INTERNATIONAL: Škoda Group announced the certification of its ETCS onboard unit at the 16th Trako International Railway Fair in Gdańsk on September 24.
Developed by its subsidiary The Signalling Company, the tool features a modular, software-defined architecture and uses an iEVC safe computer and the RailOS operating system.
‘There is a very high demand for ETCS onboard units, especially in the retrofit market. We already have our first contract with a customer we can announce later’, Alexandre Bétis, Managing Director of The Signalling Company told Railway Gazette International.
The iEVC-RailOS platform can host a range of safety applications — both the European ETCS standard and national signalling safety systems.
Škoda says that the main advantage of the tool is its compactness, and unlike previous bulky products, it requires no major modifications to the vehicle interior and can be installed in both new and refurbished rolling stock. As a result, retrofitting existing vehicles can be carried out faster and more cost-effectively, without lengthy downtime.
A HLD77 diesel loco belonging to freight operator Lineas has received operational authorisation using Škoda’s tool developed for a national TBL1+ train protection system.
