Integrated Control Centers Bolster Rail Service Efficiency

[IMAGE]Alstom-2.jpg[/IMAGE]To stay competitive, rail operators need to provide their customers efficient, reliable service. To achieve this, it is crucial to supervise and control the entire network via an integrated control center (ICC). While early control center functions focused on traffic control, today's control centers feature increased automation and integration, providing more functionality than ever — from  supervision of traffic and fixed equipment to inclusion of security and information management systems.

"An integrated control system today is a highly sophisticated IT environment. It's gone beyond just the standard IT, it is ­generated by specialists in the field of transportation," says Roelof van Ark, president, Alstom Transport North America. "Integrated control centers vary from customer site to customer site. It really ­depends on what they want."

Functionality

One of the key functions of a control center is supervising rail traffic, or automatic train supervision (ATS). Next is the supervision or control of all the equipment around the trains - tunnels, stations, etc. The technology used for the supervision of fixed equipment is called SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition). Other functions include the supervision of subsystems such as communications — radio, telephones or security systems, including surveillance cameras, access control, passenger information, etc. "It's about providing the brain to the transport system and supervision and control of all the subsystems," says Emmanuel Houriez, vice president, Integrated Control and Security Center, Alstom Transport.

Today, the technology is heading toward more automation and integration. The inclusion of security and information management systems in control center projects is growing substantially. "The data will tell you where the trains are located. It will tell you the state of the various devices, whether they are power devices," Houriez says. "The data can also tell you things like the position of the trains and the state of the signaling system."

Projects

With regard to control center development, Alstom manages two types of projects — revamps, where a new control center is brought in to replace an older installation, and turnkey projects, where a new control center is built from scratch. Currently, Alstom has approximately 50 ongoing control center-related projects. The company has two sites (Centers of Excellence) in North America dedicated to control center development: one in Rochester, N.Y., and the other in Montreal, Quebec. Alstom also has a team of more than 350 engineers specializing in control center implementation that it draws upon.

In its work for São Paulo Metro (Companhia do Metropolitano de São Paulo) in Brazil, Alstom provided the revamp of an existing control system for 49 stations and lines 1, 2 and 3 of the rail network. The project, completed in 2002, integrates traffic control, SCADA, and security and communications management.

"The São Paulo system is a completely integrated system where you have one control center in charge of everything and that brings efficiency in management of operation control center teams," Houriez says, adding that 12 operator control positions control the entire metro, which ­includes 49 stations.

In 2008, the company was tapped by the government of the State of São Paulo, Brazil, to supply a fully automated system for lines 1, 2 and 3 of the São Paulo Metro. The company is equipping the lines with Urbalis, a complete train control and telecommunication system based on computer based train control (CBTC). This technology allows more efficient operation and makes it possible to increase train frequency and transport capacity. Delivery of the system is under way and the metro system will remain in service during the upgrade.

The supplier's project under way for the Montreal, Quebec-based transit system, STM (Société de transport de Montréal), is similar. "We have a system that is going to manage four lines and 68 stations, which is also very centralized," Houriez says. The limited number of workstations and operator controls will bring efficiency and, with centralization of the controls, it will be easier to coordinate the activity of various subsystems and lines, he explains.

Another Canadian-based project is under way for the Toronto Transit Commission. This integrated control center project comprises 69 stations, 34 miles of double track running 842 trains per day on three lines. Functionality will include automatic routing, schedule and headway regulation, simulation and playback, alarm management and operations reports. Other specifications include 40 Intel Pentium workstations and interface with closed-circuit television and crew management.

"At this particular stage, we are supplying CBTC, an automated train control system," van Ark says. "The existing control center is being enhanced to accommodate this [driverless] technology."

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Security, Safety Subsystems

When assessing the changes in control center system technology, one standout is the integration of security systems. "For many years, security was a stand-alone system, usually developed by other companies that had a central computer where all the information would be stored," van Ark says. "A lot has evolved. Operators would like to have the ease of IT systems and have all of this data flow into one central integrated control center."

