Adif is developing a new investment, for more than 22.3 million euros, to advance the modernization of the infrastructure and railway facilities of the Barcelona-Girona-Portbou conventional gage line.

This investment will be used to install a new security and communications system on the Figueres-Portbou section, which is one of the actions in the Rodalies Plan.

Specifically, the system known as the Automatic Two-Way Track Block System (BAB) will be installed on this route. This state-of-the-art equipment allows trains to travel equally in both directions on either trac.

In addition to increasing the capacity conditions of railway operation, it also improves operation and flexibility in train movements, increasing the reliability of the installations and the regularity of traffic. It also increases the commercial speed and decreases the impact in case of incidents.

Inse Rail, in consortium with Airtren, will be in charge of executing the technical assistance services during the execution of the works. 

The estimated completion time is 25 months, with 6 months corresponding to the drafting and approval of the project and the other 19 to the execution of the works.

Some of the most important operations include new installations for computer systems to manage and regulate traffic, as well as for train detection equipment, digital ASFA (Automatic Braking and Signal Announcement), fixed LED signaling lights, and the integration of the facilities into Barcelona’s Centralized Traffic Control (CTC).

It also includes actions in the energy supply system for future installations and additional works on conduits and auxiliary civil works.

 

Adif has contracted the Airten/Inse Rail consortium to provide the technical assistance for the supervision and control of the works for the broadcasting of the new Asfa Digital frequencies for stop pre-announcement, caution announcement and stop limit zone control aspects.

The project will improve safety by automating the indications and extending train control along the line. To do this, new type L5, L6 and double L7 digital balises, which enable Phase 2 functionality to the Asfa system as a whole, will be installed

Up to this point, in Phase 1, the stop pre-announcement and caution announcement indications are transmitted with thebalise on L1 together with the stop announcement indication at the Signal, requiring the train driver toselect in the onboard equipment the indication that corresponds to the aspect of the signal that they are going to pass andwill see.

To avoid errors and make driving more efficient, the new digital balises generate the frequenciesL5 and L6, automatically indicating the stop pre-announcement and caution announcement on-board without driver intervention,leaving L1 exclusively for the stop announcement indication. This is what is known asPhase 2 of Asfa operation.

 

Tools

The contracted consortium has proposed the use of the Daco software tool, an applicationdeveloped specifically for the technical assistance of installation projects. The tool is based on theSIFER application for inspection of railway technical installations and recording in a database, withgeoreferencing of photographs and associated documents, and is already used for the StateRailway Safety Agency.

In addition, the Asfa Tool train movement simulator will be used as a tool for design control,monitoring to ensure that the Asfa balises are correctly positioned on the line and that there are no “nesting” problems withother balises that could disturb the train speed control.