2010-08-31

Lithuanian Railways proceeding with modernisation of traffic control system

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As of September, the railway corridor IX D connecting Russia and the Kaliningrad Oblast, will receive attention from technology specialists. Deployment of modern engineering train traffic control systems to help strengthen the safety and reliability of the transit railway in Lithuania will commence on 94–kilometre section of Kaunas–Kybartai and 12–kilometre section of Palemonas–Rokai–Jiesia bypass. The project has been greenlighted by Lietuvos Geležinkeliai AB upon approval of the technical design for modernisation drafted on terms set in the contract with the company Fima.

“Independent experts carried out the expertise of the technical design and confirmed the compliance of the design with the requirements of the mandatory documents on drafting designs and other legal acts on construction. The permits to perform the construction works are already obtained so there are no obstacles to start works of railway section modernization,” says Stasys Dailydka, General Manager of Lietuvos Geležinkeliai AB.

The General Manager of Fima, Gintaras Juknevičius, points out that in eighteen months after winning the tender in 2008 the company has completed the very important first stage of the project, which involved the drafting of a technical design, performing its expertise and obtaining construction permits. “We will be installing electronic systems on a railway section that has been operational for many years therefore the most important task of the technical design was to describe in detail the way how the new systems will be integrated into the existing so that all of them run smoothly as well as the way the hardware used by Lietuvos Geležinkeliai will be connected to the new technology control systems,” he said. In his words, this project is exceptional both in terms of its scope and the complexity and integrated nature of the engineering works involved.

Fima specialists will modernise the corridor IX D over the next two years, upgrading the railway signalling and power supply facilities and installing data transmission systems at Kaunas railway station, Palemonas – Rokai – Jiesia bypass and Kaunas – Kybartai line. The plans include the state-of-the-art computerised train traffic control system to be installed across the railway section which is designed to perform control from Vilnius traffic control centre of the automation of 8 railway stations and 33 level crossings, the facilities of 110-kilometre long power supply system line and the train traffic. In future, the new train traffic control technology will enable increasing the train speed along the modernised line up to 160 km/h.

The decision for modernisation of the corridor IX D was based on assessment that the available technology and infrastructure has reached its performance limits and no longer meets today’s needs. This is one of the most important priority projects included in the Lithuanian Strategic National Rail Transport Development Plan for 2005 – 2015. The modernisation project is being implemented under the allocations programme of the EU Cohesion Fund for 2007 – 2013.

Fima won the tender for modernisation of the railway corridor IX D in association with its partner, the Czech company AŽD Praha, in late 2008.