Some of the typical security subsystems being implemented in these projects are video surveillance and passenger information systems, such as a public address system. "Our projects have to provide increased integration and security and allow the operator to react quickly in case of an ­emergency," Houriez says.

Other major subsystems that can be integrated include access control and emergency ventilation systems for fire protection.

"Imagine a situation where there is a fire. Somebody calls on the emergency phone and the video camera automatically positions itself on the emergency phone, so you will get a picture of the person who is calling and you will get information where the fire is located," Houriez says. "The controller will punch this into the system and provide an automatic start-up of ventilation systems to pull the smoke away from passengers."

Technological Evolution

Unlike rolling stock, which is normally expected to last somewhere in the realm of 30 to 40 years, the ­normal life expectancy of control center systems is in the 10- to 15-year range, according to van Ark. "IT has obviously evolved rapidly over the last 10 to 20 years, and continues to evolve rapidly because, as the powers of computing increase, so does the amount of data you can accumulate, analyze and ­manipulate, and finally use."

Van Ark likens the technological evolution to that of our everyday gadgets such as personal computers or cell phones. "You want more features than the last one you bought," he says. "Our customers are interested in getting a more modern control center that offers them more features and functionality."

It's not uncommon that people want to update a system by completely replacing it to take advantage of high-tech advances, van Ark says. "Let's say the customer adds on a mile or two to his rail line, or he adds 50 closed circuit TVs for security, he has to evolve his control center, so the control center business is always in an evolutionary stage."

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Advances

Because of advances in technology, control centers work very differently from those of 10 to 15 years ago. For example, if there was an emergency in a subway system, an operator would work according to a handwritten procedure as to what he would have to switch on and off in a certain time frame and rhythm, van Ark says. "Say a fire happened in a subway tunnel, to close off ventilation shafts turning around the direction of the airflow, a lot of the work would be done manually."

Today, with the capability and integration of the additional control center functions, software algorithms and programs can be generated that would take over many of those functions. "The programming of the ­computer has become more capable, so if there were an accident, the ­computer will decide for you," van Ark says. "If there's a fire for instance in tunnel B, [the computer] would then make the ventilation changes, give the warning to the passengers and do the evacuation programs."

The operator would have more of a supervisory function because the computer would do more of the functions, he says, adding that the system would be safer by eliminating human error, particularly in a crisis situation.

Despite high-tech computers taking on a more active role in control center functions, the human factor still plays an important role. "The proper training and involvement of both operation and maintenance personnel of our customers during the development of the project is very important," Houriez says.

The customer is involved at all stages of development, from the specifications through the prototyping to the validation and, later on, the commissioning phase, he says, adding, "So that they know the system and can easily take ownership of it and begin operation."

Alstom provides a complete simulation environment, which includes all interfaces of the system and provides a system that is as close as ­possible to the real life experience, he says.

Implementation Challenges

According to van Ark, the biggest challenge with implementing ICC systems is the customer's desire to include the latest technological advances after the project specifications are set. "To implement a system, in particular a very complicated, integrated control system like this, you need to make sure that your operator is willing to freeze his requirements," he says.

Always waiting for the next technology to come along is detrimental to the execution of a project of this nature because of the time delay involved. "After it is implemented, then, of course, you can go in and do revisions. It's so attractive for any operator to see the great developments being done on all types of subsystems every day."

Other challenges include the lack of funding in the transit sector to pay for control system upgrades. "Very often an agency has a limited budget, so, obviously they are going to buy their trains first, or their power stations or substations," van Ark says. 

Despite the fact that control centers will provide them with more efficiency, transit agency budgets aren't as forthcoming these days. Many ­operations, such as the MTA's New York City Transit, have had to postpone control system upgrades due to budgetary restraints, he says.