Progress Rail: Italian Interlocking, Eurasian Market, Russian Test Lab—for Kazakhstan
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-ChiefAn advanced microprocessor-based interlocking technology for the Eurasian market from Progress Rail (A Caterpillar Company) subsidiary ECM S.p.A. of Italy will be tested in a new LocoTech-Signal research laboratory in Moscow, Russia.
LocoTech-Signal will evaluate its own interlocking logic software and station configurations for ECM’s HMR-9 microprocessor-based interlocking system as to its adaptability to 1,520 mm (4 feet, 9.84 inch) broad gauge operations. If tests prove successful, customers will be able to implement an integrated application of Ctrl@Lock 400, described as “a modern interlocking system based on ECM’s HMR-9 platform,” for railway transportation projects. Testing will incorporate wayside equipment typically used in Eurasian countries.
Supply of Ctrl@Lock400 will support modernizing signaling systems on Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ, or “Kazakhstan Iron Road”), the national railroad. KTZ operates a 14,800-kilometer (9,176-mile) network. The technology will be introduced in 2021 at the Mailytogay railway junction, which is controlled by the Kyzylorda (Қызылорда) signaling and communications center.
“Focusing on modern standards and innovative technologies, the laboratory is equipped with a stand for carrying out tests,” LocoTech-Signal said. “Based on the application, the stand consists of a server and network equipment, central processors, object controllers (input/output, switch and signal), power supply equipment, wayside simulators and the subsystem HMI Ctrl@Screen developed by LocoTech-Signal. Through conducting field tests with operating equipment, the laboratory provides an opportunity to reproduce and investigate abnormal situations in device operations. Additionally, the laboratory will be used to test interfaces on new types of devices and related systems, such as the Ctrl@Track100 microprocessor track circuit system.”
“The accumulated experience of LocoTech-Signal specialists in preparing railway systems for operation in the 1,520 mm space, combined with the openness of the HMR9 platform software, make it possible for the Ctrl@ Lock400 to be adapted in a short time,” commented Andrey Romanchikov, chief executive of LocoTech-Signal and Managing Director of parent company CJSC TMH (Transmashholding—Трансмашхолдинг—Russia’s largest manufacturer of locomotives and rail equipment and the fourth-largest transport technology engineering company globally). “Customers will have the opportunity to choose the most suitable configuration—from fully centralized, to the most decentralized, which is facilitated by the availability of equipment with an extended operating temperature range.”
ECM Managing Director Paolo Covoni added, “We are proud of our cooperation with LocoTech-Signal and believe the research laboratory will be a success for both companies. Combining our state-of-the-art HMR-9 system technology with the experience of LocoTech-Signal will provide innovative and effective solutions for customers.”
