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AUTHOR | Ivan Ristić, M.Sc.E.E.
Stay on track with railway signalling and telecommunications professionals!
AUTHOR | Ivan Ristić, M.Sc.E.E.
Newsletter No.4 - Optimizing efficiency and performance | Adjustable technology
4th issue, November 2023
Modernization processes
We keep up with the development of signalling systems both as integrators and as producers and develop elements for up-to-date electronic interlockings. However, in spite of all that, we neither forget nor reject the old systems. On the contrary, we make maximum efforts and all our knowledge and skills to implement the smooth and harmless transition from the old signalling systems to the modern ones.
Classic signalling has to be preserved and aligned with the latest advancements, as followed by many infrastructure companies. LL000m can be adopted according to customer requirements for different electronic interlocking systems with its modular and flexible design capable of supporting a wide range of operating conditions (voltages and currents). No changes are needed in the interlocking system. It can support all necessary regimes like day/night, on/off/blinking, with additional support for warning regimes in systems where that regime is defined. There is also the possibility to adjust the lighting level according to user requirements.
Optimizing efficiency and performance
Efficiency and performance enhancements are at the core of our product, facilitating smoother railway operations. The light source of LL000m consists of several individually controlled and monitored high-current LEDs. LL000m proves that bulk glass lens and light bulbs are not necessary. Due to the fact that LL000m uses color LEDs, color filters are also not necessary. This also means that color phantom signals are not possible.
Adjustable technology
Our LL000m can be adopted according to customer requirements for different interlocking systems. Modular and flexible design capable of supporting a wide range of operating conditions. No changes are needed in the interlocking system. When used on either relay interlockings such as SpDrS-64 of Siemens or other ones (Thales, Integra, Westinghouse, etc.), LL000m doesn’t require any modifications on the interlocking system, either replacing light bulb housing with LL000m or replacing just two filament bulb with LED module.
Cost-effective solution
While delivering state-of-the-art technology with SIL4 certificate, we are committed to provide railway operators with a cost-effective solution. Our product offers a favourable return on investment. Our main, shunting and limit track LED signals have considerably longer life time and availability which greatly reduces maintenance costs. The modular design also reduces costs of adapting LL000m to different kind of interlockings.
Relay interlocking is not dead!
Our LED light source could be ideal replacement for two-filament bulb with support for all working regimes. Nothing needs to be changed in the relay systems.
Yes, that is exactly what sets Institute Mihailo Pupin (IMP) apart from other producers of LED signals and that is why you should decide to cooperate with us.
Let’s work together to improve your current relay based systems with LED based signals and make your maintenance costs much lower!
EXPERT SMALL TALK | exclusively for New In Signal
David Chabanon, CTO at the consultancy company Nordic Signals and railway signalling expert
Our next guest is David Chabanon, CTO at the consultancy company Nordic Signals and railway signalling expert.
David, thank you for joining us today. As an expert in railway signalling, you are just the right person to discuss different topics from the field, including the digitalization of railway signalling systems.
Please introduce yourself and briefly overview your current area of work.
My name is David Chabanon. I am CTO at Nordic Signals – a Copenhagen-based consultancy advising partners in both North America and Europe on the implementation of new digital signalling systems and program management.
I started Nordic Signals back in 2019 after having spent more than two decades at global engineering consultancies working in different technical and project management roles and for large infrastructure projects and programs across the globe.
My expertise and passion lie within the implementation of new signalling systems, including CBTC, metro GoA2 and GoA4 systems, and ERTMS. Today, I advise large and complex projects for re-signalling programmes, covering all phases of life – from business case and feasibility study development, requirement specification, to procurement evaluation and implementation.
Can you provide an overview of the key benefits and challenges associated with digitalizing railway signaling systems, and how this technology is transforming the railway signalling industry regarding operations and maintenance?
The benefits and challenges are of course specific to each project, infrastructure, and geographical characteristics. All else equal however, the benefits of digitizing the railway and implementing new digital signalling systems include the opportunity to increase capacity, improve safety, and increase the reliability, availability, and maintainability of the system. In turn, this can also lead to cost reductions for maintenance and operations. Of course, there are also interoperability requirements and opportunities, for instance for implementing ERTMS on cross-border railway lines.
The challenges and solutions in my view can be summed up to the empowerment of implementing organizations, the reinvigoration of an exhausted supplier market, and the simplification of product complexity. Let me explain in a little more detail these perspectives.
The empowerment of implementing organizations relates to the infrastructure managers – and the railway in general – today being conservative and organized thereafter. To successfully implement new digital signalling systems and reap the benefits therefrom, the full cycle, from delivery to operations must switch gear. And the delivery must be organized holistically and programmatically – it cannot be handled as a project or set of independent deliverables.
Depending on the contractual arrangement, the implementing organization will also become more reliant on the supplier, meaning that they cannot fix everything themselves. Processes must be implemented and changed; organizations must adapt. Oftentimes this consideration and reflection is not acknowledged by the buyer and infrastructure manager from the outset. In our consultancy, we go a long way in emphasizing that these considerations and the programmatic approach in general are keys to increase the organizational maturity and enable them to deliver their project on time, within budget and realizing the full benefits of their system.
