PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Union Switch & Signal Inc. (US&S) has been notified that the automatic train protection (ATP) system components it is providing to the Copenhagen Metro in Denmark have been certified as meeting the safety standards of the Comite Europeen de Normalisation Electrotechnique (CENELEC, or European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization).
Established in 1973, CENELEC is a non-profit organization dedicated to establishing common technical standards for implementation across national boundaries throughout Western Europe.
A safety assessment conducted by TUV InterTraffic GmbH, an independent safety assessor located in Cologne, Germany, concluded that the US&S MICROLOK II® wayside control system, the MICROCAB II® vehicle control system, and the AF-902(TM) digital track circuit system are suitable to fulfill the Copenhagen Metro project specific platform safety requirements. These ATP components are part of the driver-less automatic train control (ATC) system that US&S has developed for the Copenhagen Metro rail transit system.
The assessment was done in accordance with the stringent requirements of CENELEC standards prEN50126, prEN50128 and ENV50129 that govern electronic products used in railway applications.
“In complying with these standards, the MICROLOK II, MICROCAB II and AF-902 platforms have been proven to meet the highest level of safety integrity against systematic faults in specification, design, manufacturing, installation, operation and maintenance, and also against random hardware faults,” explained US&S Vice President for Quality & Systems Assurance Chinnarao Mokkapati. “This safety certification is valid for all applications of MICROLOK II, MICROCAB II and AF-902 platforms that are identical or manifestly similar to the Copenhagen Metro application,” added Mokkapati.
US&S President & CEO Ken Burk noted that the certification is the culmination of a process that began six years ago during the progression of the Copenhagen Metro project at US&S. “The investment in time and resources required to achieve this certification was a major undertaking,” remarked Burk, “but the certification validates, via an independent party, the safety integrity of our major ATC system components. It can, therefore, serve as a springboard to capturing more business worldwide and to meeting similar standards that may be established here in the United States and in other locations abroad in the future.”
About Union Switch & Signal Inc.
Headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA and with manufacturing operations in Batesburg, SC, Union Switch & Signal Inc. (US&S) is a leader in the design, manufacture and service of signaling, automation and control equipment and systems for the railroad and mass transit industries worldwide. US&S is a subsidiary of Ansaldo Signal N.V., a Finmeccanica company. More information about US&S is available at its Website, www.switch.com.
MICROLOK®, MICROCAB®, and AF-902(TM) are trademarks of Union Switch & Signal Inc.