Siemens Mobility lands ETCS Level 2 contract for Chilean rail digitalisation

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Siemens Mobility has secured a contract from Chile’s national railway operator, EFE Trenes de Chile, to deliver its first European Train Control System Level 2 (ETCS L2) project in the country.

The project involves deployment of advanced signalling systems along 87km of railway, spanning the Tren Alameda-Melipilla and Tren Santiago-Batuco routes, which are currently under development.

Siemens Mobility will be responsible for engineering, supplying, installing, and commissioning these systems over five years, followed by a ten-year maintenance agreement.

The ETCS Level 2 signalling systems will run on the DS3 platform, a system developed for Safety Integrity Level 4 (SIL4) applications.

Through this initiative, Siemens Mobility will introduce its Signaling X platform to Latin America for the first time, integrating interlockings, signalling, and control systems within a centralised virtual data centre.

Siemens, the parent company of Siemens Mobility, noted that Signaling X demonstrates rail software can operate globally on commercial off-the-shelf hardware, which aims to simplify infrastructure and reduce operational complexity.

The new digital signalling infrastructure for the two railway lines also includes interlockings, wayside equipment, traffic control centres, and onboard systems for 32 trains.

Communications will use 4G-LTE technology, with an option to upgrade to 5G in future deployments.

Siemens said that this approach reduces the number of required interlocking systems and simplifies maintenance.

Siemens Mobility rail infrastructure CEO Marc Ludwig said: “We are honoured to lead this pivotal project in Latin America, bringing our cutting-edge Signaling X technology to the region for the first time and setting new standards for railway operations and efficiency.

“Siemens Mobility’s expertise and advanced solutions pave the way for future digitalisation efforts, enabling sustainable and high-performing railway operations.”

Siemens Mobility is planning to establish a regional software maintenance Centre of Competence to support future projects across the region.

This contract follows Siemens Mobility’s recent success in Brazil, where it signed the largest ETCS Level 2 contract in Latin America.

Siemens Mobility has previously delivered automated metro and digitalisation projects in other Latin American countries, including Mexico, Dominican Republic, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, and Argentina.

Recently, Siemens Mobility opened a £6m ($6.9m) multi-functional centre in Northampton, designed to support modifications and upgrades for passenger trains across the UK.

"Siemens Mobility lands ETCS Level 2 contract for Chilean rail digitalisation" was originally created and published by Railway Technology, a GlobalData owned brand.

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