SYSTRA and Zöllner have developed a new Automatic Track Warning System (ATWS) to improve safety on railway lines. The system responds to existing limited solutions with look-outs that require significant human resources and are difficult to mobilize at any time of the day. As maintenance and regeneration work is often carried out at night due to the density and pace of daytime traffic, it is also expensive to operate it.
The new automatic audio and audio-visual warning system is designed to provide a simpler and more effective solution than existing systems. It can be deployed on any line equipped with ERTMS Level 2 worldwide. Its use does not require any modifications to existing stations and signaling systems, cabling, or the installation of detection equipment in the field prior to operations. Several warning modes are possible depending on the type of intervention and the requirements of the maintenance sites: trafficked track, contiguous track.
The new system is also expected to bring a number of significant benefits to railway infrastructure managers. Its use should generally improve the safety and working conditions of the agents. A significant advantage is the facilitation of maintenance work near the tracks and track inspection, as well as the reduction of the cost of maintenance work, which will be able to be carried out without interrupting railway operations.
In France, the ARGOS project, which aims to deploy new generation signaling stations, will make it possible to extend this warning solution to conventional lines. The feasibility of the concept was demonstrated by a POC (Proof of Concept) carried out in collaboration with MESEA on the Southern Europe Atlantic high-speed line between Tours and Bordeaux.
