Digital signal box

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A digital interlocking ( DSTW ) is an electronic interlocking (ESTW) in which the control commands via information technology (IT), e.g. B. via a data network instead of conventional cables to the switches and, if available, to signals .

Differences to conventional ESTW

Digital interlockings are the further development of electronic interlockings . They differ u. a. in that the central computer unit of the interlocking is no longer physically on site at the railway, but can be set up at any distance from the outdoor facility. Each setting unit is connected to a track field concentrator (GRP) via an IP network and can also be supplied with power from this. Digital interlockings enable cost savings by saving a large number of signal cables and increasing the control range. In addition, the interlocking hardware can be used jointly by several railways.

DSTW development steps

DB Netz plans to implement the DSTW / Neupro architecture in three stages: reference implementation, pre-series projects and series. After the integration of the NeuPro project of DB Netz AG into the Eulynx project founded in 2014 together with other infrastructure operators , the development will be coordinated at the European level.

First of all, the DSTW system architecture with IP communication up to the actuating unit was tested from 2009 with the EBI Lock 950 interlockings from the manufacturer Bombardier Transportation .

Later, the individual interfaces of the DSTW / NeuPro architecture were each tested using individual reference implementations in conventional electronic interlockings. Signals were put into operation in trial operation in 2012 in Simmental , Switzerland . In the station Annaberg-Buchholz South took place from 2014, a similar project. From November 2017, points and axle counters were also included there.

In December 2015 the first NeuPro interface interlocking system "SCI-ILS" was put into operation between the ESTW Kreiensen of the manufacturer Bombardier Transportation and the neighboring ESTW Naensen of the manufacturer Siemens .

After acceptance by the German Federal Railway Authority , the Annaberg-Buchholz Süd signal box went into regular operation on January 19, 2018. In the course of this second project phase, the standardized interfaces for light signals (SCI-LS), axle counters (SCI-TDS) and points (SCI-P) were included.

As part of pre-series projects, DB Netz implements digital interlockings in which all the necessary DSTW / Neupro interfaces are used together. The product approval of various manufacturers was thus achieved and the planning basis for the subsequent phase of the series rollout was created.

The implementation of the pre-series projects was decided in November 2015.

In Germany, widespread introduction of digital interlockings in connection with the European Train Control System (ETCS) is being considered. The German railway expected under the program now called "Digital Rail Germany" to increase capacity by up to 20 percent (in January 2018). On the basis of ETCS, in connection with DSTW, three “starter package projects” (part of the TEN core network corridor Scandinavia-Mediterranean , high-speed route Cologne-Rhine / Main , digital node Stuttgart ) are to be equipped by 2030 . With 1.3 billion euros per year, the entire network can be upgraded within 20 years. Building on this, new technologies, including real-time location and environment perception, are to be introduced. According to its own statements, Deutsche Bahn expects up to 35 percent more capacity, more reliability and efficiency and CO 2 savings of 1.6 million tons per year from September 2019 . Furthermore, DSD is an "innovation driver for industry". The conversion is to take place in entire network districts.

In 2018, train traffic on the Gornergrat Railway was regulated "via the cloud".

In September 2018, Siemens operated a "signal box in the cloud " for the first time at Appenzeller Bahnen . The new section of the diameter line has been used before its scheduled opening, a digital signal box from about 60 kilometers away Siemens location Wallisellen near Zurich from a trial basis over a public data network to operate. The central processing unit of the interlocking was in a secure technical room of the manufacturer. The data connection was secured at both ends with redundant encryption devices . At the beginning of October 2018, the adjustments necessary for testing were removed again. The Gornergratbahn (GGB) has been using the Iltis Netz control system since 2017 as part of a “cloud” -based pilot project. The control technology overriding the signal boxes is not located at GGB in Zermatt , but at Siemens in Wallisellen. Siemens plans to offer the railways the complete interlocking technology as a full-service package.

Development in Germany

Reference implementations of individual DSTW interfaces

In the reference implementations in conventional electronic interlockings, care was taken to ensure that the manufacturers were equally involved. For the specifications of the respective interfaces, the process according to the administrative regulation New Type Approval of Signaling, Telecommunications and Electrotechnical Systems of the EBA was run through, which means that these interfaces can be used in follow-up projects with little approval effort. A released specification sheet as a basis for further developments should be available by the end of 2017. Standardized interfaces, reduced cabling effort and intelligent condition monitoring are intended to achieve higher performance, higher availability and greater economic efficiency.

