Spain has 2,150 kilometres of railway lines equipped with the ERTMS system, including 656 kilometres with level 2 ERTMS. Ineco and CEDEX\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
In compliance with Banedanmark\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n