Ineco has been commissioned by Alstom to carry out an independent safety assessment (ISA) of the electromechanical system for the airport branch of Line 2 of the Panama Metro. The section runs for approximately two kilometres and connects Line 2 to the Eastern Advanced Technical Institute (ITSE) and Tocumen International Airport. Ineco also carried out the ISAs for Lines 1 and 2 in 2019. ISAs can only be performed by an assessor that, like Ineco, has been accredited by an official body (ENAC, in Spain). They play a vital role in ensuring that any part of a railway system (track, installations, equipment, rolling stock), whether new or modified, is safe and can enter into operation or continue to be used (see IT56 and 67).

Additionally, and also on behalf of Alstom, Ineco is to carry out an ISA of the on-board ERTMS equipment installed on the 30 Prima M4 locomotives that the French manufacturer has begun to deliver to railway operators in Morocco.

Gauge changeover installations are a fairly new development in the history of railways, providing a solution to the strategic, economic and technical decisions of the past, when lines with different gauges were built in each country, making it difficult for trains to run between them: in Europe alone, there are four different main gauges: 1,000 mm (narrow), 1,435 mm (European standard), 1,520 mm (Russian gauge) and 1,668 mm (Iberian gauge). The inability of trains to change from one line to another with a different gauge has historically caused operational and travel problems, since it meant that passengers had to change trains, resulting in inconvenience, costs and wasted time.

In just a few minutes, these automatic systems allow trains to change their gauge. With this versatile and cost-effective solution, Spain is contributing to the integration of EU markets by reducing infrastructure bottlenecks

Spain’s case is particularly complex, as three types of track gauge coexist: the Iberian or conventional gauge, which is shared with Portugal, the metric gauge of the former Ferrocarriles de Vía Estrecha (FEVE) lines, and the European standard gauge, which was adopted for high-speed lines. These are just three of the many gauges that exist in the world, making this technology exportable to other countries with similar characteristics, as is the case of the Baltic countries that currently have Russian gauge and are developing their Rail Baltica high-speed line in the European standard gauge. All of the countries of the former Soviet Union are in a similar situation.

A ground-breaking development

The departure of trains from Spain to France and the other countries of Europe that use a different gauge has been a constant challenge that has led to the development and improvement of gauge changeover technology. Until the late 1960s, border crossings were done by lifting the carriages and replacing the axles or bogies of one gauge with those of another gauge. The first use of ground-breaking technology that allowed gauge changeover by directly modifying the axle gauge as it passed through a pit took place in 1968 with the first test run of a Talgo Madrid-Paris train using the changeover installation installed at the Irún-Hendaye border; in 1969, the changeover installation was installed at Portbou-Cerbère, which was already in commercial service. These facilities allowed towed Talgo trains to run on routes between Spain and France in much less time.

Gauge changeover of Palencia. / PHOTO_INECO

Two decades later in 1992, with the opening of the first high-speed line –Madrid-Seville, designed with standard or international gauge– Spain made the decision to extend high-speed trains to other regions, planning the installation of gauge changeover facilities at different strategic points of its railway network. The Atocha, Córdoba and Majarabique changeover installations were built, enabling the Barcelona-Seville and Madrid with Málaga, Algeciras, Cádiz and Huelva connections to be established.

Automatic gauge changeover technology consists of a variable-gauge axle system installed on the trains and a fixed installation on the track where the locks that prevent the wheels from moving sideways are released as the train passes through. The wheels then meet converging or diverging rails that move them to their new position before locking again.

The first changeover systems did not allow the modification of the traction units, so the traction unit with the initial gauge had to be uncoupled, running the cars through the changer by gravity, and then coupling the traction unit with the second gauge. Likewise, all of the trains with gauge-changeover capabilities were manufactured by Talgo until 2001, which is when Renfe acquired new variable gauge trains with CAF technology from the Alstom-CAF consortium.

Gauge changeover of Antequera. / PHOTO_INECO

Because they use different technologies, dual-type changers are required, so that both technologies can be made compatible in the same installation. Two types of changeover installations are currently used in Spain, corresponding to the two manufacturers of rolling stock: the Talgo type and the CAF type. In just a few minutes, these automatic systems enable the train, which is equipped throughout with movable axles, including the traction unit, to change gauge at a low, controlled speed of up to 15 kilometres per hour without having to stop.

In the early generations of dual changers, the gauge-change platform needed to be switched. The first, TCRS1, folded the platforms vertically, and subsequently TCRS2 moved them horizontally. Then, in 2009, Adif began the design and construction of the first TCRS3 prototype, which combines the CAF and Talgo technologies into a single platform that modifies its parts to adapt to both systems. This considerably reduced the number of moving parts during the process and thus the time required for the gauge change. The first prototype was tested and validated in 2011 at the gauge changeover installation in Roda de Bará, Tarragona, with the first series units installed in León (Madrid-Asturias high-speed line) in 2015.

