X2RAIL-2

Advanced Traffic Management And Control Systems

IP Coordinator:Antonella Trombetta - HITACHI RAIL STS

Overview
Objectives
Project Structure
Partners
Results and Publications
Project's News & Events
Contacts
Latest Project's News
- X2Rail-2 WP4 F2F meeting No. 9
  3 June 2019
- X2Rail-2 WP4 F2F meeting No.8
  3 June 2019
- WP4 presentation on 18th International SIGNAL+DRAHT Congress
  3 June 2019

Overview

Project title:

Enhancing railway signalling systems based on train satellite positioning, on-board safe train integrity, formal methods approach and standard interfaces, enhancing Traffic Management System functions

Topic:

S2R-CFM-IP2-01-2017

Total Project Value:

€ 30 152 828,03

Duration:

from 01/09/2017 to 30/04/2021

S2R (Of H2020) co-funding:

€ 13 199 916,79

Coordinator:

Gianluigi Fontana
Hitachi Rail STS

Complementary projects:

X2RAIL-1, IN2SMART, ARCC, ASTRAIL, ETALON, FR8HUB

Previous Project:

X2RAIL-1

Next Project:

X2RAIL-3

Objectives

Taking into account the nature of signalling and automation systems, X2Rail-2 aims to improve the performance at a railway system level by introducing new functionalities at sub-system level as well as on the architectural level that should revolutionize the signalling and automation concept for the future (see Figure 1).

X2Rail-2 follows a holistic system approach to create the building blocks for Shift2Rail IP2. Thus, the outcomes at individual technology level will be combined to bring a benefit at system level.

The key technologies within X2Rail-2 cover GNSS application in Railway and advanced technologies for implementing new signalling and automation functionalities. These functionalities are addressed in individual but interconnected work streams, each focusing on different key technologies such as safe on – board systems, TMS, etc.

In order to enable a rapid ramp up of these new technologies, new lab test strategies and environments are addressed as well in cooperation with ongoing IP2 projects (e.g.: X2Rail-1), facilitating the approval and time-to market procedures. To make best use of technical innovations developed and provided by other sectors, X2Rail-2 consists also of non-railway domain partners that will provide knowledge for possible adaptation of relevant and emerging technologies to the railway system.

Figure 1: Overall Concept of X2Rail-2 project

The overall architecture of the future signalling and automation system, starting from X2Rail-1 and then integrated with the X2Rail-2 contribution, is the core which will enable the improvement of the system whilst ensuring backward compatibility at subsystem level and at ERTMS constituent level, cost-efficient, high capacity, and reliable infrastructure. For each contributing key technology, the interrelation to other key technologies must be taken into account. By incorporating a technical coordination and system coherence work package, the overall architectural consistency as well as the interaction with other parts of Shift2Rail will be ensured (see Figure 1).

This system approach will provide breakthrough innovation for the European Railway Area in the domain of advanced signalling and automation systems related to High Speed, Conventional, Regional and Freight lines.

Project Structure

WP1 - Project Management

The objectives of this work package are to ensure efficient and effective

Coordination of the project
Management of the consortium and contract management
Administrative and financial management
Quality management

WP2 - Technical Coordination & System Coherence

The objective of this WP is to coordinate the four technical work packages (WP3, WP4, WP5, WP6) and the dissemination work package (WP7) to create a single project that addresses the whole subject of research and innovations in X2Rail-2 in coherence with the ongoing and future and concurrent S2R IP2 research and development activities.

WP3 - Fail-Safe Train Positioning (including satellite technology)

The objective of WP3 is the development of a fail-safe, multi-sensor train positioning system by applying GNSS technology to the current ERTMS/ETCS core and by using new technologies (e.g. inertial measurement units) or of other on-board existing sensors (e.g. accelerometers, odometer sensors). This Fail-Safe Train Positioning will be specified, developed and verified to guarantee the backward compatibility with existing ERTMS systems and the key ERTMS interoperability requirements. The application of this Fail-Safe Train Positioning aims to boost the quality of train localization and integrity information, while also reducing overall costs, in particular by enabling a significant reduction in all track-side conventional train detection systems (balises, track circuits, axle counters, etc.).

WP4 - On-board Train Integrity

The on-board train integrity (OTI) designed in WP4 will have the main goal to autonomously verify the completeness of the train, while train is in operation. If the train tail is advancing coherently with the front of the train and the distance between the first and the last pieces of rolling stock remains unchanged it means that all is working correctly. Otherwise, the on-board system will detect the loss of train integrity, will apply the defined actions and will inform the Radio Block Center (RBC).

The OTI system will also contribute to implement the concept of Moving Block delivered by on-board equipment. This will be a significant advantage not only in terms of capacity and shorter headways, but also in terms of removal of track infrastructures, reduction of maintenance costs and resiliency.

WP5 - Formal Methods and standardization for smart signalling systems

The Formal Methods designed in WP5 will have the main goal to propose suitable formal methods for requirement capture, design, verification and validation of railway signalling systems and applying for development of signalling systems with standardized interfaces and operational scenarios.

WP6 - Traffic Management evolution

The Traffic Management Evolution in WP6 is the first system design integrating all rail operation track-side based services. The heart of the entire system is the Integration layer linking the different Rail operation services amongst one another, with the infrastructure/vehicles and with external clients. Therefore the key interfaces will be standardized to secure compatibility and long-term applicability of all existing and new subsystems. The integration of legacy installations with different data structures will be covered. The Integration layer will provide a standardized scalable data-format to secure seamless and automated data exchange between the different clients to enable the integration of dynamically updated data from various services into a decision-making processes. This generic Trackside ICT is one of the key enabler to achieve the different targets of S2R such as capacity increase, cost reduction and increase of reliability of rail traffic operation.

The new Traffic Management will carry the development of a generic framework for applications allowing plug and play installation, a standardized multi-purpose workstation and advanced business logic applied for traffic regulation and operation covering the need for improving existing procedures and enabling the execution of new functionalities such as ATO and Moving Block developed under the S2R program to secure an increase of capacity and a reduction of cost.

WP7 - Exploitation, Dissemination and Communication

This WP seeks to ensure proper dissemination and promotion of the project and its results, in a way which is consistent with the dissemination and promotion activities of the Shift2Rail JU and the already ongoing IP2 project X2Rail-1. It will ensure that the outputs of the project are delivered in a form which makes them immediately available for use by the IP2 within Shift2Rail. The WP7 will make use of the results stemming from all other work packages and foster the communication and transfer of these results.