Skip to main content

Yunex wins Amsterdam tunnel contract

Firm will provide hardware and software to control and operate tunnels in Dutch capital
By David Arminas April 23, 2024 Read time: 2 mins
The deal takes in the city's five road tunnels (image: Yunex Traffic)

Yunex Traffic will build a tunnel operating system for the newly-built Amsterdam Traffic Control Centre in alliance with Heijmans and the Municipality of Amsterdam.

Yunex Traffic will provide the hardware and software to control and operate the tunnels Piet Heintunnel, Spaarndammertunnel, Michiel de Ruijtertunnel, Arenatunnel and IJtunnel from the control centre.

Last year, the Piet Heintunnel was renovated by the same alliance partners.

The public-private partnership agreement with the Dutch construction and technical installation business Heijmans and Amsterdam's authorities will help the city modernise, standardise and centralise the operation of its five road tunnels. Operators will be able to operate all five tunnels from one location, using a single operating protocol.

The centre consists of multiple operating desks dedicated to operating the tunnels 24/7, monitoring the city of Amsterdam's traffic bottlenecks, testing new software releases and training operators. These assets will be housed in a newly built traffic control centre at the Logistic Centre Metro that will meet all current requirements in terms of safety and ergonomics.

The alliance is responsible for the hardware and software of the control centre and creating the interfaces with the tunnels, also called the functional systems. In multidisciplinary teams, the alliance partners will design and implement the functional systems, of which the traffic management system is also a part.

“Cross-industry partnerships serve as vital engines for driving innovation in mobility management,” said Martijn Koolhoven, managing director of Yunex Traffic in the Netherlands. “The collaborative public-private venture with the Municipality of Amsterdam and Heijmans exemplifies how collective efforts can enhance traffic management.”

To ensure that the control centre can control the tunnels uniformly, the municipality is modifying several tunnels. The systems in the tunnels were developed in different periods with the technology of that time. To still get the various tunnels connected to the new traffic control centre, the municipality is preparing them one by one.

Heijmans is responsible for the hardware and software that manages and controls the audio-visual systems. Yunex is responsible for the hardware and software that controls the tunnels and makes them operable from the traffic control centre. The Municipality of Amsterdam is end-user, owner and client.

"We are happy to be able to work with Heijmans and Yunex Traffic again in this way and to bring the experience we gained together at the Piet Heintunnel into this project," said Daan Seesing, project manager for the Traffic Control Centre at the Municipality of Amsterdam.

Related Content

  • January 23, 2012
    Tunnel simulators vital for real world tunnel management
    Guillaume Ponsar, tunnel safety engineer with Egis Road Operation, writes about the advantages to be gained from the use of tunnel simulators. Major tunnel disasters over the last decade and more have shown how swiftly and badly a simple crash or fire may evolve should the wrong actions be taken by control room operators or traffic managers. Global safety issues and the reactions of operations staff have now become the principal concerns for Operations and Maintenance (O&M) service providers. As a result, n
  • September 19, 2017
    European tunnel safety steps up a gear
    David Crawford reviews the latest safety systems installed in European tunnels. Blueprints for the safer road tunnels of the future are emerging fast as European operators invest in technologies to enhance travellers’ prospects of surviving an accident. Central to modern emergency planning is the principle that, following an incident, drivers should be enabled to rescue themselves and their passengers with the aid of prompt and correct identification and communication of the hazard. Roles for cooperativ
  • December 15, 2015
    Mobility as a Service gaining traction in US and Europe
    As Mobility as a Service starts to move into the mainstream of transport planning, David Crawford compares European and North American initiatives. Mobility as a Service (MaaS) is a concept fast gaining traction on both sides of the Atlantic as a way of giving travellers digital multimodal one-stop shops and journey planning tools as an alternative to private car use. Planned delivery methods include subscription-based travel packages in Europe, and 'mobility aggregator' apps, including employee commute ben
  • April 4, 2024
    Intertraffic Amsterdam 2024: Smart, safe & sustainable mobility for all
    Intertraffic Amsterdam 2024 is the place where the movers and shakers of the global ITS industry will gather from 16-19 April. With emphasis on climate, artificial intelligence – and even drones – this edition has something for everyone in the transportation sector…