Gauge changeover of León. / PHOTO_INECO

Development is moving towards the TCRS4 or Unichanger, a universal changer that will also allow the changeover of the German (Rafil) and Polish (SUW 2000) systems. Progress is also being made on the future implementation of gauge changeover technology for freight trains. Ineco is working on both technologies.

MACAVI, a tool for monitoring and control

To control and monitor the maintenance of the gauge changers, Ineco has developed the MACAVI real-time information tool. Although it is made for gauge-changeover installations, MACAVI can be adapted to any other type of installation in terms of maintenance.

This technology can be exported to other countries with similar characteristics; this is the case of the Baltic republics, which currently use Russian gauge and are developing their Rail Baltica high-speed line on the European standard gauge

Its main functions include the inventory of the installation; the scheduling of the maintenance plan; the recording of parts and control of breakdowns, storage, circulation, incidents and user control. In addition, modules for personnel tracking and the integration of SCADA systems are currently being developed as an adaptation to Industry 4.0.l.

INFRASTRUCTURE WITHOUT BARRIERS

With this versatile and cost-effective solution, Spain is contributing to the integration of the markets by reducing infrastructure bottlenecks. It is therefore in line with the objectives of the European Commission, which is promoting the development of the major European corridors and considers freight rail to be a priority transport activity, setting the objective of increasing its market share to 30% by 2030 (Directive 2012/34/EU).

Since the early 2000s, Ineco has participated in the design of the different generations of changeover installations and has provided services to Adif, the Spanish railway infrastructure administrator, and to the manufacturers in different aspects of development and implementation: project drafting, technical assistance, project management and maintenance and operation of more than twenty automatic gauge changeover installations throughout Spain. As a result, Ineco has acquired particularly useful know-how when exporting the system to other countries, providing assistance throughout the process, from the planning of the itineraries to be developed, to the implementation, operation and maintenance of the systems.

The company has been involved in the design of the different generations of changeover installations since the early 2000s and has been providing maintenance services to Adif since 2008. / PHOTO_INECO

Metro de Santiago has commissioned Ineco to carry out detailed engineering on the refurbishment of its Alstom NS74 trains, the first to operate in the city’s suburbs. The project involves a total of 35 trains with pneumatic running gear, a total of 245 carriages. Manufactured between 1974 and 1981, they have reached the end of their service life but are being refurbished, a process that began in 2011 and will provide them with another 20 years of operation.

Since then, Ineco has been providing services to Metro de Santiago to supervise the entire process, which includes replacement of engines, installation of new HVAC and door closure systems, renovation of interiors and fitting of passenger information devices, in addition to corridor connections between carriages.

Ineco has begun providing advice on manufacture and assembly control for the new Alstom trains of Metro de Santiago de Chile. This comes after the company’s previous involvement in developing the basic engineering phases, drafting bidding documents and supporting tender evaluation and contract awarding for the modernisation of the NS74 train fleet (currently made up of 49 five-carriage trains) manufactured in the 1970s by Alstom, which will be replaced by a new fleet consisting of 35 seven-carriage trains.

The company will be sending a multidisciplinary team to Santiago de Chile that will be responsible for technical assistance during testing and commissioning the prototype train.

In 2012, Banedanmark launched its Signalling Programme (SP) that includes the renovation of the entire railway network in its territory. The commitment to technology, which will mean replacing all the existing equipment and systems, was approved by the Danish Parliament in 2009 and will involve an investment of around 2.5 billion Euros. With the introduction of this new signalling system, the Danish government expects to be able to increase the performance and quality of its rail operation and serve around 70 million passengers by 2030.

The signalling system to be installed is ERTMS level 2 in version 3.4.0 of Baseline 3. This is the European rail traffic management system promoted by the European Commission, which is being implemented on the nine core network corridors of the Union. Its objective is to establish a common language throughout the European railway network, a project that brings significant improvements in railway operation, allowing the internal and cross-border traffic of all trains with greater capacity, improved safety and lower costs. Since 2015, Ineco has been in charge of the supervision and monitoring of the ERTMS deployment plan on the European core network corridors until 2020 (see IT53, IT59).

196 test cases and two pilot lines

Spain has 2,150 kilometres of railway lines equipped with the ERTMS system, including 656 kilometres with level 2 ERTMS. Ineco and CEDEX’s extensive experience and technical knowledge of ERTMS has made it possible for Banedanmark to rely on the Spanish entities to develop the test specification of this system for the Danish track application.

