ETCS in Spain
Sir - You reported in the May 2001 edition of Railway Gazette International and in the May 10 2001 issue of your newsletter Rail Business Intelligence that the signalling contract for the Madrid - Barcelona high speed line had been awarded to Alstom and the Cobra Consortium.
This is not correct, and you should have reported that the signalling contract for ERTMS Levels 1 and 2 was awarded to CSEE-Transport of the Ansaldo Signal Group and the Cobra Consortium. The contract was placed by the Spanish infrastructure authority GIF after a tough competitive tender and calls for the system to be operational by the end of 2002.
You should be aware that CSEE-Transport is the supplier of the TVM430 continuous speed control and interlocking system for over 2000 km of high speed lines in France. TVM430 is also fitted in the Channel Tunnel, and it is currently being installed on the high speed line in South Korea and also on Britain’s Channel Tunnel Rail Link.
Jo
