Invensys Rail delivers Westlock to Portugal
24 Mar 2009
Invensys Rail has successfully commissioned a new WESTLOCK interlocking installation at a test site in Portugal. IRG companies, Westinghouse Rail Systems and Dimetronic Signals, have been working with Portugal?s infrastructure manager REFER for nearly 20 years, having commissioned Portugal\'s first electronic interlocking - a Solid State Interlocking (SSI) at Campanh?, the main station in Oporto, in 1990.
Given the extensive use of SSIs in Portugal, (second only to the UK in terms of the number of units installed), evolution to WESTLOCK was a natural choice for REFER. Its state-of-the-art technology delivers a modern high-integrity system, providing high reliability and availability. WESTLOCK is compatible with existing SSI infrastructure and track equipment, and its flexible design permits the interlocking to be connected in a variety of ways to provide the most appropriate solution for each situation.
The architecture of WESTLOCK has been designed with high-speed data link capability at its core. Its network communications ability and processor capacity enable faster communication with a range of control centre solutions, trackside equipment and with European Rail Traffic Management System Radio Block Centres.
Invensys Rail and REFER signed a protocol in 2007 to undertake tests and validation, with Coruche selected as the test site by REFER. In the south-east of the country, around 60km from Lisbon, Coruche was one of the earliest SSI sites - in 1994 two SSIs were commissioned there, covering five stations over a 30km area of electrified 25kVA, single-track railway (the Vendas Novas line).
The team for the Coruche project drew heavily on experience gained from the trial of WESTLOCK at Leamington Spa, United Kingdom, in 2007: the same trial strategy and protocol was used in Portugal that proved so successful in the UK. Having successfully completed site functionality and thorough testing, the installation was commissioned on 2 November 2008, with the existing SSI retained as a fall-back solution over the six-month trial period.
Project Manager Vince Dade, said: "Final commissioning is scheduled for April 2009, at which point the fall-back SSI will be recovered and we expect to receive full WESTLOCK product approval from REFER for implementation of both base-band and long-distance schemes. The signalling principles and operational requirements of Portuguese railways are very different to the UK, and the application of WESTLOCK demonstrates the versatility of the technology to meet multiple operational requirements.
"Portugal has always been a catalyst for innovation, new technology and forward thinking and this project has provided yet another opportunity to demonstrate the Group\'s capability for the successful delivery of innovative solutions. Once again, REFER has been impressed not only with our technical solutions, but also with the approach, delivery, commitment and expertise of our teams"