A new railway success: In Ploiesti Sud has been put into operation

The First Electronic Interlocking System

National Railway Company "CFR" SA has inaugurated, on December 4th, 2001, in Ploiesti Sud station, the first electronic interlocking system in Romania, the biggest and the most modern, presently, from the Central and Eastern Europe. The project, in the amount of 403 billion lei, has been integrally financed from the state budget and it is part of the vast modernization project of our railways. The inauguration of the modern electronic interlocking system (95 centralized switch points, 103 light signals and 120 track circuits for signaling the presence of the train) has been made in the presence of several officials. We can mention here the minister of Transports, Mr. Miron Mitrea, the general manager of CFR SA, Mr. Mihai Necolaiciuc, the town officials from Ploiesti and a delegation of the German firm SIEMENS AG, led by Mr. Jurgen Loos, general manager of the international affairs.

One of the oldest electrodynamics centralized equipment (with relays) in Romania has been operating, since 1960, in Ploiesti Sud. This type of equipment has been conceived in 1960, the technology being taken over by the countries included in the former Mutual Economical Support Council (CAER). Kept and operated till present time in Ploiesti Sud station, the equipment has operated at the beginning with Russian relays, which, shortly after, have been replaced with Romanian relays, produced by Electromagnetica Bucharest.
Once with the data technology explosion and with the rapid increase of the IT performances, there has been developed a new generation of safety traffic equipment, based on the IT, on world plan. Romanian Railways are included, for over 30 years, among the very advanced railway administrations from the point of view of the safety concept and the technology used for safety traffic. In order to align itself at the new generation of the equipment, Romanian Railways triggers a vast rehabilitation and modernization program on long term in point of the safety traffic within the rehabilitation of the railway infrastructure.
Electronic Interlocking System (CE), next to the other world railway accomplishments, represents the peak of a new technology that is extended in several railway administrations. Although it was difficult enough to join the game in a moment when many others have already reached far away, Romanian specialists have started the implementation of the CE equipment in a big railway station - Ploiesti Sud. This strategy was applied in order to avoid the mistake that other administrations made while implementing the new system in small stations. We call it "mistake" due to the fact that, if the respective equipment is assembled initially in a small station, it appears the risk that the complexity degree not to correspond with the one imposed by a big station. Also, there can not be drawn correct conclusions on the quality of the system, this way risking not being able to solve complex problems of a big station.

Official Inauguration in Ploiesti Sud Station

In order to provide the interoperability with the European railway network - as part of the integration program in the European Union -, the implementation of the above-mentioned project was made in Ploiesti Sud station for the reason that this is a big station and, additionally, it presents the advantage for being placed at the crossroads of the two pan-European corridors which cross Romania on the east-west (IV) and on the north-south (IX) directions, and it represents one of the most important railway knots in our country. On the occasion of the inauguration of this equipment, Mr. Miron Mitrea, the minister, expressed his apologies towards the passengers for the delays of the trains on Bucharest - Ploiesti section. He mentioned the fact that "today, here, it is developed the most important rehabilitation work of the railway in Romania, work that we are hoping to extend similarly on other railway sections in the country".
Putting into operation of this project is included, in the same time, in the permanent preoccupations of CFR SA to align it to the European standards in the field and to introduce new technologies and systems (as: Eurointerlocking, GSM-R and ETCS - level 1).
The bid for the achievement of the electronic interlocking system in Ploiesti Sud station has been assigned to the German Company SIEMENS AG, which has signed the contract in 1995. The construction-assembling works have started a year later and they have been assigned to the Romanian Company ISAF SA Bucharest.
Initially, CFR SA and the German Company SIEMENS AG have signed a contract for the SIMIS-C system with graphical interface BKS, very spread out at that time in Germany. Later on, the Germans have developed a more modern technology, SIMIS-W, with graphical interface VICOS OC 111. Pursuant to the negotiations held in January 1998, Romanian Railways and SIEMENS AG have agreed upon the fact that the German Company will offer for Ploiesti Sud station, within the price of the same contract, the latest version of this technology. In the contract signed initially has been stipulated that the equipment has to provide operability and the operation rules of the German railway, with only two changes. In the opinion of the specialists from CFR SA, this solution proved to be a mistake, due to the great differences between the safety concepts and those of operation of the two railways. The differences could not be compensated through the instructional previsions. That's why a team of Romanian specialists has worked together with the representatives of SIEMENS AG company in order to solve the inconveniences that arise from these differences. Therefore, presently all the divergent aspects have been clarified, and the software from SIEMENS AG company specific for Romania has successfully passed the operational and safety testing period.
Electronic interlocking system in Ploiesti Sud station also includes Romanian components, as we can mention: electronic track circuits, light signals for operation and shunting, electrical cables, and distribution boxes, as well as the terminals of the adjacent interlocking system. All this equipment has proved to be perfectly compatible with the electronic interlocking system delivered by the German party.
The philosophy of the achievement of this electronic interlocking system aims the provision of several advantages, an increased degree of safety of the equipment being the most important. This equipment approaches the information from the probability point of view. It is approached a majority logic, "2 of 3", meaning that three processors are utilized while running this program. As a safety principle it is used the mutual testing of the results of these processors, on different levels of the evolution of the process. If the answer of at least two processors is identical, then the operation ordered is valid.
At this "2 of 3" system, due to the redundancy (increased redundancy constitutes another advantage), practically there are no troubles. In the case of the invalidation of a processor, the processor remained valid takes the decisions together with the third one. An advantage of the redundancy is also the possibility to implement easily changes in the programs without affecting the traffic.
Another advantage would be the permanent recording of the critical orders on a magnetic support and on the paper, fact that means there can not be made any inappropriate intervention without being recorded. In the same time, there are also recorded all the defects or the problems that occur during the operation. This modern equipment is also "friendly" enough while adapting it to other extern informational systems, as the computerized driving systems, railway dispatcher, automatic acquisition of the data within the process etc.
Electronic interlocking system in Ploiesti Sud station has been tested for six months by a technical commission of CFR SA, in point of operability, as well as from the point of view of the safety traffic.
The Romanian specialists have achieved the putting into operation of the new equipment in a record period of time: of 46 hours, instead of 96 hours, as it was stipulated in the contract.

