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For the first time in Europe, the Italian Railway Network (RFI) has introduced a new railway traffic control and management system that uses satellite technologies, including Galileo.

History in the making for Europe. Early this month, the Italian Railway Network (RFI), part of the FS Italiane Group, announced the introduction of the very first railway traffic control and management system that uses satellite technologies on a regional line.

Following the successful test campaign of satellite technologies coordinated by the GSA, which involved also the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and the European Space Agency (ESA), RFI has launched a pilot line to be built in the European Mediterranean corridor between Novara and Rho. Here the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) Level 2 is being installed, with the advanced signaling system that controls the maximum allowed speed and the distance of the trains, instant by instant, intervening automatically if these limits are exceeded. To determine the position of the train, satellite navigation systems will be used, including the European system Galileo. Hitachi Rail will be in charge of the realization, validation and certification of satellite technologies for the ERTMS system. 

Find out more about:  ERtms + SATellite: the ERSAT Program

Satellite-based applications are becoming more and more crucial to the railway transport and industry, contributing to new solutions for a more sustainable, cost-efficient and smarter mobility. To confirm such a trend, a Work Plan for the ERTMS, published by the European Commission in May this year, listed satellite positioning as one of the game-changing technologies underpinning future evolutions of the system and a key element to be included in future Technological Specifications for Interoperability (TSI).

Read this: Satellite positioning: a game changer for the European Railway Traffic Management System

The GSA is interfacing with all the stakeholders involved in the deployment of the ERTMS. The Agency has been supporting the integration of GNSS  in rail via the provision of Horizon 2020 funds, and by stimulating research and innovation among industries and service providers involved in railway traffic management. 

For the first time in Europe, the Italian Railway Network (R.F.I.) has introduced a new railway traffic control and management system that uses satellite technologies, including Galileo.

History in the making for Europe. Early this month, the Italian Railway Network (RFI), part of the FS Italiane Group, announced the introduction of the very first railway traffic control and management system that uses satellite technologies on a regional line.

Following the successful test campaign of satellite technologies coordinated by the GSA, which involved also the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and the European Space Agency (ESA), RFI has launched a pilot line to be built in the European Mediterranean corridor between Novara and Rho. Here the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) Level 2 is being installed, with the advanced signaling system that controls the maximum allowed speed and the distance of the trains, instant by instant, intervening automatically if these limits are exceeded. To determine the position of the train, satellite navigation systems will be used, including the European system Galileo. Hitachi Rail will be in charge of the realization, validation and certification of satellite technologies for the ERTMS system. 

Find out more about:  ERtms + SATellite: the ERSAT Program

Satellite-based applications are becoming more and more crucial to the railway transport and industry, contributing to new solutions for a more sustainable, cost-efficient and smarter mobility. To confirm such a trend, a Work Plan for the ERTMS, published by the European Commission in May this year, listed satellite positioning as one of the game-changing technologies underpinning future evolutions of the system and a key element to be included in future Technological Specifications for Interoperability (TSI).

Read this: Satellite positioning: a game changer for the European Railway Traffic Management System

The GSA is interfacing with all the stakeholders involved in the deployment of the ERTMS. The Agency has been supporting the integration of GNSS  in rail via the provision of Horizon 2020 funds, and by stimulating research and innovation among industries and service providers involved in railway traffic management. 

The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Defence, Industry and Space (DG-DEFIS)  has issued a Prior Information Notice (PIN) for a planned call to address how the future evolution of European GNSS (EGNSS) could be beneficial for autonomous transportation. The new service contract shall assess the feasibility of an integrity service complementing EGNSS High Accuracy in the 2030+ timeframe. 

The activities to be carried out shall analyse the feasibility of an integrity service complementing European GNSS (EGNSS) High Accuracy in the 2030+ timeframe on top of the current baseline of EGNSS services to feed the evolving needs in autonomous transport. This action serves to assess the respective merits of various directions for the Galileo and EGNOS services to evolve and to build roadmaps of the steps needed before the operational introduction of such new services.

More information about the Prior Information Notice and the contract notice publication can be found here.

Tailored premiums

Autonomous transportation (such as autonomous vehicles, ships or trains) is the future of the transport industry and has the potential to reduce human error, improve the efficiency of operations, and enable new uses and new applications. This will require operations to be at least as safe as the existing ones.

Read this: First Galileo-enabled autonomous vehicle successfully demonstrated

The European Commission is currently specifying the long-term evolution of the EGNSS programme, including new services for Galileo and EGNOS. The use of an integrity service complementing European GNSS High Accuracy in the 2030+ could result in the provision of an accurate and reliable positioning solution which would translate into the overall improvement of the future autonomous transportation systems. 

Galileo is Europe’s Global Navigation Satellite System providing an accurate, guaranteed global positioning service under civilian control. Galileo is operational since the Initial Service declaration at the end of 2016. As part of the main services provided by Galileo, the Galileo High-Accuracy Service shall provide in the near future a high-accuracy positioning and synchronisation information.

EGNOS is the European Satellite-based Augmentation System (SBAS) and augments GPS L1 C/A civilian signal by providing corrections and integrity information for positioning and navigation applications over Europe. EGNOS version 3, will in the near future augment both GPS and Galileo constellations in the L1 and L5 bands and will extend the service area to the entire landmasses of EU Member States. New EGNOS services could be implemented in further releases of EGNOS as an option for the integrity service complementing EGNSS High Accuracy.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European GNSS Agency (GSA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the GSA website (http://www.gsa.europa.eu).