Bombardier Transportation has completed its first tests of the latest wayside software release of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) Level 2 solution, known as Baseline 3 Release 2, in Sweden. According to Bombardier, it is a world’s first.

The tests were conducted, in close collaboration with Swedish Transport Administration Trafikverket, between August 20-23 with an ERTMS Baseline 3-equipped Bombardier Rc6 test vehicle. Sweden’s 40 kilometre Corridor B ERTMS test track is being used to test the system without disrupting existing rail services.

Rail upgrade

The pilot operation of the Bombardier Interflo 450 system took place in August on Sweden’s ERTMS test track as part of the preparations for the national rail upgrade. The Interflo 450 system was officially approved by Trafikverket and Swedish Transport Agency Transportstyrelsen in 2017.

“This is a major step towards ERTMS roll-out in Sweden”, Project Director Anders Åkeson from Trafikverket said. “The results of these tests with Bombardier show we are getting ready to progress from testing to implementation. Our real-life test environment demonstrates the reliability of the standard as well as interoperability between sub-systems.”

ERTMS

The use of ERTMS is set to safely increase speeds, reliability, and capacity as well as integration with Europe. Initially created to enable European cross-border rail traffic, the globally-adopted digital ERTMS Level 2 standard provides continuous radio-based automatic train protection. ERTMS Level 2 can optimise higher-speed operation and supports network interoperability, while reducing maintenance costs.