Banedanmark, the Danish railway infrastructure owner, has awarded Alstom a contract worth around €300 million to replace the existing signaling system in the East region of Denmark with Atlas, Alstom’s ERTMS based signalling solution. It will be implemented on 12 intercity and regional lines in Sealand and Fyn regions which cover half the country.

This railway network consists of more than 510 km-long double tracks, over 260 km single track line and 90 stations. Alstom’s Atlas solution will enable Banedanmark, to increase the traffic regularity and double the capacity of the network. The contract also includes 25 years of maintenance.

This trackside ERTMS contract is the most important of its kind ever signed by Alstom. It is part of a €2.4 billion programme decided by the Danish Parliament in January 2009 to renew all Danish railways signalling before 2021.

The contract covers the design, manufacturing and supply of a complete ERTMS/ETCS1 level 2 signalling solution. Based on Alstom’s proven Atlas solution, it comprises ATP (Automatic Train Protection), Smartlock (a computer based automatic interlocking solution), Iconis (an advanced integrated control centre which includes the automatic traffic management system ATS, Automatic Train Supervisio, and SCADA, Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) and Smartway track products (point machines, train detection, level crossings).

The preliminary design phase will last approximately 18 months. The first line (Roskilde-Køge-Næstved) will be delivered by 2017.

During the design phase, Alstom and Banedanmark teams will work in Copenhagen (Denmark) with the Alstom sites of Bologna (Italy) and Charleroi (Belgium) which already delivered similar equipment in Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands. A global centre of competencies in maintenance and data management service located in Copenhagen will contribute to fully industrialize the deployment process of the new signaling systems and will maintain them throughout their lifecycle.

Henri Poupart-Lafarge, President of Alstom Transport, stated: “Alstom has been a key player in establishing European interoperability for nearly 20 years and has the widest experience of ERTMS Level 2 in commercial service. Alstom has also extensive experience as a project integrator and turnkey solution supplier, and is looking forward to sharing it through a long-term partnership with Banedanmark.”

Jesper Hansen, CEO of Banedanmark said: “By signing contract with Alstom, we are entering into close cooperation with a supplier which is able to deliver both a technically modern and a mature solution. Alstom has proven this aspect in operation. Alstom is able to implement the new system in the whole Eastern Denmark, and simultaneously we are able to ensure the careful use of our government funds by using the most economically advantageous tender. We look forward to a good and fruitful cooperation with Alstom to secure the future of the railway in Eastern Denmark and improve regularity for passengers.”

1 ERTMS (European Rail Traffic Management System) is a system for the management and control of the rail traffic on the lines of the Trans-European Networks. The ETCS (European Train Control System) is one of the components of the ERTMS. It was designed to enable trains to quickly cross borders, ensuring the safety of rail traffic. There are several ETCS levels. With level 1, signal information is transmitted by « eurobalise » radio beacons (transponders which are placed on the tracks). With level 2, information is transmitted over the GSM-R network. Trains use the network to provide control centres with constantly updated information about their positions. The centres in turn send back information about actions to be taken (permissible speeds, stops, etc).