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.

With its 30-year contract to manage six airports in the Northeast Region of Brazil, Aena Internacional has strengthened its leadership in the world and is helping to build new air bridges in a strategic sector vital to the development of the country’s tourism and economy, while at the same time strengthening relations between Spain and Brazil.

Ineco, which provided technical support to Aena Internacional during the entire concession process, will continue to collaborate on both the Operational Readiness and Transfer and subsequent stages, thus strengthening its long history as a technical consultant in Brazil, a country in which the company is carrying out other projects such as supervision of new trains for the São Paulo Commuter network, which is also covered in an article in this issue.

Also in the international sphere, our railway specialisation has taken us to different continents, as reported in the article about the Independent Safety Assessment (ISA) carried out for the improvement of the Panama City Metro and safety studies conducted for the Makkah-Madinah high-speed line in Saudi Arabia.

In Spain, the works on the high-speed line to Galicia also involve building bridges – both figuratively, because of the crucial importance of improving connections with the Region of Galicia, and literally, because of the construction of the large viaducts and other special works that are required, including the ones described in a report in this issue on a section that presents enormous technical complexity.

We also dedicate space to innovation with the RONIN road safety tool and the implementation of a pilot project using the ground-breaking integration of BIM and GIS technology in Spain’s road sector.

Ineco’s commitment to building bridges between training and the exercise of the engineering profession, supporting the development and attraction of talent, has led us to organise, together with the Spanish Institute of Engineering, the first edition of the Awards for Excellence in Engineering Student Internships. These awards are based on performance during a series of theoretical and practical courses that will enhance the training of future engineers and enable them to contribute to increasing the prestige of Spanish engineering.

Similarly, and as part of our unequivocal commitment to the 2030 Agenda, we will be building charitable bridges with volunteer projects that we carry out in our CSR section, in which we highlight three projects already underway in India, South Sudan and Haiti.

A railway system is made up of different subsystems: very broadly, the track with all of its equipment, the power system, with overhead lines and substations, the rolling stock and all of the signalling, control, command and communications elements that make it possible for trains to operate. Each of these subsystems must work safely and, to ensure this, starting with the project design phase and following stages, through commissioning and subsequent maintenance, different safety studies and tests need to be carried out on aspects ranging from subsystem specifications, detection of possible hazards and the likelihood of occurrence, to actions to be undertaken to mitigate the risks and fully certify that the whole system is safe and complies with the regulations.

These safety activities for the commissioning of all or part of a railway system (whether newly built or modified, for example, due to modernisation), are carried out following a ‘V-shaped life cycle’, because the activities run in parallel but not necessarily at the same time, starting in the design stage and converging again during commissioning. Different individuals (designer, verifier, validator) are responsible for each activity. The different kinds of safety studies are organised into the following phases: concept and definition of the system, risk assessment, identification of safety and application requirements, and, finally, design and implementation.

The main report produced is the Independent Safety Assessment (ISA), which, unlike other jobs, such as risk assessment, can only be performed by assessors accredited by an ENAC (National Accreditation Entity), such as Ineco. This report is essential for guaranteeing to a third party –the operator or railway authority– that a new line or the modification of an existing line is safe and can be put into service or continue operating.

Ineco, which has extensive experience in Spain in the field of railway safety studies, especially in high speed, as well as in other fields, has exported its knowledge: for the Panama City Metro, it carried out ISAs for the new Line 2 and extension of Line 1, a job that took two years. It also carried out safety studies on the first high-speed line in Saudi Arabia, between Makkah and Madinah  (Haramain High Speed Railway project), which went into operation in October 2018.

Both the Haramain (which means ‘two holy cities’ in Arabic) and Panama City Metro projects were carried out in accordance with the safety regulations that apply to Spanish railway lines, that it to say, the standard CENELEC EN 50126 (Railway applications – specification and demonstration of reliability, availability, maintainability and safety, RAMS), which applies to all subsystems that make up the rail system: train signalling and protection, telecommunications, traffic control centre, power supply, protection and safety, track and rolling stock.

