Bombardier Transportation will deliver its Interflo 250 European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) Level 1 solution to improve passenger services and safety on the regional and commuter rail corridor of Rancagua in Chile.

The system will be implemented on the line between Alameda station in central Santiago and the area of Nos in the city’s outskirts. The line connects further south to Rancagua and then to Chillán. The contract is valued at approximately $21 million.

With the new system, the Chile state railway operator, Empresa de los Ferrocarriles del Estado (EFE), expects to increase annual passenger numbers from six million to 18 million. The system is designed to enable minimum headways of a mere four minutes and will cut travel times for commuters. It is the first ERTMS project in Chile and only the second in Latin America; Bombardier is also delivering its ERTMS technology to improve the SuperVia commuter service in Rio de Janeiro.

The project will include the latest generation Bombardier EBI Lock 950 R4 computer-based interlocking, EBI Screen control center and EBI Track train detection systems, onboard systems and five years of maintenance. In addition, the control center will manage traffic over the entire Santiago-Nos-Rancagua-Chillán service.

Bombardier’s Interflo 250 technology enables the automatic and safe management of travelling time between trains, including automatic stops if a signal instruction or a speed limit were to be passed. This automatic train protection, when associated with the traffic management system, reduces headways and optimizes speed.