Digirail is a large-scale project involving a historical system reform that will modernise the entire railway control and safety system infrastructure in Finland. The reform will boost capacity, improve accuracy, minimise malfunctions, and improve safety and sustainable development in the rail network. The project aims to transition to a globally unique automatic train control system based on the radio network. Construction work has just begun on the first section of track. What has happened in the project so far?
Finland will close its national automatic train control system at the start of the 2030s. The European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) will replace it. Digirail is a necessary replacement investment that will renew train control, safety equipment, remote control and traffic management systems, improve railway capacity and enable the growth of rail transport.
The reform was prompted by the end of the existing automatic train control system’s life cycle and EU regulations. The EU wants to build a consistent European rail network that works across national borders. To this end, it is obliging Member States to harmonise the operations of their automatic train control systems. In June, Finland submitted its National Implementation Plan (NIP) to the European Commission, describing how a European railway management system will be implemented in our country. Finland’s implementation has attracted interest at the EU level, as demonstrated by Digirail’s successful application for CEF funding: the project was awarded a total of EUR 12.83 million in funding from the CEF.
Digirail’s unique communication solution leverages commercial network connections
Building a separate 5G-standard communications network solely for rail traffic would cost hundreds of millions of euros. Instead of building a dedicated communications network, Digirail intends to use a unique radio network solution that utilises existing commercial network connections. The International Union of Railways’ (UIC) regulations do not yet stipulate the hardware required for the solution, so an entirely new interim radio network solution was developed for Digirail’s first commercial section of track. National Radio Solution 1 provides radio communication via commercial network connections using existing hardware. An exemption permit application for the solution has been submitted to the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA).
One part of the radio network project is a monitoring function that studies how traffic controllers will receive information about malfunctions and maintenance outages in the radio network to ensure the safe operation of trains. Information about malfunctions and maintenance outages in the radio network is vital for traffic controllers, who need to know whether it is safe to operate a train on a particular track section. The monitoring function plans what radio network monitoring is in practice, which party performs it, and how it is performed, for example, during maintenance outages.
The study has been successfully completed with three commercial telecom operators. The outcome is a decision on a shared map view that combines disturbance data from the three operators into a manageable entity. The major benefit of a shared disturbance map view is that it helps to anticipate potential connectivity disturbances before the traffic controller issues moving authority to a driver. Such a concept has never been employed before, and it will become a permanent aspect of our rail network.
The goal is to move to the implementation phase of the monitoring function in the coming autumn. Over the past year, Finland has communicated extensively to the European Commission and the ERA towards the goal of introducing the radio network solution developed for Digirail based on commercial networks into EU regulation. All EU Member States would benefit from the option of a solution for communicating between trains and traffic controllers that is just as safe as a separate communication system but considerably more cost-effective. The solution would also enhance the competitiveness of railway traffic throughout the EU and contribute to the goals of sustainable mobility.
Test runs have been conducted since last autumn on the closed Kouvola-Kotka-Hamina section of track
The new automatic train control system will significantly alter the work of drivers, as the source of their information will change. The most tangible changes will be the removal of the lineside signals that are currently used to control traffic and the provision of almost all relevant information via the ETCS interface in the driver’s cab. In September 2023, the ten drivers selected for test drives in Kouvola learned the ropes on the new ETCS automatic train control system in a virtual environment. Simulator exercises, in-person training and exams ensured that the drivers were ready to transition from virtual driving onto real rails.
Digirail’s Sr1 test locomotive was operated for the first time in November last year when test runs began on the closed Kouvola–Kotka–Hamina test track. This is Finland’s first locomotive equipped with a modern ETCS automatic train control system based on a radio network, communicating with safety devices over commercial radio networks. The test runs tested the functionality of the locomotive equipment, lineside equipment and traffic management systems on the test track. Field testing on the test track began in March 2024. The test track has been built to gain experience in ETCS operation in an actual railway environment.