Panama City Metro ISA

More than 8 million passengers a month use the two operating lines of the Panama City Metro. In 2014, the opening of the first suburban line, with a length of 15.8 kilometres, revolutionised public transport for the city’s more than 880,000 inhabitants. Growth in demand has made it necessary to expand its capacity by adding 6 new trains to the 20 existing ones, and expanding the number of carriages from three to five, which in turn made it necessary to modify tracks and facilities, purchase new supplies and carry out other supplementary works.

Ineco exports its extensive experience in railway safety studies

In addition, in January 2019, the new 21-kilometre Line 2 was partially opened to provide a service to pilgrims from all over the world who attended the World Youth Day, presided over by Pope Francis. For nine days, with no notable incidents, the line section, consisting of five of the sixteen stations, transported 2.6 million people. On 28 January, once the event was over, the line closed again for works to complete it, and it officially opened in April.

To make the process possible with full safety guarantees, since 2015, Ineco has been carrying out the Independent Safety Assessments (ISAs) on both lines for the company Alstom. On the one hand, for the adaptation actions aimed at expanding the capacity of Line 1, and, on the other, for the subsystems of the newly constructed Line 2:  track, rolling stock, signalling system, power supply, supervision and control of trains, communications and SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition), among others.

Safety studies for the Makkah-Madinah line

The so-called ‘Pilgrims’ High Speed Railway’ made its first official trip on 25 September 2018 and began commercial operation in October. Ineco was one of the 12 Spanish companies (the others being Renfe, Adif, Talgo, Consultrans, OHL, COPASA, Imathia, Dimetronic, Indra, Cobra and Inabensa) and two Saudi firms in the consortium that was awarded the international contract to build the second phase of the project in 2011.

Ineco is present in all phases of the safety life cycle, from the start of the project to validation

After phase 1 (civil works for the construction of the track platform and stations), which was awarded to another consortium, phase 2 included track and overhead line installation, electrification, control centres, supply of 35 trains, and operation and maintenance of the line for a period of 12 years.

The new 450-kilometre line is the first high-speed line in Saudi Arabia and the entire region. It is designed for speeds of up to 320 km/h and connects the two holy cities of Islam, Makkah and Madinah, with five stops in total. It has a double track in standard gauge (1,435 mm), 25 kV, 60 Hz electrification and is equipped with the ERTMS level 2 signalling system.

As one of the project tasks –supervision of track assembling, train traffic tests, etc.– Ineco also carried out safety studies associated with phases of the project, always applying Spanish CENELEC regulations.

In the concept and definition phase, the technical specifications of the track, overhead lines, signalling, telecommunications, installation and maintenance bases, signalling control points, operation control centres (OCCs), high- and low-voltage electrification and RAMS requirements were prepared. Based on this, a safety plan for the system was generated.

In the risk analysis phase, a hazard log was created to manage hazards, including a description of each hazard, its status (open, controlled, cancelled transferred or closed), initial and final assessment, the person in charge, etc. The EN 50126 standard provides a detailed list of all possible hazards, establishes the levels of probability (from frequent to unlikely) and severity (from insignificant to catastrophic), and classifies them (from acceptable to intolerable).

In the stages that followed, identification of requirements and traceability, the development of the hazard log continued, establishing the safety requirements for the signalling, track, station and power subsystems. After the analysis, the corresponding mitigation measures were established and applied in order to reduce the detected risks to acceptable levels.

In the design and implementation phase, the standard stipulates the need for a design ‘safety case’, which is a detailed report that, once validated by an Independent Safety Assessor (in this case, the Italian company ITALCERTIFER), gives the green light to the operation and maintenance of the infrastructure. In the Haramain project, Ineco produced, among others, the safety case for the signalling control points and auxiliary detection systems (detectors and concentrators), as well as for the management of rolling stock interfaces with the rest of the subsystems.

