Eulynx is a European initiative by 13 infrastructure managers to standardise signalling system interfaces and elements.
Bane Nor has selected three suppliers to install ETCS on its network: Alstom is supplying onboard equipment, Siemens is supplying the trackside element, and Thales is providing the TMS. Eulynx will standardise the interface between these systems. This in turn makes it easier to replace subsystems without replacing the entire system, and also improves competition between suppliers.
“Our technical experts have been working with this since 2014 and have been emphasising the idea that the interfaces must be standardised,” says Mr Lars Jorde, head of Bane Nor’s ERTMS programme. “We are really helping to put the railway industry on the right track towards a modern market with future-oriented solutions.”
ETCS Level 2 Baseline 3 is due begin operation on the Nordlands Line from Grong to Bodø in October 2022, followed by the Gjøvik Line from Roa to Gjøvik a few weeks later.
“An essential part of this renewal is standardisation,” Jorde says. “Today we have 336 signalling systems with more than 15 different variants. With ETCS, we get one system for the entire Norwegian railway. It will be both easier and cheaper to maintain, which in turn will give us more value for money.”
“Thales, together with Siemens, designed and implemented the new SCI-CC interfaces between Thales’ TMS and Siemens’ interlocking (IXL) and Radio Block Centre (RBC) systems,” says Mr Yves Joannic, vice-president, main line signalling, with Thales. “This was done together with Bane Nor under the scope of Bane Nor’s ETCS National Implementation Programme and following Eulynx recommendations. This is a totally new solution for the market, which will bring major benefits to the entire railway community.”
Bane Nor has been testing components over 12 months at Haugastøl, Røros, Bodø, and Romeriksporten, in order to ascertain their climate resilience.
The infrastructure manager first installed ETCS along the Østfoldbanen Eastern Line between Ski and Sarpsborg in August 2015 as a pilot project ahead of the roll out across the rest of the country.
