The purpose of the Digirail project is to make rail transport in Finland more efficient and smoother. The goal is to transfer to using a common European radio-based train control system along the entire Finnish rail network. Digirail and Mipro Oy have signed an agreement to supply external controllers to Digirail’s first commercial track section (the so-called EKA track section), on the Lielahti-Rauma/Pori line. With the agreement, Finland will continue to be a pioneer in Europe, as an equivalent technological solution has not been implemented elsewhere.
A Finnish company, Mipro Oy, has been confirmed as the supplier of the external controllers for Digirail’s EKA track section. The trains’ external controller (OC, i.e. Object Controller) is an equipment used in railway systems for managing and controlling external equipment such as points, signals and other trackside equipment. The OC system acts as a kind of intermediary between the centralised Control Command and Signalling System (CSS) and the trackside equipment.
“We at the Digirail project are facing something totally new as for the first time in Finnish history, the interlocking has been divided into two different parts. Previously, Digirail has already signed a procurement agreement on the delivery of a centralised Control Command and Signalling System with Siemens, and now we have signed a contract with a Finnish company called Mipro on the supply of external controllers. This is a very significant matter on a European scale, as different equipment suppliers enable us to be the first in Europe to test the functionality of the EULYNX interface and to learn important lessons from the EKA track to the implementation phase of the Digirail project. We are excited and look forward to working with Mipro,” says Juha Lehtola, Project Manager at the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency.
EULYNX is a European development project launched in 2014 with the aim to harmonise the internal and external interfaces of interlockings designed to control and secure railway traffic. Standardised interfaces allow for a new modularity of interlockings and a more streamlined implementation of external fittings.
“For Mipro, the external controller procurement is very important and we are delighted to be able to participate in the first phase of the Digirail project with the EKA track section. This is a significant milestone for Mipro as we are the first in Europe to make an external controller based on the EULYNX interface, which is the open interface towards European train control for the ETCS architecture (European Train Control System),” says Jari Pylvänen, Business Unit Director at Mipro.
Work on the track section is currently underway
In practice, the renewal in the first phase comprises of 190 kilometres of track on which the new Control Command and Signalling system shall be built. The Lielahti-Rauma/Pori track section was selected as the target for the first phase, and work has already started on the field.
The Digirail project is making rail transport in Finland safer, smoother and more efficient. The project is reinventing the outdated train control system and introducing a shared European radio-based train control system across the entire rail network. Digirail will enable safe transport, an improved service level and growth of capacity, and it will create a long-term technical foundation for Finnish railway traffic. The Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency, Fintraffic and the Ministry of Transport and Communications are collaborating in the project with other actors.
Mipro is a Finnish company specialised in rail traffic and industrial systems. Mipro systems are used for safety management in railway and metro services and industry processes as well as for controlling processes in water and energy management. The growing company is based in Mikkeli and operates on the global market. The company’s customers in Finland include, for example, the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency, Fintraffic Raide Oy, Metropolitan Area Transport Ltd and numerous water and energy supply companies.