In compliance with Banedanmark’s operational requirements, Ineco and CEDEX produced 196 generic test cases that test the ERTMS functions to be implemented in the lines. In addition, they have designed the operational scenarios for the two pilot lines (EDL EAST and EDL WEST) equipped by Alstom and Thales, respectively. These indicate the specific location in the infrastructure at which the developed test cases will be carried out. A test scenario is a sequence of test cases that reproduce a series of situations that a train could encounter on a journey along a line. They reproduce situations ranging from nominal conditions, such as a commercial traffic at maximum speed, to severely degraded situations that simulate the different failures that may occur in the equipment and its interfaces. These test cases and scenarios are applicable for both on-site and laboratory tests.

Ineco has developed close to 200 test cases for the ERTMS Level 2 application that is going to be deployed in the railway network in Denmark between 2018 and 2023

During the month of July, Ineco carried out a first test campaign in the JTL laboratory (Joint Test Laboratory) created by Banedanmark as part of its renewal programme. This laboratory has both simulated and real equipment (RBC, on-board equipment, GSMR and GPRS connection, signalling control point, control centre interface and even a level-crossing). In terms of software, the same versions installed on the track are installed in the laboratory, so many of the functional tests can be performed more comfortably.

Laboratory tests provide a number of advantages over field testing. On one hand they do not have to interrupt the existing commercial traffic, they do not require real trains, and involve fewer personnel. All of these factors reduce campaign times, and consequently the cost, of the test phase within the processes to commission infrastructure or trains on a specific infrastructure. Consequently, the objective is to replace as many field tests as possible with laboratory tests, reducing field tests to a minimum. In this sense, the test campaign carried out by Ineco allowed the verification of the real possibilities that the laboratory can provide to reproduce the different situations that may occur in the normal operation of the trains on the track.

The current support contract for the Danish railway signalling programme includes other activities such as developing validation infrastructure strategies for the upcoming lines to be put into operation. This is the definition of the subset of test cases to be performed, depending on whether or not it is a new type of train to be put into operation on an already operational track, or if, on the contrary, it is the same type of train that will run on a new track but one that is designed with the same principles as an infrastructure that is already in operation.

Banedanmark intends to upgrade its infrastructure from the current ERTMS version 3.4.0 to 3.6.0 which is already available in European specifications. Ineco will also support the update of the test specifications to this new version.

Although some elements and processes of rolling stock manufacturing involve mass production, no two orders are the same: each design, operator and railway network has its own individual characteristics, even if the supplier is the same. In addition to this, there is the fact that the many components and systems a train is equipped with, from the air conditioning to the brakes or the traction, are produced by different companies. These must be integrated into the design produced by the manufacturer, who delivers the rolling stock to the operators who will put it into circulation.

A high-speed train has very different features and characteristics than a tram, a commuter train or a freight train. Even so, what they all have in common is that they require experts to validate the design and to supervise the different tests (static and dynamic) that are carried out, both at the factory and on tracks, up until the train’s entry into service. The supervisors must assure from the very beginning that the rolling stock being assembled meets technical specifications and is adapted to the needs of the end client. This is the reason for the fundamental importance of validating the initial design.

They must also have detailed knowledge of international railway regulations, as well as those of the particular countries concerned. Supervisors must also be familiar with standards that apply to the main and auxiliary elements, both structural elements (body, axles, wheels, etc.) and equipment and systems (traction, brakes, train safety system, passenger information system, conduction system, emergency system, etc.). The supervision process must guarantee the reliability and technical compatibility of all these elements.

All types of trains require experts to validate designs and supervise the different tests carried out up until their entry into service

Ineco has extensive experience in this field, with professionals whose specific knowledge of each component make it possible for trains to be functional, safe and comfortable for users. This experience covers all types of rolling stock from all suppliers: CAF, Alstom, Siemens, Bombardier, etc. In the case of new railway projects, clients may also require technical assistance prior to the purchase of rolling stock. In 2012, Ineco collaborated with the Santiago de Chile Metro in preparing technical specifications for public tenders and in assessing bids for the modernisation of its fleet.

In Spain, the company has over 20 years’ experience in this area, having supervised over 200 high speed and over 750 conventional trains, 290 locomotives and around 75 metro trains and trams, as well as 1,400 freight wagons. Noteworthy projects abroad include numerous works carried out in Brazil for CAF and Alstom (suppliers to the Compañía Paulista de Trenes Metropolitanos, CPTM), in Colombia, where the Medellín Metro is renewing its fleet with new CAF units, and in Ecuador, which has purchased rolling stock from the old Feve or Euskotren for its railway network, for which it launched renovation works in 2008.