The reinvigoration of an exhausted supplier market relates to the market of digital signalling systems today, which is oligopolized at best – with few suppliers and an enormous range of current and forthcoming digital signalling deliveries. Take the ERTMS deployment in Europe as an example. Almost all countries in Europe are already or will need to deploy ERTMS on their main lines or corridors in the coming years, but delays are experienced in the implementation plans across the current implementing countries in both Northern and Southern Europe. Just imagine what will happen when a country like Germany will ramp up their ERTMS- deployment efforts as well.
These delays are due to multiple different factors, and it is important for me to stress that this is not only due to the suppliers, but it is well known across the railway industry that the necessary human resources are not there. The railway sector must become more attractive for young professionals and talents.
Further, and partially related hereto, I think that the suppliers must take responsibility for their delivery and increase their own maturity as well – deliver realistic plans, setup own governance to increase their ability to deliver, not ‘overselling’ products etc.
This also leads me to my last sentiment of simplifying product complexity. The railway industry must across the board – from buyer to supplier and operator – seek to simplify product requirements to increase system deliverability and thereby make the supplier market expandable.
A new digital signalling system can do a lot and must. But in my view it is a problem if it is seen as the catalyst for solving all thinkable and unthinkable problems. As an engineer myself, we are brought up to identify problems. But this can result in too many theoretical problems being identified, which the product – the system – must solve. The same can happen in the requirements specification – that too many “nice to’s” are assessed as “need to’s” by the buyer, thereby overly complicating the product and its delivery, putting the deliverability and the market interest at risk.
What are the primary safety considerations and regulatory standards that must be addressed when implementing digital railway signalling systems, and how do these compare to traditional systems?
The regulatory standards depend on the system and context, but of course it is in a European context for ERTMS for example necessary to abide by the current rules and regulations set up by the EU. This includes the relevant directives and TSI’s (CCS), as well as relevant subsets, EIRENE and CENELEC standards.
Primary safety considerations when implementing digital railway signalling systems in my view must include a proactive approach to the Common Safety Methods (CSM) – the safety management system; the safety targets; the safety risks; the organization around the safety management.
Other factors, including the planning, testing, and test regimes required, the training needs, as well as the operational setting and requirements within which the system must function, are important to consider.
Compared to the traditional systems, ERTMS, of course, provides significantly increased safety as the continuous supervision of train speed by itself improves safety compared to other traditional national systems.
Could you share some insights into the role of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things (IoT) in enhancing the efficiency and reliability of digital railway signalling systems?
I truly believe that these emerging technologies are key in the future of the railway in general, and no less in enhancing the efficiency and reliability of digital railway signalling systems. AI is, in my view, one path to simplify the products. It is something that we see suppliers increasingly introducing in their product lines, and as Europe’s Rail has also previously referred to, AI can become a catalyst for a paradigm shift for European rail.
You can imagine the possibilities for
further improving automation of traffic management and planning as one example.
Or the perspectives for processing and modelling enormous data sets for enhancing the predictive maintenance of the signalling system assets as another.
I really do think that the possibilities are endless. But it will need commitment from all stakeholders within the railway sector to fully maximize the potential.
As railway systems evolve, interoperability becomes crucial, especially for international railway networks. How are digital signalling solutions designed to ensure compatibility and seamless operation across different railway networks and regions?
Digital signalling systems are indeed an integral part in ensuring an interoperable railway. There really is no alternative, as the current changing of locomotive at every border crossing is extremely inefficient and causes logistical problems. You have probably heard of the Thalys example, whereby offering an international high speed train service operating between Paris, Brussels, Cologne, and Amsterdam required the equipment of a train with 7 different signalling systems (TVM, KVB, ATB, TBL, TBL2, INDUSI, LZB). You can just imagine the space and antenna requirements for each system on the train, the complex interfaces needed between systems, as well as the costs associated as a few examples.
Pointing to the ERTMS-example again, interoperability is a key priority for the EU Commission, as exemplified by the TEN-T corridors. I think that ERA, along with the industry, is doing much work to help further this standardization of the European railway.
However, it is a complex task involving stakeholders at many different levels and a moving target, due to the continuously evolving standards, regulations, and products. At all times you have the risk of this changing regulation bearing negative side-effects. In Denmark for instance, this was seen with the introduction of the EU’s 4th railway package, which resulted in extended processing times for the safety approval of retrofitted trains. In turn, it risked impacting the general onboard fitment plan and, thereby, the overall ERTMS commissioning plan.
It is the same in the U.S., where we are also currently working. Interoperability, even across one single city subway, is crucial to ensure seamless operation and increase operational flexibility. At the same time, it is vital to standardize the delivery and allow for more suppliers to access the market. Besides the operational perspective, interoperability can thus also help increase competition and drive down costs.
David, thank you so much for sharing your insights and expertise on these issues. It’s been a pleasure talking with you!
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