closed by the responsible

person, but can be traced back at any time.

Even formal reviews are carried out by means

of the issue tracker, since it perfectly

guarantees full traceability and transparency

of the decision-making process.

However, not everyone is allowed to

contribute directly to the repositories by

modifying existing or uploading new

material. Only individuals who are qualified according to CENELEC

EN50128:2011 chapter ‘5.2 Personnel competence’9 are allowed to do

so. Those people with such ‘write’ privileges are called ‘Committers’.

Project partners, which are mostly corporations or academic

organisations, have to comply with the ‘Corporate Committer

Agreement’ as part of the above mentioned PCA and have to

guarantee that their staff meet those requirements. However, any

individual can set-up a personal repository on GitHub, separated from


Figure 2: The ‘openETCS Tools Landscape’ and participating work packages: WP3 (Modelling &Code Generation), WP4 (Verification & Validation), WP5 (Simulation), and WP7 (Tools R&D).

the openETCS® repositories and offer their

contribution to Committers. The Committer

has to act as a ‘Quality Gate Keeper’ who has

to check the material for technical as well as

IPR compliance before uploading artefacts

to the openETCS® repositories. Details

about the procedures are laid down in the

‘Governance’ repository and are defined in

the ‘openETCS Development Procedure’

and ‘openETCS Charta’, which are all

available on the openETCS repositories. In

general, the openETCS projects follows

closely the Eclipse® procedures, as provided

by the Eclipse Foundation, the largest

professional open Source Community.

All projects will eventually end and in

many cases the question ‘Who takes care of

the project results in the aftermath?’ is not

given sufficient attention right from the

beginning. For the openETCS® initiative,

the ‘openETCS Foundation e.V.’ (oEF e.V.) has been founded in the

legal framework of a registered association according to German Civil

Code as a not-for-profit organisation to secure future utilisation

and exploitation of all project results and managing the IPR. The

oEF e.V. has been founded mainly by railway individuals (ATOC,

DB, NS, SNCF, Trenitalia), but is open to all actively participating

individuals (Committers) as well as corporations, contributing to the

openETCS® project.

First results on the Tools ChainBeside setting-up the ‘production platform’ and providing process

definition and requirement documents, the first major milestone was

due in January 2014 and was supposed to deliver a Tools Chain for

further work. That Tools Chain will be used for converting the ETCS

System Requirement Specification, namely SubSet-026 and related

documents, into a formalised specification. This will be completed in a

way that it represents an executable model, which then subsequently is

supposed to be converted into an executable software package.

The software derived from a formal specification is intended to run on a

non-vital reference ETCS OBU for laboratory test purposed only, but

later also for the use in regular EVC (European Vital Computers).

Additional proofing tools providing verification and validation support

will complete this Tools Chain.

The goal for this Tools Chain was to support a two-step

formalisation approach with an initial easy to handle semi-formal model

based description format and in addition a strictly formal step providing

well defined syntax and semantic allowing formal proofing methods to

be used for very critical functions. A code generator will convert the

model into common programming languages used in safety software

application, like ADA or restricted ANSI C. All those tools should

support a seamless production flow (see Figure 1, page 60) delivering

all intermediate as well as final artefacts in an open format, while

supporting full traceability. A version management has to cover the

entire creation process. Supporting all major operating systems and

utilising a widely accepted modelling framework was equally requested

and everything had to be at a high quality level and therefore certifiable

for CENELEC EN50128:2011 SIL 4 software production AND available

under OSS license term as well.

Developing all tools from scratch was not intended, since such tools

can be very complex. However, since several other projects like

TOPCASED10 had already developed such tools, the tools group (Work

Package 7) had the task to research the open source tools ‘market’,

select potential candidates for the openETCS® tools chain and compare

their performance with respect to tools matureness, usability, actual

distribution and acceptance in the railway signalling industry and

compatibility with major platforms and operating systems. More than

20 tools had been identified and were used for converting samples of

the SRS during an elaborate benchmark process. The OSS tools were

also compared with closed source proprietary tools11.

For the semi-formal formalisation step all requirements could be

met by selecting:

1) Git version control management system on GitHub hosting services

2) Eclipse Modelling Framework (EMF) as a platform for executing

formalised models

3) SysML as modelling language, supported by the

4) Papyrus tool developed by the Eclipse eco-system

5) ProR a requirement and traceability tool supporting the ReqIF

interchange format.