The tasks of design validation, review and supervision are applicable not only to new rolling stock, but also when updating operational units that require modernisation. This is the case with the forty-nine NS74 trains manufactured by Alstom for the Santiago de Chile Metro in the 1970s. Ineco is providing technical assistance for the detailed engineering and design for the process of modernising the fleet, working in conjunction with Alstom engineers in Spain.

The same is true with second-hand or surplus rolling stock which is sold on to another operator (generally abroad) and needs to be adapted. This was the case with the three new TD 2000 series locomotives manufactured in Spain in 2006 by the company Ingeteam, which were surplus to the requirements of the Basque operator Euskotren. The machines, accompanied by fifteen 3,500 series trailer cars (with no additional costs), were acquired by Ecuador’s railway network for its star product, the Tren Crucero (‘Cruise Train’) tourist line between Durán and Quito. Ineco, which also carried out the original testing for Euskotren, supervised the tune-up of the units for their new function, which is very different than their original intended use in a freight project.

For that reason, the machines have a powerful electro-diesel dual-mode traction system, large loading capacity and efficient braking systems. Their sturdiness and power make them very suitable for their new destination, as the ‘Cruise Train’ is a 450 kilometres of unelectrified line running through a mountainous region known as the ‘Avenue of Volcanoes’, where it reaches altitudes of over 3,600 metres. For that reason, the locomotives will only use diesel traction. In addition, the units required modification to travel on the Ecuadorian network, where the gauge is 1,067 millimetres, compared to the 1,000 millimetre gauge for which they were originally designed.

Works for the Medellín Metro

With a population of 2.4 million, Medellín is Colombia’s second city. In 2004, it pioneered the use of cable cars as a means of public transport, and now other cities have followed its lead: São Paulo in Brazil, capitals such as Bogotá (Colombia) and Quito (Ecuador), for which Ineco is producing a feasibility study, La Paz in Bolivia, etc. A dynamic city with difficult orography (it sits in a narrow valley, 1,300 metres above sea level), Medellín has invested in public transport as another element of social integration (the ‘metrocable’ lines serve the city’s least privileged neighbourhoods, or comunas) and sustainability: buses run on natural gas, all metros and trams use electric traction and a public bicycle system has been installed at stations. Mobility in the city and its metropolitan area is in constant growth, increasing road congestion and the use of public transport in its various forms: buses (MetroPlús, large-capacity buses that run on natural gas, the SIT or Integrated Transport System, and minibuses), trams, the cable car or metrocable, free public bicycles (EnCicla) and the over ground metro.

Metro de Medellín, a public company owned by Medellín city hall and the regional government of the department of Antioquia, is responsible for managing the network, which comprises two conventional metro lines, two metrocable lines (with two more to be added soon) and the Ayacucho tram line, opened in October 2015.
Having been in operation for 20 years, the company is now renewing its fleet; this has involved the purchase of new trains from the Spanish company CAF. In 2011, Ineco was commissioned to supervise the design and manufacturing of the trains, as well as their testing in the factory and on tracks and the subsequent entry into service of the initial batch of 13 three-car trains, equipped with the latest technology. In 2015, the company supervised a second batch of another 3 units as well as the on-board signalling equipment (ATC) for 26 drivers’ cabs. With the new CAF trains (20 in total), Metro de Medellín plans to increase transport capacity by 36 %, which will translate into reduced congestion at peak times.
In addition to this work, Ineco has carried out other projects for Metro de Medellín, such as feasibility studies for the recovery of the old Antioquia railway, renamed the ‘Valle de Aburrá Multi-purpose Railway System’. The project consists in renovating 80 kilometres of disused track for the transport of passengers and urban waste through the Aburrá Valley. The valley, created by the basin of the river Medellín, is a narrow stretch of land in the centre of the region of Antioquia and has seen intense urban development. In addition to the city of Medellín there are a further 10 municipalities, constituting an urban area with a population of over 3.3 million. For that reason, Medellín’s public transport system is designed as a multimodal network named the Valle de Aburrá Integrated Transport System (SITVA, for its Spanish initials) with stations that allow passenger to change mode of transport (for example, from tram to cable car, bus to metro or metro to bicycle). In 2010, Metro de Medellín implemented a metro and metrocable traffic control system based on Adif’s Da Vinci platform, developed by Indra. Two years later, it also incorporated Metroplús buses, Ineco took responsibility in this in the supervision and technical management of the extension of the system, which enables any incidents in the service to be managed and handled in real time.

Medellin Metro facilities.