Bombardier strengthens its leadership in ERTMS technology with a new project in Chile

Rail technology leader Bombardier Transportation will deliver its globally proven INTERFLO 250 European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) Level 1 solution to improve passenger services and safety on the regional and commuter rail corridor of Rancagua. The system will be implemented on the 22 km line between Alameda station in central Santiago and the area of Nos in the city’s outskirts. The line connects further south to Rancagua (85 km) and then to Chillán (400 km). The contract is valued at approximately 15 million euro ($21 million US).

With the new system, the Chile state railway operator, Empresa de los Ferrocarriles del Estado (EFE), expects to increase annual passenger numbers from 6 million to 18 million. The system is designed to enable minimum headways of a mere four minutes and will cut travel times for commuters. It is the first ERTMS project in Chile and only the second in Latin America; Bombardier is also delivering its ERTMS technology to improve the SuperVia commuter service in Rio de Janeiro, a network with 225 km and 89 stations.

The project will include the latest generation BOMBARDIER EBI Lock 950 R4 computer-based interlocking, EBI Screen control centre and EBI Track train detection systems, onboard systems and five years of maintenance. In addition, the control centre will manage traffic over the entire Santiago-Nos-Rancagua-Chillán service.

Bombardier’s INTERFLO 250 technology enables the automatic and safe management of travelling time between trains, including automatic stops if a signal instruction or a speed limit were to be passed. This automatic train protection (ATP), when associated with the traffic management system, reduces headways and optimises speed. This results in increased line capacity with safety as a top priority.

Bombardier’s ERTMS systems are installed on over 2,300 rail vehicles and more than 21,000 km of track in 17 countries, on new systems as well as retrofits for 75 different vehicle types. Global contracts include first-in-market projects underway in Brazil and delivered in Croatia (Level 1), implementation in Algeria, Turkey (Level 1) and Poland (Level 2) and extensive framework agreements in Sweden

(Level 2). INTERFLO 450 ERTMS Level 2 systems are also operating at high speeds in China. Always innovative, Bombardier implemented the first ERTMS Regional (INTERFLO 550) solution, in Sweden.

The company’s portfolio of rail control solutions covers the whole range of BOMBARDIER CITYFLO mass transit solutions, from manual to fully automatic, as well as communications-based systems. It also provides INTERFLO mainline solutions, from conventional to ERTMS Level 3 systems. Bombardier also provides a complete palette of wayside and onboard signalling products.