Space provides missing link for safe, sustainable unmanned trains
Unmanned trains in Europe may well be on their way by the end of the decade thanks in no small part to the EU-funded Certifiable Localisation Unit with GNSS in the Railway Environment (CLUG) project, which wrapped up its research in the summer of 2022. The CLUG project tested and delivered optimal processes fusing global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) and other sensors to ensure safe rail navigation. The new system, once certified, will enhance train localisation while reducing costs, track equipment and emissions at Europe’s greenest transport method by the end of the decade.
European railways on track for interoperability, sustainability and digitisation
The EUR 3.8 million CLUG project demonstrated that by harnessing GNSS’s powerful constellation of satellites – such as Galileo and GPS that beam positioning and time data – and boosting their performance with European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service, EGNOS, and other data fusion, trains and their terrain can be accurately tracked from space and used alongside conventional navigation tools to transform rail. Deploying new multisensor solutions using GNSS and other data will enable highly accurate and real-time localisation of trains and facilitate applications such as intelligent traffic management systems and automated train operation, while minimising carbon emissions and requiring less track equipment.
Traveling ‘hands-free’ – from drawing board towards certification
As the new space-enabled multisensory navigation tool is new to rail, the CLUG consortium of 15 stakeholders included experts from rail, but also certification and research companies, as well as EGNOS and Airbus Defence and Space, “to gain from their navigation and safety expertise,” notes Valentin Barreau, train localisation project manager at French train operator SNCF, the company coordinating the project. Pooling the consortium’s resources, CLUG began by defining and designing a functional system architecture incorporating two different solutions. Next, it set up data monitoring on board three different trains, to test the feasibility of the project, i.e. the position and speed performance of the multisensory solutions. An analysis of the reliability, availability, maintainability, safety (RAMS) was also performed. “The absolute safe train positioning solution prototyped in CLUG is oriented towards the needs of the future railway system,” underlines Barreau. The promising future includes optimising line capacity by reducing headways between trains, while the new generation of signalling systems - the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) L3 Moving Block – is also slated for optimised performance with accurate and safe localisation. Autonomous train functions are also on the way. Added comfort for passengers is also on track, such as real-time train tracking that will lead to greater customer satisfaction.
Future train travel guided by satellite-enabled data & tech
Supported by the European Union Agency for the Space Programme, EUSPA, CLUG will serve as the guide for Europe’s rail to move towards a seamless network of freight and passenger trains embracing efficiency, sustainability and safety. After disseminating CLUG’s results, the two-year project has come to a close. Now, industry will further prepare for certification for use by the market to be compliant with the ERTMS signalling standard – which must also be updated with the new localisation solution for rail – while a new certified EGNOS service for rail is also needed, concludes Barreau.
Keywords
CLUG, rail, space, localisation, GNSS, multisensors, unmanned trains, train positioning, SNCF, global navigation satellite systems