Ineco is carrying out the Independent Safety Assessment (ISA) of lines L1 and L2 of the Panama Metro for the company Alstom. Specifically, Spanish public engineering is carrying out the ISA for the revision and adaptation of L1, in commercial service since April 2014, increasing its capacity. The new trains of this latest line will have five cars instead of three, and the fleet will include 26 trains instead of 20, involving modifications to the tracks and installations, new supplies and other complementary works. In relation to L2, the ISA includes all subsystems, amongst others, rolling stock, a signalling system, energy supply, supervision and control of trains, communications and SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition).

The ISA can only be performed by an accredited assessor and they are essential for ensuring that a new line is reliable and safe, and can enter into or continue in service. Ineco has the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) recognition as an inspection entity for the Independent Safety Assessment of railway applications at an international level. The company has been working for more than a decade carrying out independent safety assessments on the Spanish rail network, (see IT56).

How can we ensure that a taximeter is reliable or that a nuclear facility is safe, that a bulletproof vest is really bulletproof or that the MOT that reviews a vehicle does not act arbitrarily? In Spain, more than 1,600 entities ensure that many products, procedures and services available in the market comply with the regulations of their respective sector. A Spanish government body, the National Accreditation Entity (ENAC), is responsible for authorising who guarantees the safety of consumers and end users. Entities must renew their accreditation every year, demonstrating that they comply with the strict requirements of independence, rigour and transparency that are required for this work.

Rail lines

The wide range of products and services subject to receiving a certification endorsed by an ENAC entity covers any type of production and different types of entities, such as testing or calibration laboratories, inspectors, or certifiers and environmental verifiers from practically any sector: industry, energy, environment, health, agriculture and food, research, development and innovation, telecommunications, tourism, services, construction, transport, etc.

The inspection activity of Ineco falls within the latter, specifically within railway, and in 2009 it obtained its first ENAC accreditation as an ‘independent safety assessor’ with the number 76/EI058. In 2015, it was renewed and extended to the fields of rolling stock, energy, infrastructure, maintenance and exploitation and traffic management. The company has a multidisciplinary team consisting of professionals accredited by ENAC. The work of the entities certified by ENAC, moreover, is not only valid in Spain, but also in the over 70 countries with which it has mutual recognition agreements, including the European Union, United States, Canada, China, Japan, Australia, Brazil, India, United Arab Emirates and Mexico, amongst others.

Why an independent safety assessment?

In addition to rolling stock, since the beginning of rail at the end of the 19th century, the main rail elements related to safety have been signalling systems, in order to avoid the greatest risk of all: collisions between trains. From manual signals to lights, to digital systems and radio without physical signals on the tracks –as is the case for ERTMS level 2–, the different control, command and signalling systems (ASFA, LZB, ERTMS, etc.) have evolved to become more complex and sophisticated, always with the objective of guaranteeing the safe circulation of trains.

The current rail lines –conventional and high speed–, are very complex infrastructure that consist of a large number of elements and undergo very extensive legal and technical regulation that requires a high degree of specialisation by the inspectors. From the time they are planned until they are commissioned, European and international regulations require verification that each and every one of the elements and subsystems work correctly, from the simplest, such as the ventilation of a tunnel, to the most complex, such as software.

For this purpose, two types of safety study are carried out. On one hand, risk analyses, in which threats are identified that could bring the system to a potentially dangerous situation and work is being carried out on mitigation measures or barriers to avoid them. They can be carried out in any stage of the project and seek to detect the weak points of the system. Moreover, and on a higher level, there is the type of study known as ISA (Independent Safety Assessment). Unlike risk analyses, ISA can only be carried out by an accredited entity. They are essential to guarantee for a third party –the operator or rail authority– that a new line or modification of an existing line is safe and can begin or continue to be used.