THE installation of ETCS Level 2 and GSM-R on the 350km E65 line from Warsaw to Gdynia on the coast of the Baltic Sea has been completed following the awarding of a contract in 2012.
The project will facilitate 200km/h operation on the line, which has 35 stations. Polish infrastructure manager PKP PLK awarded a consortium of Bombardier Poland (now part of Alstom), Thales Poland, and Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) a Zlotys 470m ($US 123.9m) contract to install the ERTMS Level 2 system in December 2012.
Alstom and Thales Polska were responsible for the design and implementation of the ETCS Level 2 signalling, while Nokia provided GSM-R. The consortium upgraded eight Integrated Control Rooms, and installed remote traffic control and management systems, turnkey solutions for Dispatcher Centres, an integrated passenger information system and CCTV.
Bombardier supplied its Interflo 450 ERTMS technology for the project, including four Ebi Com radio block centres and Ebi Link balise systems, under a Zlotys 216m share of the contract. The system is the same as that used on the Legnica - Wegliniec - Bielawa Dolna section of the E30 line, the first line in Poland to operate with ERTMS Level 2.
The project will improve safety, increase capacity, and reduce journey times.
The decision of the head of the National Safety Authority in Poland to approve train traffic at the speed of up to 200km/h under the control of ERTMS Level 2 is the first ever decision of this kind in the history of Polish Railways,” says Mr Sławomir Nalewajka, managing director of Alstom in Poland, Ukraine and Baltics.
