AUSTRIA: ÖBB-Infrastruktur has put into operation the country’s first digital interlocking, which uses ‘Interlocking in the Cloud’ concepts developed by Siemens Mobility.
Controlling the station at Achau, on the upgraded Pottendorfer Line south of Wien, the digital interlocking is based on commercial off-the-shelf hardware, running Siemens Mobility’s DS3 ‘Distributed Smart Safe System’. Joint field trials of the technology have been underway since December 2018, leading to formal approval. Having been certified to Safety Integrity Level 4, the Achau interlocking was put into live operation from November 18.
Described by the supplier as ‘the world’s first platform to securely make signalling applications functional and operational on standardised hardware’, DS3 is designed to be used on different COTS hardware, helping to reduce life-cycle costs. The control system interfaces with a range of railway applications to different safety integrity levels, including digital interlockings and radio block centres for the European Train Control System, as well as train protection and warning systems.
As a ‘fundamental building block for flexible cloud solutions’, DS3 is intended to enable the centralisation of interlockings into operational control centres, and facilitate a geo-redundant configuration to boost operational reliability. The software is designed to be scalable, supporting the Eulynx and Neupro/RASTA standards. As well as controlling signals and turnouts, the system supports continuous real-time monitoring, smarter fault diagnostics and predictive maintenance.
‘The digital interlocking is a component of our comprehensive digitalisation strategy’, explained ÖBB-Infrastruktur Board Member Johann Pluy. ‘This and many other projects will make it possible to increase the capacity of our infrastructure and at the same time improve safety and security, punctuality and cost-efficiency.’
Describing the DS3 interlocking at Achau as ‘a real quantum leap for the railway industry’, Siemens Mobility CEO Michael Peter said the cloud concept would enable ‘the virtualisation of most signalling components’, which would make rail operations ‘more efficient, effective and flexible’. It would also support ETCS Level 3 operation with the trains reporting their position by radio rather than relying on fixed lineside detection systems.
