Thales win contract to modernise Madrid-Seville high-speed line

Credit: Thales

Adif has been chosen Thales as the successful bidder for a contract which is part of the modernisation of the line between Madrid and Seville. Thales will be responsible for the renewal of the field cabinets and associated equipment of the Falling Object Detection Systems (DCO), which will replace the old Debris Detection Equipment (EDD) cabinets.

The project consists of the installation of 235 new DCO cabinets (based on the same technology deployed on the Córdoba-Málaga, Madrid-Valladolid and Lérida-Barcelona high-speed lines), which incorporate digital transmission systems to the interior equipment installed in the building or technical room for communication with the interlockings, which are more reliable and technologically more advanced than the current equipment. With a budget of €25 million, the aim of this action is to complete the renovation work on the line’s auxiliary detection systems.

Thales and the Madrid-Seville high-speed line

More than 30 years after the start of the relationship between Thales and the Madrid-Seville high-speed line, the collaboration continues, as evidenced by the projects in which the company is already involved, with the aim of modernising the line. Thales is responsible for the renovation of the main signalling installations (electronic interlockings) on the line, as well as the DCO detection meshes on the line’s overpasses. It is also responsible for equipping the line with the ERTMS Level 2 automatic train protection system, systems that did not exist when the line was built and which will mean the implementation of European standards that will allow better interoperability. Thales is also installing the new TTC track circuits (more than 1,300 in total) that have been designed by the Thales R&D team in our country.

“This contract allows us to contribute to the digital transformation of the Madrid-Seville high-speed line,” Fernando Ortega, Director of Transport at Thales Spain, said. “Continuing to provide our technology after 30 years on this line is a challenge for its modernisation.”