SWITZERLAND: Transports Montreux-Vevey-Riviera has awarded Stadler a contract to equip the Montreux – Les Rochers-de-Naye mountain railway with its Nova Pro communications-based train control system.
Stadler said the CBTC contract announced on October 22 complements the order to supply eight three-car Abt rack electric multiple-units with panoramic windows which was announced in May. This means there are now the optimal conditions for a smooth commissioning of both trains and control systems, it added.
The 11 km single-track 800 mm gauge line runs from Montreux to the summit of Rochers-de-Naye at almost 2 000 m above sea level.
Nova Pro will be used to control train operations, enabling the operator to increase train frequencies if required. An automatic train operation function will control the starting and braking of trains for smooth, energy-efficient operation, with continuous speed monitoring to warn the driver if limits are exceeded and automatically trigger emergency braking if required.
It is the second Nova Pro order for a rack line, after an initial project on the Appenzeller Bahnen. The system is based on industrial standard components that have also been successfully used in recent interlocking projects, including for Montreux Oberland Bernois.
Stadler said ‘with the introduction of this system, MVR is taking a decisive technological step by using the most modern signalling system currently available on the market’.
