Competencies

Besides the very efficient main line railways, there are numerous further railway lines for regional passenger and freight traffic. These so called secondary railway lines are meant to play an important role in the development of local/rural infrastructure. The aim of the project is to develop a new train control and safety system for this type of infrastructure using state-of-the-art information technology and satellite positioning systems to reduce life-cycle costs of wayside equipment.

Commissioned by DB Netz, a study is developed on the migration strategy of ETCS in an area of the eastern corridor until the year 2030. Future concepts in the fields of interlocking, traffic and technology are evaluated based on a status analysis for the section between Markkleeberg-Gaschwitz and Hof.

Finally, an investigation of variants for the migration towards ETCS is carried out and a recommendation is made.

Commissioned by DB Netz, a study is developed on the migration strategy of ETCS in an area of the eastern corridor until the year 2030. Future concepts in the fields of interlocking, traffic and technology are evaluated based on a status analysis for the section between Markkleeberg-Gaschwitz and Hof.

Finally, an investigation of variants for the migration towards ETCS is carried out and a recommendation is made.

If a railway company aspires to participate in railway operation in Germany for the first time, this can be defined as a change to the railway system in a Member State. Consequently, risk management processes used to assess the impact of the change on safety levels and compliance with safety requirements must be applied. On behalf of the Eisenbahn-Bundesamt (German Federal Railway Authority) an exemplary implementation of this procedure will take place for a hypothetic railway company.

In order to demonstrate that a generic relay circuitry for the interface between two electronic interlocking systems works properly in the events of notifying the profile clearance, transiting the warning signal and the logical agreement between two interlocking systems, a safety case according to Mü 8004 is created.

In addition, an assessment of the generic relay circuitry is carried out by using the cases of profile clearance and Ks distant signal. The aim of the assessment is a type approval or an approval according to VV NTZ.

If an existing interlocking system shall be adapted to country-specific requirements, extensive development phases and quality assurance steps are necessary. A variety of activities in safety management and validation are required to approve such a system. In these activities, we take over the evaluation and creation of necessary documents within the scope of the safety case and validation.

CERSS Kompetenzzentrum Bahnsicherungstechnik GmbH supports DB E&C in the review of the Dutch ERTMS trackside specification documents regarding consistency, absence of contradictions and plausibility. The main aim of the work is to find unnecessary, implausible and one-sided requirements as well as cost drivers. The project is accompanied by the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management.

The feasibility study deals with technical innovations at the Usedomer Bäderbahn (UBB). The aim of the study is to analyse whether trains in accordance with German BOStrab can be used on tracks in accordance with EBO. The innovation concept for the pilot line Velgast – Barth – Prerow shall be applicable to other lines of the UBB on the Isle of Usedom with similar framework conditions.

As a result, the contracting body shall be able to decide whether the pilot project can be considered for “innovative technologies”. Thus, we deliver generalised results as well as studies on alternatives for the integration of the station Velgast and broach the issue of the transferability to the Usedom tracks.

The aim of the project on behalf of the Eisenbahn-Bundesamt (German Federal Railway Authority) is to develop a complete test case catalogue. This shall be carried out on basis of the commissioning approval of VDE 8 and the planning for the Rail-Freight-Corridor 1. The research project is composed of two work packages. First, the German railway-related operational cases are presented. Further, test case groups and test case subgroups containing a generic test case catalogue are defined. Each test case subgroup can be structured in operational procedures.

Finally, the completeness of the test cases is examined by experts from both TU Dresden and CERSS. Thereby the expert knowledge of the ETCS type approval can be incorporated.

There are different views on the cause of a derailment due to the passing of a switch under the shunting unit: rail transport company or rail infrastructure company. CKBIS inspection body was assigned to provide an expert opinion to investigate the cause of the accident. For this purpose, existing documents are to be evaluated, the interlocking logic of the relay interlocking is to be analysed and the event has to be reconstructed on site. The assessment will include possible scenarios in order to consider all operational, safety and external influencing factors.

Purpose of the project is the scheduling and execution of design review and approval tests according to BOStrab for changes in the existing interlocking Berlin Friedrichstraße. These changes are necessary due to the extension of Berlins underground line U5 and the originating interchange station Unter den Linden.

DB Netz AG will implement the interoperable European Train Control System (ETCS) on numerous railway lines. The system development and applicability in the grown environment of the German rail operations and its technology apparently pose one of the greatest challenges since the introduction of electronic safety systems for railways. The procedure of the new type approval by the German Federal Railway Authority includes the appointment of an expert who evaluates the system integration as well as the safety assessment. Owing to our professional expertise, we are capable of taking on this task.

The first two lines could be put into operation on time in 2015 and 2017. The activities will be pursued for new ETCS specifications.

The stations at São Paulo Metro lines 5 and 17 are upgraded with platform screen doors. This will prevent passengers from unintentionally falling into the track area or, in the case of monorail systems, into depth. There are functional safety requirements for the communication between the train and the platform screen doors. Safety needs to be proven according to the European standard for RAMS.

Our company supervises this process. Furthermore, we advise operators and system suppliers and we also conduct the risk and safety analysis. The resulting SIL 3 selection is verified by our independent experts.

Finally, the generated, verified and validated documents are examined according to EN 50126 and a certificate is prepared.

The system supplier adapts an existing level crossing system. This process is supported by CERSS Kompetenzzentrum Bahnsicherungstechnik GmbH. Therefore, we compile several documents and verify all required lifecycle documents according to EN 50126. A risk analysis is provided, too.

Within the scope of the certification process, the documentation of the development process was verified independently by our experts according to CENELEC standards. A safety assessment expertise was performed, too.

The course is part of the schedule of the training for system administrators in operation control centres. The two modules “Introduction to control command and signalling (CCS) technology” and “Installation and maintenance of CCS systems in the operations centre” according to DB guidelines are part of the course.

The aim of the course is to show system knowledge and provide understanding of safety principles in the railways.

Training concerning basics and selected themes in the control and safety technology is regularly given to staff of Thales Germany. The aim of the training is to convey the system knowledge of the railway control and safety technology and to enhance the understanding of the safety philosophy in the field of railway.

In the framework of a workshop with staff of the China Railway Test and Certification Center (CRCC), we moderate the topic of independent assessment of systems and components of control command and signalling technology. Its objective is to introduce the well-known process of assessment.

Experts of CERSS Kompetenzzentrum Bahnsicherungstechnik GmbH give an overview about the common practice and demonstrate it along with various examples. The workshop takes place in Peking for five days.