CFR Respects UIC Previsions

On the occasion of the implementation of the new electronic interlocking system in Ploiesti Sud station within the Romanian Railways is also promoted a new signaling code with multiple speeds, which respects totally the previsions of UIC File no. 732R. The new code introduces two types of signaling. The first one is represented by the separated signaling (through lighted numbers, achieved on the fiber optics indicators) of the speed at the signal (if this one is less than the established speed). The second one is the scheduled speed for the next signal and the distance signaling with light optical units (green, yellow and red). Also taking into consideration the modernization projects that are in execution stage, there has been approved the implementation of the distance signaling with four indications, which is going to replace on the high speed section the one with three indications, presently in use.
The conceived system is perfectly compatible with the one that is still operating today, and there are no indications that can create confusions. In fact, the changes are minimal and very easy to be achieved. Practically, this new signaling code represents an extension of the signaling code with two speeds, which it is used for more than two decades, for the special situation of high speed in swerving.
Distance signaling with four indications will constitute the support to increase the maximal speed of the traffic up to 160 km/h and then to 200 km/h on Corridor IV, without modifying the length of the sectors of track block. This fact represents an advantage in the case of the combined traffic.

High Performance European Projects

EURO-INTERLOCKING project the initiative of UIC, which was approach by other 16 countries until now, among which Romania, too, through CNCF CFR SA aims the achievement of a unique centralization system on a common platform of technical specifications. Hardware platforms remain at the latitude of the producing companies, who have therefore the possibility to reduce substantially the designing and fabrication costs of the equipment. This way, respecting the EURO-INTERLOCKING specifications, the equipment of the respective company could be implemented in shorter time and with reduced costs in any participant country.
European union has recently finalized a project ERTMS/ETCS (European Train Control System) at the technical specifications level, achieved in order to provide the interoperability of the European railways.
Romanian Railways intend to implement ETCS version, level 1 on the pan-European Corridor IV on the occasion of the rehabilitation and modernization of the infrastructure. This is achieved in order to provide the traffic with high speeds, up to 160 km/h, further on maintaining the classical INDUSI system for the trains that circulate with speeds up to 120 km/h.
The first stage of the ETCS program level 1 is represented by the trans-borders project Arad - Bekescsaba (Hungary), which became interesting not only for the Hungarians, but also for Romania and Austria. All three countries will proceed, shortly, to common actions in order to promote it.
ETCS LC (ETCS Low Cost) is another European project, being in the elaboration stage in point of the technical specifications. Romanian Railways network is an active part of this rogram, which is intended to be a version with more reduced costs of the ETCS system, utilized on the secondary lines.

Electronic Centralization in Other Stations

As the minister of Transports, Mr. Miron Mitrea, has specified it is scheduled the extension of the electronic interlocking system from Ploiesti Sud station including other stations from this railway complex.
Modernization work of the safety traffic equipment in Ploiesti Sud station has got the attention of the international bodies, so that the European Commission has decided to finance the project ROMANIA PHARE RO 9604-01-02 for the electronic centralization of another four stations: Arad, Brasov, Timisoara and Bucharest Nord Complex.
"The works are financed within PHARE Program, and the winner of the bid is ALCATEL Company - Mr. Mihai Necolaiciuc, the general manager of CFR SA wanted to specify. The next year will also start the bids for the stations Buzau and Suceava, on the pan - European Corridor IX, and Sighisoara and Alba Iulia, on the pan-European Corridor IV. I would also like to say that through the assembling of the electronic centralized equipment in Ploiesti Sud station we are closer to the European integration. The finalization of this project means, in the same time, the increase of the safety level in the railway transport, the increase of the traffic capacity, the reduction of the travel duration and of the maintenance costs and the improvement of the working conditions for the operational rail personnel".
For the implementation works of the equipment for the future four stations has been conceived a technical specification. The systems offered on this occasion were requested for a series of tasks of high level meant to lead to the elimination of the difficulties that the railway administrations from Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and Finland have dealt with. Besides the maximum safety level (SIL 4), an increased redundancy, an imperious man-machine interface, technical specification also stipulates a few conditions. The system that was offered to be successfully implemented in the last five years in at least a railway station with more then 100-switch points is one of them. Other conditions would be the point electro-mechanisms, track circuits, light signals and automatic signaling block plant at the rail level crossings to be at the highest quotations. Answering times at the order of the objects in the field, as well as at the achievement of routes to be at least equal to those of the current relay equipment. The relays should be utilized only for the commutation of the tensions, not for the achievement of the logical functions.
Besides the modernization of the signaling system, which should be in accordance with the European regulations, and the introduction of electronic interlocking system in as many railway stations as possible, the rehabilitation and the modernization strategy of the safety traffic equipment at the railway also aims the provision with data technology at the driving post of the service official in the small and medium stations, starting with the ones placed on the pan-European corridors of the railway transport that transit Romania.
Through the inauguration of this first electronic interlocking system, CNCF CFR SA succeeds the performance to enforce a major project of the railway infrastructure modernization in Romania. It also reaffirms its decision to continue in a sustained rhythm the implementation of the new in the Romanian railway transport, reflected, among the others, by the enforcement of all the projects within the rehabilitation program of our railways.

Oana Bran