NORWAY: Oslo T-Bane metro operator Sporveien and supplier Siemens Mobility have commissioned a communications-based train control system which they believe is the first use of public LTE mobile networks for critical train control communications on a European metro.
Passenger services began using the system on a 3 km section of the Lambertseter Line between Brattlikollen and Bergkrystallen on December 2. This is the first stage of a €270m contract awarded to Siemens Mobility in 2021 which covers the complete replacement of the legacy signalling system across the entire existing 86 km five-line metro network as well as the integration of the future 8 km Fornebu Line. The roll-out is expected to be completed in around five years.
The Siemens Mobility Trainguard MT system is operating at attended Grade of Automation 2 and increases capacity from 28 to 36 trains/h, with a technical capacity of 40 trains/h. The supplier will provide 25 years of digital maintenance services and intelligent asset management using its Railigent X platform.
Siemens Mobility said the use of a LTE network was ‘cost-saving and forward-looking’. CEO Michael Peter said ‘today, we are proud to introduce Norway’s first CBTC system, bringing Oslo’s metro into a new era. This milestone will increase capacity by around 30%, enabling more frequent departures and promoting sustainable mobility for travellers.’
Morten Karlsen Sørby, acting CEO of telecoms company Telia Norway, said ‘as far as we know, there is only one other metro line in the world, namely in New York, where the mobile network is used as part of the signalling system. This places great demands on availability and service quality, and we are ready to deliver that.’
Sporveien project director Jon Are Pettersen said the introduction of a new signalling system was complex, even though it had ordered ‘the closest thing to a fully developed product’. He said ‘Oslo’s metro system is unique, with branch lines, large height differences and one city centre tunnel that all trains run through. This poses complex challenges when new technology is to be introduced.’
All trainsets that have been modified to use the new signalling system have marked on the front with the letters CBTC.
