Biggest order for rail infrastructure: Copenhagen to get signaling worth 252 million euros
Erlangen, Germany, 2011-Aug-05
Banedanmark, the Danish railway infrastructure operator, has placed a contract with Siemens for the modernization of the complete signaling system of the Copenhagen commuter rail ("S-Bane") network. The order worth 252 million euros is the biggest for Siemens in the rail automation business. It calls for the supply and installation of the fully automatic Trainguard MT type train control system, Sicas type electronic interlockings, and point machines. The equipment package also includes a brand-new operations control center. The first of six construction phases equipped with the new signaling system is scheduled to go into operation already before the end of 2014. The contract also includes maintenance of the system for 25 years.
Copenhagen's commuter rail lines are to be equipped initially for Semi-Automated Train Operation. This will shorten the service interval between trains in the inner-city area from the present 120 seconds to 90 seconds. The replacement of the present signaling system, parts of which are more than 50 years old, is intended to substantially increase the capacity and the reliability of current rail services. This will make riding the S-Bane more attractive to commuters and therefore lower the use of individual transport. At the same time, these modern systems will cut energy consumption. "By modernizing its railway infrastructure, Copenhagen is pursuing a bold plan to make the city carbon neutral by 2025. For Siemens, this also marks the biggest rail automation order we have ever received," said Hans-Jörg Grundmann, CEO of the Siemens Mobility Division. The contract also includes the option for the conversion to driverless operation at a later date.
The modernization of Copenhagen's S-Bane network is part of the government's program of renewing the entire railway signaling in Denmark by the year 2020. The aim of this program is to boost the capacity and reliability of complete rail service by the year 2030. It is the biggest and most sweeping modernization project of its kind ever seen in Europe. A total of 3.2 billion euros has been allocated for this purpose. "The Danish Parliament – the Folketing – has set itself a target of doubling the capability of the domestic railway services by 2030. One of the missions to be accomplished in order to meet that target is the equipping of the Copenhagen commuter rail network with a new signaling system," says Jesper Hansen, CEO of Banedanmark.
Siemens Mobility is to equip the 170 kilometers of Copenhagen's double-track S-Bane (commuter rail) network for Communication Based Train Control, an automatic radio-based train control system. The 135 S-Bane trains currently in use, the maintenance fleet, and the tracks of the seven commuter rail lines will be successively modernized in six constructions phases by the year 2018.