This set of tools basically covers all modelling work on a semi-

formal level and tools are well accepted in the industry. Additional

tools are available for code generation, as well as verification and

validation work.

However, our further market research on tools has come to the

result that for more strictly formalisation work, supporting tools for

methods like the ‘B method’ are principally available under an

OSS license, however a link between the SysML level and the

B language level needed to be developed, and most likely exceeding

our time frame set by the ITEA2 project. On the other hand, closed

source tools like SCADE® for formalisation as well as code generation





Figure 3: Screen-shot from active formalisation work of Subset-026 module ‘ValidDataDirect’using the openETCS Papyrus tool with SysML on MS Windows operating system





were available, already certified for SIL4 software production, providing

open specified artefact formats, but the tool itself is only available

under a proprietary software license.

Since the formalisation, code generation and implementation

activities were not able to wait any longer, a compromise had to be

found to accommodate further activities as defined in the ITEA2

project. Therefore, SCADE System and SCADE Suite have been

selected to provide a fully operational Tools Chain immediately, which

supports open formats, SysML artefacts, is compatible with Papyrus,

and provides code generators.

That does not mean, that the openETCS® initiative is giving up on

the ‘open proofs’ philosophy, but pragmatic reasoning had come to the

conclusion that tools supporting strictly formal methods may need a

few more years and intensive development work to become available

under OSS licensing, allowing vendor-independent very long-term tools

support. Since the software industry has already recognised this issue

and e.g. has formed an industrial working group within the Eclipse eco-

system under the name POLARSYS12 addressing such problems,

chances are that by joining such working group a migration path from a

partly open/partly closed Tools Chain to a fully open source Tools Chain

can be provided within the foreseeable future. Therefore the ‘tools

work package’ has put its focus on formulating a migration strategy to

be used for a future follow-up project.

All open source tools can be downloaded from the ‘tools’

download section of the openETCS® website while the aforementioned

closed source tools need to be obtained from the original supplier.

Beside the aforementioned SysML based Tools Chain, one

openETCS® partner has provided their tool, called ‘ERTMS Formal

Specs’ (EFS), utilising a ‘Domain Specific Language’ under the EUPL

v.1.1 OSS license. It can be downloaded from the openETCS®

repository. EFS has neither yet a link to SysML nor a code generator for

embedded control system integration, but is used within the verification

and validation activities, since a large portion of the SRS had already

been processed with EFS. The full ‘Landscape’ of the openETCS® tools

activities is shown in Figure 2 (page 61).

Initial work for formalising the SRSDuring the tools evaluation, certain sections of the SRS have been

formalised with all tools for benchmark purposes, as so with the tools

selected for the openETCS® Tools Chain. Final preparation for the

formalisation work with the final choice was started in the last quarter of

2013 after the preliminary report on the final primary Tools Chain was

available from work package 3.

The on-going work in the openETCS@ITEA2 project is now

focussing on formalising and modelling with Papyrus and SCADE.

Figure 3 (page 62) shows a screen-shot from on-going work of some

functional elements from the SRS Subset-026.

ConclusionAfter having contracted a first open source licence for the ICE-T (Class

411/515) ETCS OBU, the accompanying ITEA2 R&D project was

successfully started in July 2012 and has reached one of its major

milestones ahead of time – delivering a working Tools Chain in order to

accomplish further project tasks like formalising the ETCS SRS and

generating a reference software package for an OBU. The goal for a

Tools Chain for supporting a semi-formal model based software

development framework was fully accomplished by utilising software

tools from other projects, in particular TOPCASED and Eclipse.

However, a professional grade strictly formal tools set and

certifiable code generators are not yet available under open source

license and so a compromise had to be found to fill the gap with

proprietary tools, by not compromising on quality and safety.

That solution allows the project to go on, but does not mean that the

larger goal for a full implementation of the open proofs concept has

been given up. A migration concept is under investigation to eventually

come to a fully open source licensed Tools Chain preferably in

cooperation with working groups like POLARSYS, which are pursuing

similar objectives.

