Requirements on track side Control Command and Signalling system
Definitions and rules
When developing a new safety critical Control Command and Signalling system (CCS-system) e.g. interlocking, train protection or automatic level crossing, this has to be safe. The applicant should use the standards EN 50126, EN 50128 and EN50129 to demonstrate the safety. This means that you develop the system according to a specified process, the safety demonstration will be reported in a "safety case".
An independent safety assessor (ISA) shall assess the safety demonstration and make an assessment report. The Swedish Transport Agency guide "Requirement on the content of an assessment report" set requirements on the content and structure of the assessment report. The ISA and his task have to be approved by the Swedish Transport Agency for each project. To avoid unnecessary work you should ask for our approval of the ISA and his task early in the project. Our requirement on the ISA is that he/she shall be independent from the project both personally and organizational to the project that shall be assessed. The ISA must also be very competent in the process and the techniques of developing safety critical systems.
Radio Communication
All infrastructure for railway, metro and trams shall have a radio system installed for communication with the vehicles. For railway networks a GSM-R system has to be installed. From 1 July 2016 the GSM-R system shall have protection for disturbances from the 4G-telecom-networks. This requirement however is not applicable to suburban networks, networks only for the infrastructure managers own gods and for historical networks. .
Train protection system (ATP)
The Swedish railway net has a common national train protection system, ATC2 (also called class B-system). This system shall be replaced during the next decades. The European interoperability directive says that the ERTMS shall replace the national class B systems in the future.
The European Union has designated corridors where there are requirements to install ERTMS before a fixed year. The corridor in Sweden is called the Scandinavian - Mediterranean Corridor. This corridor is required to have ERTMS installed by 2030 (according to 1315/2013), but more detailed requirements are present in the implementing regulation 2017/6 on the European Rail Traffic Management System European deployment plan.
For high-speed lines, ERTMS is mandatory when installing for the first time the train protection part of a Control-Command and Signalling Track-side Subsystem or sometimes when upgrading.
Sweden has also made a National Implementation plan.
There are no direct requirements to install a train protection (ATP) system on new networks for trams, metros, suburban trains or networks only for the infrastructure managers own gods . However there is a generic requirement to keep the level of safety when we authorise a new or modified infrastructure. When extend, upgrade or renew an infrastructure which has an ATP-system you should install ATP also on the modified part of the infrastructure. If the network to be modified has no ATP-system the operational rules of the modified network may be affected by the modification.
Applied TSIs
The following TSI valid for the subsystems control command and signaliling. It states the requirements of ERTMS and GSM-R:
- TSI Control Command and Signalling 2016/919,
The TSI Control Command and Signalling 2016/919 replace TSI Control Command and Signalling 2012/88/EU amended by decision 2012/696/EU and through decision 2015/14/EU. If the applicant would like to use older versions of TSI Control Command and Signalling due to advanced on-going projects, when applying for authorisation of infrastructure with train control system ETCS, an application for exceptions has to be made. For projects, which begun before June 2016, the Swedish Transport Agency may authorise such exceptions. The Swedish Transport Agency may authorise exceptions for projects which begun before 2012 even for older versions of the TSI, e.g. 2006/679/EG and 2006/860/EG. Old documents can be found on technical authorisation. Please observe, that projects aiming for an exception from 2016/919 should report this to the Swedish Transport Agency before 5th of July 2017.
The authorisation may also be done in different phases, see page for authorisation of infrastructure for railway, metro and tram.
The Swedish Transport Agency and the European Rail Agency (ERA) have issued a number of technical documents and guide lines to facilitate the application of the TSIs and authorisation of rail infrastructure. Below you find the guidelines regarding Command Control and Signalling subsystems.
- ERA: Application Guide for the TSI for the subsystems Control-Command And Signalling Track-Side and On-Board.
The European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) has made a guideline and template for Notified Body to use when indicating restrictions, conditions and added functions in their certificates.
- Certification: Restrictions and conditions and added functions
National requirements
A TSI-compliant subsystem shall fulfill the TSI requirements and notified national requirements. The national requirements shall be assessed by a Designated body (Debo), the applicant has to engage also the Debo in the authorisation process. The Debo shall draw up a certificate saying that the subsystem fulfills the requirements. Today the only Debo in Sweden is the Swedish Transport Agency. To start an assessment work we need an application. The Swedish Transport Agency will send invoices to the applicant for our work load (1400 SEK/h). Sweden has today not notified any national technical requirements, so we will assess the subsystem against the essential requirements according to the interoperability directive. This is the case for the national functions e.g. STM and for open points and specific cases in the TSI CCS.
Safe integration on the on board to the track side Control Command and signalling subsystems
When the Swedish Transport Agency makes an authorisation of an infrastructure we will check that the network including the CCS-system fulfills the essential requirements. We will check the safe integration between the track side and the on board CCS-system. The integration between the track side and the on board systems shall be assessed for all types of on board system operating on the network. All functions which are set according to the essential requirements are assessed according to both TSI and national requirements. The assessor (ISA) shall be approved by the Swedish Transport Agency.
The vehicles operating on a network have some types and versions of on board CCS-systems. To make the authorisation of the infrastructure with a new or upgraded CCS-system the applicant shall demonstrate both safety and safe integration to these on board CCS-systems operating on the infrastructure. To make this demonstration the applicant has to cooperate with a railway undertaking. The combinations of on board and trackside CCS-system where the safe integration is demonstrated is set in the file "Matrix over authorised integration between ERTMS- trackside and on board systems."
You will find the matrix under "More information". The document is in Swedish.
If you have an authorised type of track side CCS-system and would update the safe integration to a new type or version of on board CCS-system you can use this process. The process for safe integration and interoperability is given in our guide " Process for integration of trackside and onboard ERTMS systems" Link in Swedish.
In the case of suburban trains, metros and tram systems the authorisation of the CCS-systems, will be integrated. These types of systems have vehicles dedicated to the specific infrastructure.
Link to Matrix over authorised integration between ERTMS (in Swedish)