CBTC test simulation bench

Abstract

Due to its safety characteristics, signalling equipment requires a great amount of testing and validation during the different stages of its life cycle, and particularly during the installation and commissioning of a new line or upgrade of an existing line, the latter being even more complicated due to the short engineering periods available overnight. This project aims to develop a tool to reduce the above-mentioned efforts by simulating the CBTC trackside, fulfilling the interfaces between subsystems and elements of these subsystems, and using some real elements. In this way, a testing environment for signalling equipment and data has been developed for the CBTC system. The aims of the project that were set out at the beginning of the development and completed with the present simulator are as follows: • Real CBTC equipment trials and integration: CBTC on-board equipment, CBTC Radio Centre, etc. • Other signalling elements trials and integration: interlockings and SCCs. • CBTC track data validation. In order to achieve these objectives, various simulation applications have been developed, of which the most important are the following: Infrastructure, Automatic trains, Train systems, Planning and Control Desk, etc. This system has been developed, and is currently adding new modules and functionalities, for companies of the Invensys Group: Westinghouse Rail Systems in the UK and Dimetronic Signals in Spain, which are using it for the new CBTC lines under their responsibility. © 2010 WIT Press.