References1. www.openETCS.org

2. European Railway Review, Volume 18 Issue 3, May 2012, Pages 30-34 – ‘openETCS:applying ‘Open Proofs’ to European Train Control

3. Hase, Klaus-Rüdiger: “Open Proof” for Railway Safety Software – A Potential Way-out of Vendor Lock-in, Advancing to Standardization, Transparency, and SoftwareSecurity; Eckehard Schnieder, Géza Tarnai (Editors); FORMS/FORMAT 2010,Tagungsband; Springer-Verlag, Berlin Hei-delberg 2011; ISBN 978-3-642-14260-4

4. Open proofs: http://www.openproofs.org/wiki/Main_Page

5. https://itea3.org/project/openetcs.html

6. https://github.com/openETCS/

7. European Commission, IDABC: European Union Public Licence – EUPL v.1.1 Jan. 9,2009. http://ec.europa.eu/idabc/en/document/7774

8. Creative Commons http://creativecommons.org/

9. CENELEC. EN 50128:2011 – Railway applications – Communications, signallingand processing systems – Software for railway control and protection systems.Preliminary Version for vote, CENELEC European Committee for ElectrotechnicalStandardization, Central Secr.: Rue de Stassart 35, B1050 Brussels, 06/2011.

10. TOPCASED®: The Open Source Toolkit for Critical Systems;http://www.topcased.org

11. Details can be found in the document named: “Report on the Final Choice of thePrimary Tool Chain” (“toolchain” repository, document D.7.1). All documents areavailable in PDF format.

12. POLARSYS®; Eclipse Industrial Working Group: http://polarsys.org/

Dr. Klaus-Rüdiger Hase has been working for DeutscheBahn since 2002, currently at DB Netz AG in charge of theopenETCS® project. Until 2007, Klaus-Rüdiger wasmanaging DB’s regional EMU/DMU engineering group.Between 1987 and 1998 he used to work for AEGTransportation in Berlin and Pittsburgh, PA, (USA) beforehe became Head of R&D for on-board electronics atKnorr-Bremse AG, Munich. In 2008, Klaus-Rüdiger

launched DB’s international openETCS initiative, which has resulted in2012 in an ITEA2 project within EU’s EUREKA R&D programme.

FundingThe openETCS@ITEA2 project is funded by authorities in Belgium,France, Germany and Spain:

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The developmentof ERTMS in theCzech Republic

Control and safety sub-systemImportant and essential railway lines have been gradually modernised

since the early 1990s. Comprehensive track work is being implemented

including construction of lines, traction work, and improving safety and

signalling equipment; all with the objective of increasing speeds and

line capacity.

Station interlocking equipment with relay technology was initially

replaced by hybrid equipment with electronic control levels, and fully-

electronic equipment has now been in place for more than 10 years.

Automatic block signalling operates between line blocks, and older

relay equipment is also being gradually replaced by fully-electronic

systems with components centralised in neighbouring stations. Similar

technology development is also being assessed for railway crossings

signalling equipment.

For the detection of railway vehicles, low-frequency track circuits

are being used which, at the same time, ensure information is transfered

to the national automatic train protection system. Axle counters are

also being used on track sections where there is no information

transfer available.

The modernisation of lines gradually creates conditions for

centralised traffic control. It is intended to control the main lines on the

entire Czech Republic network from two control centres – one in Prague

and one in Přerov. Line modernisation also creates suitable conditions

to subsequently put GSM-R and ETCS into operation on the Czech rail

SŽDC is a state-organisation tasked with the role of railway infrastructure manager for the Czech Republic. The country’s railway network has approximately 9,459km of lines which consist of 1,950km of double-and multi-tracks and 7,509km of single track lines operating with standard gauge. Only 23km of single-track lines arenarrow-gauged. Approximately 3,216km of lines are electrified, with about 56% having a DC 3 kV system and44% with an AC 25 kV/50 Hz system, explains Petr Varadinov, Signalling Systems and ERTMS ApplicationsSpecialist Engineer at SŽDC.

network. This especially concerns the lines of

the core network of the trans-European

railway network pursuant to ‘Regulation of

the European Parliament and of the Council

(EU) No 1315/2013’. These lines mainly

include Czech parts of ETCS Corridor E

and European freight corridors as set by

‘Regulation of the European Parliament and

of the Council No 913/2010’. This concerns

freight corridors RFC 5 (Baltic Sea–Adriatic

Sea), RFC 7 (East-Mediterranean into which

the original Corridor E has been integrated),

and RFC 9 (Czech–Slovak corridor). All lines

aforementioned are extended by further

important conventional linking-lines and

alternate branches of corridor lines being

incorporated into the comprehensive

network of the TEN network on the territory

of the Czech Republic These target lines for

ERTMS development represent approximately 26% of the whole Czech

network (see Figure 1).