Digirail will introduce changes for drivers and the railway sector as a whole, with requirements for new types of expertise. The professional groups most exposed to change are traffic managers, operators and safety equipment maintainers. Digirail’s Sectoral Training Team is responsible for preparing training models for different professional groups to ensure that rail operators have the necessary knowledge and skills to operate on the ETCS track. Decisions on training models related to the EKA track section will be made at the end of this year and the start of next year, as soon as there has been sufficient discussion with the organisations on the impact of the training models.
Construction of the first commercial section of track progresses – first building work begins on the track
Planning of the construction of the first commercial section of Digirail track began at the turn of the year. The design areas are divided into three entities: Kokemäki–Rauma, Kokemäki–Mäntyluoto, Mäntyluoto–Tahkoluoto and Lielahti–Kokemäki. The project is unique, as a lot is being done for the very first time. For example, level crossings are being connected to the ETCS automatic train control system.
The first commercial track section has approximately 190 kilometres of single track with 18 railway operating locations. Six of the railway operating locations have passenger traffic, and the rest mainly serve as technical railway operating locations for maintenance. The track section has been simulated to confirm the accuracy of the solutions and principles prepared during preliminary design in 2022.
The design of the first commercial section of track also tested the new RATO22 guidelines to see how they work in practical planning. When guidelines are put into practice, there are always questions and the need for more details and interpretations, which provide valuable information for the further development of the guidelines. The purpose is to gather all the lessons learned from the first commercial section of track and make improvements on the next track section, which will be equipped according to the roll-out plan.
Siemens Mobility Oy is responsible for supplying the centralised safety equipment system for the first commercial track section. The key components in the procurement of safety equipment are a new interlocking and Radio Block Centre. They are the basic pillars of the system on top of which the Digirail functionalities can be built. The planning and procurement phase was concluded at the end of August, and Digirail’s first construction work began on the track sections between Tampere, Pori and Rauma in September.
The construction work is coordinated to minimise the disruption to traffic. Work is ongoing in the field but will not affect passenger rail traffic. So far, the only foreseen impact will be on cargo traffic as of October. The construction work will be carried out as part of Digirail’s development and verification phase, which has a total budget of EUR 130 million. The target is to complete the construction of the first phase in autumn 2025 and have the automatic train control system covering the entire section of track in 2027. The Digirail project as a whole is scheduled for completion by 2040.
Railway operators developing together – How can we get the most out of Digirail?
Digirail’s work on the implementation plan work began in January 2024. Starting an extensive project has meant agreeing on equal operating procedures, engaging in active communication and assigning clear responsibilities to the experts and teams. The implementation phase is the single most extensive phase in the entire project’s life cycle from almost any point of view, and it has been described as one of the most significant milestones in Finnish railway history.
Digirail is introducing something unprecedented to the railway sector, so it is important to ensure society benefits as much as possible from the upcoming changes. This requires railway operators to work together and commit to the change. For this reason, Digirail set up a target development and monitoring group in May and invited several railway operators to join. The group is facilitated by Fintraffic and the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency in cooperation and also includes representatives from VR, HSL, Fenniarail, Pääkaupunkiseudun Junakalusto Oy, North Rail and Traficom.
The social benefits of Digirail will include safety, smooth travel, efficiency and higher capacity. Digirail will implement the necessary changes to make the technological leap possible, but the achievement of the objectives can also be influenced by many other factors, such as operators’ contracts and in-house services, technological solutions, personnel competences and changes in work duties. Therefore, we also need actions, commitment and decision-making outside of the Digirail project. It is important that the players in the sector share a common vision and clear goals so that we can genuinely have Finland’s best interest at heart.
The other key working group in Digirail focuses on infrastructure information and solves related problems. The working group includes experts from Fintraffic and the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency, as well as an expert from HSL with the Automatic Train Operation (ATO) project. The group aims to identify where, how and by whom the infrastructure information will be managed in the future. One main work package is an overall architecture that aims to break the infrastructure information into subsets that are easier to process. The present state and desired state is then defined for the subsets as well as the means for reaching the target. The work has had a good start, as everyone in the working group shares the view that there is much to be done in this area and that timely, reliable and easily integrated infrastructure information is the key to success.