Signal switch box in Annaberg-Buchholz Süd station

The reference implementations are:

  • SCI-RBC (Standard Communication Interface Radio Block Center) : Interface to the ETCS line control center
    • Leipzig-Neuwiederitzsch (Realized 10/2015)
  • SCI-ILS (Standard Communication Interface Interlocking System) : Interface to the neighboring interlocking
    • Kreiensen / Naensen (Realized 12/2015)
  • SCI-LX (Standard Communication Interface Level Crossing) : Interface for level crossings
    • Friedrichshafen (Realized 12/2016)
    • Lindaunis (planned until 12/2018)
  • SCI-CC (Standard Communication Interface Command & Control) : Interface to the operator station
    • Göttingen (planned until 12/2018)
  • SCI-IO (Standard Communication Interface Input / Output) : Interface for universal digital input and output signals
    • DSTW pre-series signal box Harz-Weser (planned until 12/2018)
  • SCI-LS (Standard Communication Interface Light Signal) : Interface to light signals
  • SCI-TDS (Standard Communication Interface Train Detection System) : Interface to the track vacancy detection device
    • Annaberg-Buchholz Süd (Realized 1/2018)
  • SCI-P (Standard Communication Interface Point) : Interface to the control module for point machines
    • Annaberg-Buchholz Süd (Realized 1/2018)

According to DB Netz's assessment, the degree of standardization in the reference projects Kreiensen, VDE 8, Lindaunis and Annaberg was around 50 percent.

Pre-series projects with complete DSTW architecture

The five DSTW pre-series projects from DB Netz are:

Construction work began in June 2019. Commissioning is scheduled for 2021.
The DSTW Warnemünde should go into operation as the second (pre-series) DSTW in Germany in September 2019. Scheidt & Bachmann and Siemens were awarded the contract in June 2017. In July 2018, due to scheduling reasons, the decision was made to implement a pure Siemens solution. Work on the first construction phase began in October 2018. The commissioning finally took place on October 30, 2019. First of all, the section between Rostock-Bramow and Warnemünde Werft is controlled, in May 2020 the second commissioning stage (with the Warnemünde passenger station) is to go into operation. In May 2020, the converted Warnemünde passenger station is to be integrated into the signal box. The signal box includes 90 actuating units.

According to DB Netz's assessment, the degree of standardization in the pre-series projects in Warnemünde, Mertingen, Harz-Weser and Koblenz-Trier was around 80 percent.

DSTW series rollout

Series delivery at Deutsche Bahn should begin in 2020 with the start of construction in the following network districts:

  • Saarbrücken
  • Minden
  • Rostock
  • Neustadt (Holstein)

In the end, the train traffic in Germany, which was controlled by around 2,600 interlockings of various types in 2019, will be controlled by 280 digital interlockings.

The tender for the planning for the DSTW Minden ended in February 2019 without an order being awarded. The planning contract for Minden was then put out to tender as a conventional ESTW and awarded.

According to DB information from January 2020, the specifications for all interfaces have now been released and test systems are under construction.

Building on Stuttgart 21 , a DSTW is to be built in Stuttgart by 2025 as part of the digital node Stuttgart , which will control around 125 km. 19 track field concentrators and over 2000 actuating units are provided for this purpose. The DSTW replaces three previously planned ESTW and three old signal boxes, which would have had to be extensively rebuilt due to Stuttgart 21. The rest of the region is to be equipped with DSTW and other technologies by 2030.

Development in Switzerland

In Switzerland, after the full introduction of ETCS in the network, the practical effects are analyzed. There is the area of ​​the development of technical performance such as train head times and traffic control as well as the economic race against the costs of road traffic. It has been recognized for both areas that common solutions can be found by using ideas and procedural models from the EULYNX organization as well as the resulting prototypes of a digital interlocking . The overall project of the Swiss rail infrastructure operator is called Smartrail 4.0.