Class B SystemsThe national Class B radio system Type TRS guarantees radio

connection for the traffic controller or the station inspector with the

train driver. The system works in a frequency band of 450 MHz and

respects basic functions resulting from UIC Recommendation 751–3.

This enables the required communication between TRS and similar

systems from other manufacturers to be implemented. This system is

installed on 4,800km of lines.

The national automatic train protection system Class B Type LS (Line

System) in use in the Czech Republic uses continuous information

transfer on signal aspects sent from the line to the track by means of

low-frequency coded track circuits. The signal aspects are displayed to

the train driver and if restricting or prohibiting signal aspects are sent,

the train driver’s reactions are controlled. This system is installed on

more than 1,550km of mostly double-track lines. The LS system was

placed into use in the 1960s. At the end of the 1980s, it was

technologically innovated with use of a new components base.

Following that, and based on the information emerging on the

European system, it was decided to use ETCS as a generation

replacement of the LS system.

ERTMS development in the Czech RepublicOn issuing the Directive No 2001/16/EC a conceptual approach to

creating interoperability conditions is being developed in the Czech

Republic as well as a related implementation of studies in this field,

preparation and implementation of GSM-R and ETCS pilot projects,

their evaluation and use of their findings for further development of

these systems. In 2007, the National ERTMS Implementation Plan of the

Czech Republic was created which has been notified to the European

Commission and incorporated into the European Development Plan.

The National ERTMS Implementation Plan was recently updated in

order to respect current conditions for

investment construction in the Czech

Republic and changes to European law (e.g.

defining RFC freight corridors).

Development of the GSM-R networkImplementation of the GSM-R pilot project

on the Děčín–Prague–Kolín line – a 201km-

long section of the ETCS Corridor E on the

Czech territory, connected to the lines of

Deutsche Bahn – was completed at the end

of 2005, and testing of the pilot installation

started at the beginning of 2006. A following

evaluation of the pilot project provided basic

technical and economic data and the

experience needed for further construction

of GSM-R.

In 2013, 1,132km of lines in the





Figure 1: Target lines for ERTMS implementation in the Czech Republic

Figure 2: The current state and future plans for GSM-R development in the Czech Republic – 2013





Czech Republic were equipped with GSM-R. Figure 2 (page 66) shows

the current situation and future plans of GSM-R development in the

Czech Republic.

The GSM-R network has two mobile switching centres (MSC)

located in Prague and P erov which are being completed within

individual constructions so that they are able to ensure operation of

newly equipped lines and at the same time function as back-up to

each other. The GSM-R network of SŽDC is connected to the

GSM-networks of DB, ÖBB and ProRail which enables mutual roaming.

Roaming is going through a test phase within one of our public

operators’ networks.

In November 2013, 1,246 SIM cards were issued by SŽDC for the

on-board element of GSM-R. The number of vehicles able to

communicate by GSM-R is increased by foreign vehicles using roaming.

The implementation strategy presumes that GSM-R creates a

necessary communication environment for ETCS Level 2 operation

which is intended for use on target lines. It is therefore necessary to

build quality GSM-R on these lines in advance for operating ETCS Level

2 on conventional lines based on EIRENE specification requirements.

The first stage of GSM-R implementation is focused mostly on

national corridors and subsequently on further target lines. Its objective

is to cover all nation-wide lines (approximately 5,400km). The priority

order will be set according to operational requirements in order to

establish compact areas enabling unified communication in the GSM-R

network, whereas special attention will be dealt to border sections for

ensuring interoperable radio communication with vehicles of foreign

railways entering the territory of the Czech Republic.

GSM-R development financing in the Czech Republic is obtained

via the Operational Programme ‘Transport’.

ETCS Level 2 development in the Czech RepublicIn 2001, activities began in the Czech Republic leading to ETCS

implementation on our railway network. The Railway Research Institute

of the Joint Stock Company elaborated studies for the application of

ETCS Level 2 on railway lines in the Czech Republic and specifications

of the ETCS Level 2 pilot project on the Poříčany–Kolín section. The

pilot project implementation started in 2005 while using financial

support from the EU Cohesion Fund. To deal with ETCS implementation

in the national environment, we consulted on

specialised topics with the ERTMS Users

Group, especially in regards to open

technical specification issues.

