In recent years, especially for the long distance transport systems, automatic diagnostic systems installed on specialized rolling stock were introduced in the European market. These solutions require large investments and are difficult to implement, especially from local operators. Furthermore, the increase in traffic, as above mentioned, results in a corresponding increase in “runs” of such diagnostic systems and thus an increasing of operating costs. Finally, the rail market points a growing demand of monitoring solutions for running vehicles and infrastructures aimed at preventing rail safety threats, requiring modest investment and maximizing management efficiency.

THE PROJECT

SICURFER (innovative technologies for safety and security of railway vehicle traffic) intends to meet these needs by studying new diagnostic units (UD) to be installed on ground or on board, as needed. The former, are not addressed to extended infrastructures but concentrated ones (e.g. switches, bridges) in order to perform a continuous monitoring over time of functional parameters and degradation, while the latter will monitor extended structures (such as rails, signalling) and provide a continuous monitoring in space but require a high frequency of “runs” with high operating costs to maintain a sufficiently frequent monitoring. This project aims at increasing the number of runs studying UD installed on common vehicles in operation, so no specialised rolling stock should be required.

The diagnostic units (UD) will be equipped with sensors, acquisition and data processing systems and will be able to send to a supervision diagnostic center, merely aggregated information, such as alerts, warnings and alarms. The center will be equipped with a supervision module able to provide to operation and maintenance operators a schematic overall view about the state of the controlled system, graphically highlighting the proximity of events, potentially threatening safety and security. Based on this information, we will proceed to select of intervention strategies on infrastructures more effectively and efficiently through a decision support system, and vehicle fleets of will be monitored in order to identify critical characteristics of a of a vehicle category.

From a technological point of view, the project will resort to the introduction of innovative technologies for rail transportation systems, typically conservative in that area in order to keep as high as possible safety levels.

For this reason the project will provide at early stage the definition of guidelines for validation and, ultimately, for the certification of UDs.

The project currently plans to introduce technologies as FPGAs, MEMS and opto-electronic ones.

CONSORTIUM

A consolidated research group with a renowned academic and industrial profile.

• STRAGO SpA (IT)
• 3F&EDIN S.p.A. (IT)
• INTECS Informatica e Tecnologia del Software SpA (IT)
• TECNOSISTEM SPA (IT)
• CONTACT SRL (IT)
• ISARAIL SPA (IT)
• RETE FERROVIARIA ITALIANA SpA (IT)
• Circumvesuviana S.r.l. (IT)
• Universita degli Studi di Napoli Federico II (IT)
• TEST S.c.a r.l. (IT)
• Universita degli Studi del Sannio (IT)
• TECNOLOGIE NELLE RETI E NEI SISTEMI T.R.S. S.p.A. (IT)
• SELEX ELSAG S.p.A. (IT)
• ANSALDO STS SPA (IT)
• algoWatt SpA (IT)
• Consorzio TRAIN (IT)