In the technical field, it has been found that the performance of highly optimized, optically signaled railway lines cannot be achieved by normal coupling of the interlocking and the ETCS line control center (RBC). Upon closer examination, the underlying causes were also found. To remedy this, an integrated "ETCS interlocking" has been configured, which combines the interlocking function (ESTW) with the ETCS line control center. This integration makes it possible to combine the safety-relevant functions of both elements and, by means of a new "geometric" logic of the interlocking, to optimize the position and number of routes in a generic way and to accelerate the provision. At a higher level, the term Traffic Management System (TMS) is taken up again, in which one wants to use the knowledge of the ETCS interlockings about the ongoing train operation and to dynamically generate new timetables in the event of deviations from the timetables. The standardized driver's cab displays from ETCS Level 2 also serve as a display device for information on automated rail operations (ATO) to the driver.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c Hans Leister: DB Netz and German Federal Government are planning a leap into the future: ETCS and digital technology for interlockings. (PDF; 1.0 MB) In: Eisenbahn-Revue International 8–9 / 2017. Retrieved November 2, 2017 .
  2. ↑ a b c d World's first interlocking “in the cloud”. Press release from Siemens Switzerland dated September 4, 2018 (PDF; 22 kB)
  3. ↑ Michael Leining: The future of signal technology: Is automation a must? (PDF; 3.4 MB) DB Netz AG, April 17, 2017, accessed on December 6, 2018 .
  4. ^ Andreas Freese, Olaf Matthäi: Current trends in IT / TK and LST in railway projects. (PDF) Digital LST, NeuPro, KISA, bbIP. DB Engineering & Consulting, January 16, 2017, archived from the original on March 10, 2018 ; accessed on March 11, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Markus Burhkard: Migration of the ESTW B950 - Release 2.0 in Mannheim-Rheinau. (HTTP) In: signal + wire. Eurailpress, September 2009, accessed July 26, 2019 .
  6. ↑ Roland Stäuble, Patric Gschwed: Digital signal technology in the Simmental . In: DVV Media Group (Ed.): Signal + Draht . DVV Media Group GmbH, Hamburg October 2018, p. 41 .
  7. ↑ Rural areas as a think tank . In: DB World . No. 10 , October 2017, p. 4 f .
  8. ^ Deutsche Bahn AG: Digital LST - Rollout Strategy. (HTTP) Deutsche Bahn AG, accessed on July 29, 2019 .
  9. ↑ Bahn puts Europe's first digital interlocking into operation. In: tag24.de. March 8, 2018, accessed March 9, 2018 .
  10. ↑ a b c d Frank Haberlandt, Olaf Körner, Ingo Buhlke, Frank von Oppenkowski: First insights into the construction project DSTW Warnemünde . In: The Railway Engineer . tape 70 , no. November 11 , 2019, ISSN  0013-2810 , p. 20-23 .
  11. ↑ "Digital Rail Germany" brings more performance and quality to the rails. In: deutschebahn.com. Deutsche Bahn, January 25, 2018, accessed on January 26, 2018 .
  12. ↑ Digital Rail Germany #####. (PDF) The future of the railroad. In: deutschebahn.com. Deutsche Bahn, September 2019, pp. 4–9 , accessed on May 2, 2020 .
  13. ^ A b c Mathias Rellstab: First "signal box in the cloud". In: Swiss Railway Review . No. 10/2018. Minirex, ISSN  1022-7113 , p. 540.
  14. ↑ Appenzeller Bahnen: data cloud controls signal box. In: Regionaljournal Ostschweiz from Radio SRF 1 from September 12, 2018 (Swiss German).
  15. ↑ Mathias Rellstab: Gornergratbahn outsources control technology infrastructure to Siemens. In: Swiss Railway Review . No. 3/2017, p. 138.