The track side part of the pilot project –

double-track line 22km-long – consists of

one radio-block centre (RBC) connected to a

station, line and railway crossing signalling

equipment which ensures data transfer to

the train by means of the GSM-R network.

Other components of the track side part are

non-switchable balises. The on-board part

was installed on two locomotives and

one EMU, one of its components is also a

specific transmission module (STM) for the LS

national system.

The ETCS Level 2 pilot project was

implemented in a version of mandatory 2.3.0

specifications and in 2011 it was tested. TheFigure 3: Position of GSM-R and ETCS Level 2 pilot projects in the Czech Republic

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system is going to be upgraded onto the

currently mandatory version 2.3.0d and

incorporated into the whole line section

Kolín–Prague–D ín state border with

Germany within the construction of ETCS

Level 2 on this section.

The position of GSM-R and ETCS Level 2

pilot projects on the National Rail

Transit Corridor I (Czech part of the ETCS

Corridor E, today Freight Corridor RFC 7

East–Mediteranean) can be seen in Figure 3

(page 67).

Evaluating experience from the pilot

project led to the creation of ‘Technical

Requirements for ETCS Level 2 Imple -

mentation’ on the Czech part of Corridor E.

These requirements were consulted with

other Corridor E railways and the ERTMS

Users Group. These requirements constituted the basis for ordering the

construction of ‘ETCS – Corridor I section Kolín–Břeclav state border

with Austria/Slovakia’, with its implementation starting in 2012. The

project is co-financed from a special account of the European fund

TEN-T for accelerating ETCS development. The original term of

completion at the end of 2014 is affected by on-going modernisation

of Břeclav and Ústí nad Orlicí nodes so realistically completion is now

expected at the end of 2015.

The first priority of ETCS implementation is focused on National

Rail Transit Corridor I, i.e. on ETCS Corridor E (Czech part of Freight

Corridor No 7), its equipment is set in EDP – see Figure 4.

Other priorities are the National Rail Transit Corridor II

Břeclav–Přerov–Petrovice u Karviné state border with Poland and the

connecting line Přerov–Česká Třebová. From the point-of-view of

international transport, these lines create the most important parts

of target lines in the Czech Republic. Due to co-financing of

modernisation projects, the Czech Republic was obliged to the EU to

equip the Strančice–České Budějovice

section with ETCS up to the end of 2018.

These plans can be seen in Figure 5.

ETCS Level 2 will be implemented on the

main path of the Czech part of the ETCS

Corridor E in the current version 2.3.0d

(Baseline 2); on following ETCS projects

Baseline 3 version is expected to be used.

The decision on using Baseline 3 will be

made in terms of product availability and

its stability.

By 2030 at the latest, the operation of

the national automatic train protection

system LS is expected on lines equipped with

ETCS for the period of migration. During this

period, the current system will also enable

the use of older hauling vehicles on these

lines, as equipping them later with an ETCS

on-board part would not be economically

effective. In accordance with TSI CCS, the current LS ATP system can

also be used as a back-up system in case of ETCS failure.

Financing ETCS development in the Czech Republic is expected by

using resources from the Operational Programme ‘Transport’, or

possibly from resources within special accounts of EU funds

(Connecting Europe Facility – CEF) for supporting ETCS development

and national resources (State Fund for Transport Infrastructure).





Petr Varadinov is a railway signalling systems andERTMS applications engineer currently working at theCzech Railway Infrastructure Administration. Hegraduated in 1972 at the Technical College in Brno,Faculty of Electrical Engineering, and he completed his studies at the College of Transportation andCommunication in Žilina, the Czech Technical College inPrague (Railway Signalling) and the Prague International

Business School (Business Administration). For 30 years Petr worked for thenational railway carrier Czechoslovak State Railways and later CzechRailways, joint stock company. As a railway signalling specialist hetransferred in 2005 to the Railway Infrastructure Administration (SŽDC).

Figure 5: Further stages of ETCS Level 2 implementation in the Czech Republic – 2013

Figure 4: First ETCS Level 2 implementation priority

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