Hitachi Rail

Westermo tech helps enhance high-speed railway safety in Spain

Adif, the Spanish railway infrastructure owner, has launched an initiative to improve safety on its high-speed rail networks. Global railway solutions supplier Hitachi Rail have been selected to implement a signalling system that includes a Falling Objects Detection System. By detecting and alerting about falling objects on the tracks, this system ensures timely intervention and minimizes disruptions to trains.

In the event of an object falling from platforms that cross tracks, such as bridges or tunnel ends, the system will communicate with an interlocking system and control room using a redundant communication network. 

Selection of networking technology

Westermo industrial Ethernet switches were chosen by Hitachi Rail for the high-availability network covering the 350 kilometres between Madrid and Seville. The Westermo solution involves delivering 500 pcs of L106-F2G switches, for 250 cabinets, with two switches installed per cabinet.
  

Field cabinet for the Falling Object Detection System (DCO)

"Westermo switches had the necessary certification for railway trackside installation. This certification (EN 50121-4) was crucial because the cabinets are installed within 3 meters from the track on a high-speed line, where vibration is high. The size and the features of the switches proposed by Westermo fit exactly to the needs of the solution.” 

- Shared Oscar Bodas, international project design authority at Hitachi Rail.

Trackside field cabinets are installed close to the railway tracks

When discussing alarms generated by the system, Oscar Bodas stressed the importance of reliability and redundancy. The network is designed with a redundant ring architecture, using the Westermo proprietary ring coupling protocol FRNT. This ensures a reconfiguration time of less than 20ms for large networks. 
As safety-related detectors, falling object detectors require redundancy. Detector alarms must be reliable to prevent false alarms, which cause unnecessary train stops and require physical checks. 

Technical Collaboration

The collaboration between Hitachi Rail and Westermo has been marked by close technical support and cooperation. Westermo's local team in Malaga provided timely assistance and expertise, ensuring smooth integration and configuration of the switches. Through WeConfig, Westermo's configuration tool, extensive factory acceptance tests have been conducted, allowing network devices to be managed and visualized efficiently. 
  

Testing of 70 lynx L106 switches in WeConfig (Click to enlarge) 

"We have received close support from Westermo from the beginning. We felt very supported in every moment, even now that the solution is ready to be commissioned. This kind of support is valuable for us because it makes it easy to move forward together."

- Oscar Bodas emphasized. 

Commissioning of the project

The deployment of the falling objects detection system is nearly complete, with commissioning of the data network planned to start in June. The system is expected to be fully operational by the end of the year (2025). In the future, similar solutions are likely to be used on other high-speed lines in Spain, addressing obsolescence issues and improving railway safety. 

"Once the line between Madrid and Seville is finalised, we hope to continue working with Westermo on future projects. We are confident in the performance of the current solution and look forward to further collaboration as new projects arise."

- Oscar Bodas concludes.

Westermo and Hitachi Rail's collaboration is an example of a successful partnership in advancing railway safety technology. The falling objects detection system shows the importance of reliable and rugged communication solutions in critical infrastructure projects.