  16. ↑ EBA - VV NTZ. Retrieved February 15, 2019 .
  17. ↑ Dirk Kolling: Signal technology through the ages . In: private railways . tape 11 , no. 3 , March 2017, ISSN  1865-0163 , p. 40-43 .
  18. ↑ a b c DSTW - coordination in planning and construction on new feet . In: Rail Business . No. 7 , February 2020, ISSN  1867-2728 , ZDB -ID 2559332-8 , p. 23 .
  19. ↑ Performance and financing agreement: Infrastructure status and development report 2015. (PDF; 10.2 MB) Chapter 2.1.6 “Medium-term orientation of the investment strategy” Section “Medium-term development of the system structure” “Signal systems”. Deutsche Bahn AG, p. 61 , accessed on November 2, 2017 .
  20. ↑ https://www.siemens.com/press/pool/de/events/2014/infrastructure-cities/2014-09-innotrans/trackguard-sinet-annaberg-buchholz-de.pdf
  21. ↑ https://ausschreiben-deutschland.de/378144_Vorserienprojekt_Digitales_Stellwerk_VSP_DSTW_Harz-Weser-Netz_BA_Braunschweig_Sued_2017_Hannover
  22. ↑ https://ausschreiben-deutschland.de/377771_Vorserienprojekt_Digitales_Stellwerk_VSP_DSTW_Harz-Weser-Netz_BA_Braunschweig_Sued_2017_Hannover
  23. ↑ https://ausschreiben-deutschland.de/380110_Vorserienprojekt_Digitales_Stellwerk_VSP_DSTW_Mertingen-Meitingen_Betriebsfertige_Errichtung_2017_Muenchen
  24. ↑ Bahn builds first digital interlocking on main traffic route. In: heise.de. June 8, 2019, accessed June 9, 2019 .
  25. ↑ Bavaria gets the first digital interlocking on a main line in Germany. In: deutschebahn.com. Deutsche Bahn, June 10, 2019, accessed on June 10, 2019 .
  26. ↑ https://ausschreiben-deutschland.de/380109_Vorserienprojekt_Digitales_Stellwerk_VSP_DSTW_Warnemuende_Betriebsfertige_Errichtung_des_2017_Schwerin
  27. ↑ https://ausschreiben-deutschland.de/380108_Vorserienprojekt_Digitales_Stellwerk_VSP_DSTW_Warnemuende_Betriebsfertige_Errichtung_des_2017_Schwerin
  28. ↑ Bahn wants to put second digital interlocking into operation. In: Freiepresse.de. March 23, 2018, accessed March 27, 2018 .
  29. ↑ Bahn begins renovation project at Warnemünde station. In: welt.de. October 17, 2018, accessed October 19, 2018 .
  30. ↑ a b DB continues digitization offensive: In future, 280 digital interlockings will control train traffic in Germany. In: deutschebahn.com. Deutsche Bahn, October 30, 2019, accessed on October 30, 2019 .
  31. ↑ Warnemünde as a trailblazer: Preparations for the nationwide second digital signal box are in full swing . In: DB World . No. 2 , July 2019, p. 27 .
  32. ↑ https://ausschreiben-deutschland.de/380105_Vorserienprojekt_Digitales_Stellwerk_VSP_DSTW_Koblenz-Trier_Betriebsfertige_Errichtung_des_2017_Frankfurt_am_Main
  33. ↑ https://ausschreiben-deutschland.de/380111_Vorserienprojekt_Digitales_Stellwerk_VSP_DSTW_Koblenz-Trier_Betriebsfertige_Errichtung_des_2017_Frankfurt_am_Main
  34. ↑ Results of the award procedure in the supplement to the Official Journal of the European Union, accessed on January 5, 2020
  35. ↑ Results of the award procedure in the supplement to the Official Journal of the European Union, accessed on January 5, 2020
  36. ↑ Marc Behrens, Enrico Eckhardt, Michael Kümmling, Markus Loef, Peter Otrzonsek, Martin Schleede, Max-Leonhard von Schaper, Sven Wanstrath: On the way to the digital node Stuttgart: an overview . In: The Railway Engineer . tape 71 , no. 4 , April 2020, ISSN  0013-2810 , p. 14-18 ( PDF ).
  37. ↑ Martin Messerli: “SmartRail 4.0” on the way. (PDF; 3.2 MB) smartrail 4.0; SBB AG Infrastructure, June 2018, p. 27 , accessed on December 9, 2018 .
  38. ↑ Steffen Schmidt; David Grabowski: The "ETCS signal box". (PDF; 8.6 MB) In: Signal & Draht. November 6, 2018, accessed December 8, 2018 .