Alstom commissioned the new Málaga Metro signaling system on lines 1 and 2, which officially enters into service at the end of July. It is based on Alstom’s Urbalis 400 communication based train control (CBTC), a train control system using radio communication that allows real-time information about the location of the trains and improves substantially line operability and safety.

The scope of the contract includes a complete Urbalis solution: the CBTC, state-of-the-art wireless local area network for train control, Smartlock 400 interlocking, trackside equipment and automatic train supervision. Urbalis is a flexible solution with a low lifecycle cost that can meet the requirements of light transit and metro networks, at different levels of automation.

The Málaga metro is the 25th metro system in the world and the third metro system in Europe to incorporate the Alstom service proven CBTC solution. The first two were installed on the Milan Metro line 1 in operation since 2010 and on Lausanne metro in operation since 2012.

Compared to other conventional systems, Urbalis 400 uses wireless communication technology, making it possible to substantially increase the number of trains per hour. Independent of fixed trackside signaling, Urbalis 400 reduces the distance between trains with intervals of just 90 seconds.

The system enables a swift response to any incident in service or increases in traffic on the metro network. Wireless communication technologies are emerging as standard on all rail transport systems, both urban, suburban and main lines.