Skip to main content

Siemens to automate railway network in Algiers metropolitan area

Siemens is to supply the signalling, safety and control systems for the 140 km long-distance rail network in the Algiers metropolitan area. The order will be carried out by Estel RA, a joint venture of state-run Algerian Railways SNTF (Société Nationale des Transports Ferroviaires) and Siemens.
December 23, 2015 Read time: 2 mins

189 Siemens is to supply the signalling, safety and control systems for the 140 km long-distance rail network in the Algiers metropolitan area. The order will be carried out by Estel RA, a joint venture of state-run Algerian Railways SNTF (Société Nationale des Transports Ferroviaires) and Siemens.

With over three million inhabitants, Algiers is the country's largest city and, at the same time, Algeria's most important transport hub. Expanding the railway network is designed to shift traffic from road to rail, thus reducing the daily congestion in the greater Algiers area and improving the mobility of the city's inhabitants.

Network commissioning is planned for the end of 2019. The railway network includes 18 stations and is designed for both goods and passenger transport. It is to be equipped with signalling, safety and control systems, as well as shunting and telecommunications technology. Siemens is supplying the first expansion stage of the ETCS European Train Control System. This permits speeds of up to 160 km/h and enables trains to travel at shorter intervals, thus increasing so-called throughput. Siemens is supplying automated shunting equipment for the freight line which will optimise goods handling with modern cargo technology. In addition, the Algerian rail operator personnel will receive training in how to operate and maintain the new system.

"As rail automation market leaders, we are supplying state-of-the-art technology to Algeria: cross-border rail services at up to 160 km/h for passengers and freight, shorter headways and greater line utilisation", says Jochen Eickholt, CEO of the Mobility Division at Siemens.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Connected vehicle trials get big backing from USDOT
    March 14, 2016
    Connected vehicle technology will emerge as a sustainable reality at three sites in the US over the next four years. Jon Masters reports. Advocates of connected vehicle (CV) technology have received a welcome boost from news that the US government has committed a further $4 billion towards automated vehicle research and CV technology. This comes hot on the heels of the US Department of Transportation’s $42 million CV pilot pledge in October last year.
  • Detection analysis technology successfully predicts traffic flows
    February 3, 2012
    David Crawford investigates new detection analysis technology from IBM. Locations on both the East and West Coasts of the US are scheduled for early deployments of IBM's new Traffic Prediction Tool (TPT) statistical analysis model for the fine-time resolution and near-term prediction of road flow conditions. Developed by IBM's Watson Research Laboratories, TPT is designed to analyse data from the the key detection indicators - average vehicle volumes and speeds passing a location in a given time interval -
  • No city is a traffic island
    April 2, 2024
    Beate Kubitz reflects on the rising tide of suburban drivers - and how cities across Europe are dealing with them as worries over air quality multiply
  • Automating enforcement of environmental zones
    July 27, 2012
    Amsterdam City Council has chosen to move away from manual enforcement of its environmental zone, which is intended to keep highly polluting goods vehicles out of the city centre, and is installing an automated, ANPR-based system. The signs are not much to look at: white with a red circle and the all-important word Milieuzone ('Environmental zone'). But these signs mean that Amsterdam's city centre is strictly off-limits to polluting goods traffic. At the moment compliance is monitored by special wardens wh