Skip to main content

Thales and Siemens bag Spanish high speed rail contract

A joint venture composed of Thales and Siemens Rail Automation has been awarded a contract valued US$75 million by Spanish infrastructure manager Adif for the installation of signalling, traffic control, European Train Control System (ERTMS), communications and video surveillance technologies along the 50 kilometre Pajares line, which is part of the León-Asturias high-speed line, linking the centre of Spain to the north of the country. The two companies will also maintain the installation for at least a ye
April 25, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
A joint venture composed of 596 Thales and 189 Siemens Rail Automation has been awarded a contract valued US$75 million by Spanish infrastructure manager Adif for the installation of signalling, traffic control, European Train Control System (ERTMS), communications and video surveillance technologies along the 50 kilometre Pajares line, which is part of the León-Asturias high-speed line, linking the centre of Spain to the north of the country.  The two companies will also maintain the installation for at least a year, with the possibility of a one-year extension.

The contract also includes the development and installation of train protection systems, fixed-line telecommunications, centralised traffic control (CTC), access control and video surveillance systems.

The works will be carried out in two phases; the First to allow for commercial operation under the protection of the Automatic Braking and Signal Announcement (ASFA) system supplied by Siemens Rail Automation; and the second will see the installation of the ERTMS Level 2 system supplied by Thales, which will allow trains to reach speeds of up to 350 kilometres per hour.

Related Content

  • February 1, 2012
    Ability to keep in touch on US buses woos travellers
    David Crawford finds evidence of a new trend in American intercity travel: that better access to data sources on the move is tempting passengers away from air travel and onto surface modes. In the US the ease of use of Portable Electronic Devices (PEDs) is successfully wooing long-distance travellers away from airlines and onto surface public transport, according to just-published research. Using data from field observations of 7,028 passengers travelling by bus, air and train in 14 US states and the Distri
  • February 1, 2012
    Ability to keep in touch on US buses woos travellers
    David Crawford finds evidence of a new trend in American intercity travel: that better access to data sources on the move is tempting passengers away from air travel and onto surface modes. In the US the ease of use of Portable Electronic Devices (PEDs) is successfully wooing long-distance travellers away from airlines and onto surface public transport, according to just-published research. Using data from field observations of 7,028 passengers travelling by bus, air and train in 14 US states and the Distri
  • July 26, 2012
    Personal Rapid Transit, clear benefits for European cities
    David Crawford watches the race to get the world's first PRT system up and running. To paraphrase the old joke about buses bunching, you seem to have to wait several decades for a Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system, and then half a dozen come along together. Currently, in fact, there are well over that number of schemes for driverless electric passenger-carrying 'pod' networks at various stages of planning, design and implementation around the world. Locations range from a straight-off-the-drawing board ne
  • May 26, 2016
    Viaduct deck renewal creates detour dilemma for MassDOT
    As the deck renewal of the I-91 viaduct in Springfield gets underway, David Crawford looks at the preparation and planning to ease the resulting traffic congestion. Accommodating the deck renewal of a 4km-long/four-lanes in each direction viaduct in the heart of Springfield (Massachusetts’ third largest city), has involved the state’s Department of Transportation (MassDOT) in a massive exercise in transport research and ITS-based area-wide preplanning and traffic management. Supporting a workzone of well ab