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Feature23 May 2016,
updated27 May 2016Smart Infrastructure / Siemens Mobility GmbHMunich
The first passenger train will roll through the Gotthard Base Tunnel early June 2016. Siemens has supplied the tunnel control and fire protection systems for the world's longest railway tunnel. The sophisticated safety system has over 200,000 sensors, and places maximum demands on logistics and data processing.
The control system controls and monitors all installations completely automatically. The tunnel is fitted with sensors, control electronics and surveillance equipment. This includes video cameras in the multifunction points, which are connected by optical fiber cables to two tunnel control centers located at the north and south entrances. Siemens has installed a tunnel control system in each center, each system acting as a reserve for the other. The movement of each train is recorded, and displayed in the control center. The system controls the entire infrastructure, which has 3,200 kilometers of electrical cables and 2,600 kilometers of data cables. It detects a door that has not been closed properly or a light that has failed. When required, the ventilation system is activated, the light at the next emergency stop point is switched on, and the doors are opened automatically. What is actually happening is seen on screen by the around 60 employees on duty in the centers. "Events" are classified according to five alarm stages. The system provides information and decision-making steps for each stage to help the head of operations. Sensors check the trains for overheated brakes and leaks before they enter the tunnel and without requiring them to stop. However, the main task of the new system is to maintain availability. The maintenance periods, such as close-down times and spare parts requirement, can be efficiently planned with a new tool.
It goes without saying that safety is paramount in a tunnel where in the near future more than 200 trains a day will barrel through the tubes at speeds up to 250 km/h. The tubes are connected every 300 meters by crosscuts that allow train passengers to escape to the other tube in case of a fire. Each tube has two emergency-stop stations 600 meters in length which allows the evacuation of up to 1,000 passengers.
The control system controls and monitors all installations completely automatically. The tunnel is fitted with sensors, control electronics and surveillance equipment. This includes video cameras in the multifunction points, which are connected by optical fiber cables to two tunnel control centers located at the north and south entrances. Siemens has installed a tunnel control system in each center, each system acting as a reserve for the other. The movement of each train is recorded, and displayed in the control center. The system controls the entire infrastructure, which has 3,200 kilometers of electrical cables and 2,600 kilometers of data cables. It detects a door that has not been closed properly or a light that has failed. When required, the ventilation system is activated, the light at the next emergency stop point is switched on, and the doors are opened automatically. What is actually happening is seen on screen by the around 60 employees on duty in the centers. "Events" are classified according to five alarm stages. The system provides information and decision-making steps for each stage to help the head of operations. Sensors check the trains for overheated brakes and leaks before they enter the tunnel and without requiring them to stop. However, the main task of the new system is to maintain availability. The maintenance periods, such as close-down times and spare parts requirement, can be efficiently planned with a new tool.
It goes without saying that safety is paramount in a tunnel where in the near future more than 200 trains a day will barrel through the tubes at speeds up to 250 km/h. The tubes are connected every 300 meters by crosscuts that allow train passengers to escape to the other tube in case of a fire. Each tube has two emergency-stop stations 600 meters in length which allows the evacuation of up to 1,000 passengers.
Press Pictures
The north portal of the Gotthard Base Tunnel
Once completed, the Gotthard Base Tunnel, which is being built between Erstfeld and Bodio in Switzerland, will be the world’s longest railway tunnel. Each of its two single-track tubes will run for 57 kilometers underneath the Saint-Gotthard Massif. The tunnel, which will go into operation in 2016, has been in the making for more than half a century. The first plans for a zero-grade main rail line were drawn up at the end of the 1940s with the goal of replacing the Gotthard railway mountain route, which has sharp curves and gradients as high as 27‰. Plans were then repeatedly abandoned and redesigned up until 1999, when construction of the new route in its current layout began. Photo: The north portal of the Gotthard Base Tunnel
Through the Saint-Gotthard Massif
Once completed, the Gotthard Base Tunnel, which is being built between Erstfeld and Bodio in Switzerland, will be the world's longest railway tunnel. Each of its two single-track tubes will run for 57 kilometers underneath the Saint-Gotthard Massif. Photo: Lukmanier Pass with the Lago di Santa Maria reservoir (1,908 m above sea level). Piz Vatgira mountain (2,983 m above sea level) can be seen in the background. The breakthrough for the Gotthard Base Tunnel was made under Piz Vatgira at around 500 m above sea level on October 15, 2010.
