Skip to main content

Siemens’ Plus+ simplifies signalised intersection wiring

The latest innovation from Siemens comes under the Plus+ banner and encompasses its third generation digitised traffic control system which features distributed intelligence and simplifies cabling. In place of up to 300 wire cores on a single signalised intersection, the Plus+ system uses just four cables arranged in a system of rings, arms and spurs. The four wires, two power (48V) and two data, are used to connect ‘intelligent nodes’ in each traffic light head to be connected to the central controller, re
June 2, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
The latest innovation from 189 Siemens comes under the Plus+ banner and encompasses its third generation digitised traffic control system which features distributed intelligence and simplifies cabling.


In place of up to 300 wire cores on a single signalised intersection, the Plus+ system uses just four cables arranged in a system of rings, arms and spurs. The four wires, two power (48V) and two data, are used to connect ‘intelligent nodes’ in each traffic light head to be connected to the central controller, retaining functionality while minimising wiring and greatly simplifying installation.

Beyond reducing the ducting requirements to a single duct for each run, the ring configuration means that if a cable is severed the power and data can flow the ‘other way’ round the ring to reach the controller and therefore minimise or eliminate outages.  And if a traffic light pole is knocked over, the head(s) it carries will be automatically isolated, allowing the remaining lights to function as normal.

Cost reductions of up to 20% are possible and many existing sensors (loops, push button and so on) can be connected to the system.

The company is already working on pre-wiring traffic light heads in order that electrical installation at the roadside is reduced to connecting only four wires.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Greenowl brings bespoke traveller information one step closer
    June 4, 2015
    Greenowl’s voice-only congestion warning smartphone app alerts drivers to problems ahead and could be the way ahead for traffic information. If there is one point Matt Man, CEO of Canadian company Greenowl, wants to make clear from the start, it is that his company’s app is not a navigation system. He says: “Our system does not direct drivers to their destination because we mainly focus on commuters who know how to get to where they are going and only need information about any delays and incidents ahead of
  • Managed motorways, hard shoulder running aids safety, saves time
    January 30, 2012
    The announcement that, in 2012/13, work to extend Managed Motorways to Junctions 5-8 of the M6 near Birmingham in the West Midlands is scheduled to start marks the next step for the UK's hard shoulder running concept, first introduced on the M42 in 2006. The M6 scheme is in fact one of several announced; over the next few years work will start on applying Managed Motorways to various sections of the M1, M25 London Orbital, M60 and M62. According to Paul Unwin, senior project manager with the Highways Agency
  • Options abound for road weather sensing
    September 6, 2017
    Meteorological organisations invest millions in super-computers to crunch data for ever-more accurate forecasts but inherent unpredictability means that other methods of alerting drivers and road authorities to fast-changing weather and highway conditions are essential. For years, static weather sensors to measure factors such as surface water, ice or high roadway temperatures have been embedded in highways to provide such data. But that is changing.
  • Urban tunnel replaces viaduct, improves safety
    October 10, 2012
    Earthquake sensors, automatic barriers and real time monitoring systems are all part of a scheme to make a major Seattle traffic artery safer, by taking it underground. Huw Williams reports. Seattle’s metropolitan area of 3.5 million people, like much of the western seaboard of the United States, lies in an earthquake zone. In Seattle’s case, the city and its hinterland sit atop a complex network of interrelated active geological faults capable of severe seismic activity and posing complex considerations fo