The capacities of the new tram line in Suzhou City, China, which is 18 kilometers long and includes 27 controlled points (crossovers) needed to be lifted to the highest level of modern standards. Therefore, for design and deployment, the operator turned to Bombardier, who are well-known for their experience in signaling installation.
The system was designed for controlling up to 200 routes, a route being the distance between two consecutive points of railway signaling. Its main objective was to provide a train dispatcher with the ability to control all the processes on the tram line, i. e. to ensure that the stabling and control process is simplified and made more efficient. The system should also increase overall safety and reduce the probability of human error.
In addition to the system details, Bombardier had to take the specific environmental conditions in Suzhou into account, such as high temperatures and a relative humidity of up to 82 percent.
From his local point of control, the train dispatcher controls and monitors every movement in the marshalling yard and on the tram line. He is able to set routes and control individual location points.
Nadir Yilmaz, Moxa´s channel sales manager for eastern Europe explained, "The ioPAC 8500 series of RTU controllers offer precise data acquisition with a high-speed data capture rate and a millisecond timestamp. In Suzhou´s marshalling yard, every cabinet houses two of the controllers which are pairing. This means that any command requires the acknowledgement of both devices before it is executed. This way the solution increases security and prevents unauthorized access to the system."
