The France 2030 Committee has awarded 7,163,753 EUR in funding to the Thales-led Nouvelle Signalisation Ferroviaire Frugale (NS2F) consortium, which is developing an efficient and low-cost digital rail signalling and network operation system.
Thales has teamed up with GeoSAT, Setec Ferroviaire, CLEARSY and the Nouvelle-Aquitaine regional council to form NS2F. The consortium aims to offer a simple and energy-efficient signalling system that will revitalise services on local lines.
This technology has the potential to improve transport in rural areas, while also increasing safety, especially at level crossings. It will be fully interoperable with the core network and promises to reduce investment and operating costs by more than 30 percent compared to current systems.
“We are delighted to officially get the ball rolling with our partners Setec Ferroviaire, GeoSAT, CLEARSY, SNCF and the Nouvelle-Aquitaine regional council (FerroCampus). The innovative systems we are developing together will revitalise France’s low density rail lines and put us at the cutting edge of technology globally.”
The NS2F consortium is working with SNCF on its Innovative Light Train project, which plans to revitalise 12,000 kilometres of low-density rail lines. These lines are otherwise in the process of becoming obsolete and are neither economically viable to operate nor appealing to passengers.
NS2F expects to complete this project in three years, leveraging nine technologies:
- Thales: Platform-agnostic, autonomous train positioning and odometry without trackside infrastructure
- Thales: Cyber-secured data transmission via public telecommunications networks
- GeoSAT: High-density digital terrain mapping
- CLEARSY and Thales: Formal methods of safety data generation
- Setec Ferroviaire and Thales: Tablet-based supervision and operation interface for drivers
- Thales & Nouvelle-Aquitaine: Integrated surveillance of level crossings
- GeoSAT, Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Thales: Network surveillance using rolling stock-mounted sensors
- Thales: Efficient signalling systems and centralised line supervision
