Siemens Mobility has won a contract to digitalise part of Chile’s state railway network with the country’s first deployment of ETCS Level 2 and the debut of the Signaling X platform in Latin America. The package covers 87 km of route under construction on the Tren Alameda–Melipilla (61 km) and Tren Santiago–Batuco (26 km) projects, where signalling, interlockings and control will be consolidated in a virtualised data centre.
The supplier will take on the systems’ design, supply, installation and long-term maintenance, to boost operational efficiency, simplifying upkeep and paving the way for future technology upgrades. ETCS Level 2 will provide continuous data transmission between trains and trackside equipment, increasing capacity and optimising traffic management on both corridors.
The new installation will run on the DS3 platform, engineered to meet SIL4 safety requirements, and will include wayside equipment, traffic control centres and onboard units for 32 trainsets. Under the contract, Siemens Mobility will also set up a regional software maintenance Competence Centre in Chile to support projects across Latin America.
ETCS is already in use on the Chilean network at Level 1 between Santiago and Nos using Bombardier’s INTERFLO 250 technology, now part of Alstom following the takeover of Bombardier Transportation. The step up to Level 2 on the Alameda–Melipilla and Santiago–Batuco lines positions EFE Trenes de Chile to adopt ETCS Level 2 as the reference standard for future network expansion.