Signalling & Telecoms supplement 2013

• Total renewal in Denmark is on time and on budget
  Henrik Holtermann, Head of Secretariat in the Signalling Programme, Banedanmark
  In 2009, a broad political majority decided to fund a total replacement of the entire signalling system on the Danish national network with ERTMS (European Rail Traffic Management System) and all the signalling on the Copenhagen S-bane with a CBTC system (Communication Based Train Control). So far, progress is on time and on budget and with this, Denmark will be the first country to carry out a nationwide implementation of ERTMS level 2 baseline 3 – the newest European standard…
• The European rail industry’s commitment to ERTMS implementation
  Philippe Citroën, Director General, UNIFE Michel Van Liefferinge General Manager, UNISIG
  2012 was a major milestone year for the further commitment and deployment of ERTMS in the European Union, when a new ERTMS Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by the European Commission and the railway sector. This MoU makes a strong case for the strict implementation of the ERTMS Deployment Plan. In addition, historic and strategic decisions were taken by Denmark, Belgium and the Netherlands to carry out countrywide implementation of ERTMS…
• The signalling sector opens the door to the Spanish industry
  Pedro Fortea, Director, MAFEX – the Spanish Railway Association
  Signalling and telecommunications systems represent key technological support for rail operations in a number of ways including both the management and control of traffic signals and remote controls. Technological developments in these fields contribute in an essential way to the advancement of modern railway lines, especially in high-speed operations…
• Telecommunications: ringing in the new
  Éric Le Moal, Head of ERTMS and Telecom Services, RFF
  Over the years, telecommunications systems have become a vital factor in rail network reliability. A mere boon in the past, they are now essential to railway operating safety and network coordination. Modern telecoms systems have to combine ever higher throughput with exemplary reliability and with that other key factor: mobility. Although there are technologies on the market capable of meeting these needs, modernising a huge network in constant operation represents a major challenge. In 2009, recognising the importance of telecoms in the railway system, Réseau Ferré de France (RFF) joined forces with SNCF to draw-up an overall inventory of all railway telecom equipment and came to the conclusion that looming obsolescence called for urgent action…