NSW government awards rail network upgrade contracts to Siemens Mobility

Credit: Siemens Mobility

Siemens Mobility has been awarded two contracts, worth around AU$190 million, by the New South Wales (NSW) government in Australia to significantly upgrade the rail network in metropolitan Sydney, one of the busiest networks in the southern hemisphere.

This work will improve the overall efficiency and capacity of the rail network. The total contract consists of two key packages, including the introduction of a new Traffic Management System (TMS), along with the upgrading of the Sydney Trains network’s conventional signalling to a digital European Train Control System (ETCS) Level 2 (L2) train control system.

This work is part of the NSW government’s broader Digital Systems Program, a ‘once in a generation change’ to replace legacy signalling and train control technologies with modern, internationally-proven, intelligent systems. The systems are due to be available for operation in 2023.

“Siemens Mobility is delighted to have been selected to deliver the services that will modernise and optimise the Sydney rail network. Our state-of-the-art traffic management and signalling technology will augment operations throughout the network by increasing service reliability and availability, which will enhance the passenger experience,” said Michael Peter, CEO of Siemens Mobility. “This important project further underscores our leading position in the field for delivering automated signalling systems and expands our growing footprint in Australia.”

The TMS will be integrated with the new ETCS L2 technology, which is the leading technology running on some of the best and most efficient rail networks worldwide. The Digital Systems Program upgrades will enable more frequent and reliable services and increase capacity to allow 24 trains to operate during peak hours and up to 30 trains per hour for recovery from disruptions.

The other key project element will include the implementation of Automatic Train Operation (ATO) that assists drivers by providing more frequent, reliable and consistent train journeys. Train drivers will remain in control but will be assisted in improving operations and reducing journey times, which subsequently benefits passengers.

A crucial role of the state-of-the-art TMS solution will be to continually monitor the position of all trains; helping to keep train services running as planned and assist with responses to incidents. The TMS will be operated from the Rail Operations Centre and will work alongside other systems used by Sydney Trains to control train operations.