OREANDA-NEWS. November 29, 2010. Russian Railways President Vladimir Yakunin and Finmeccanica CEO Pier Francesco Guarguaglini signed a memorandum of understanding on joint projects to modernize train control, signaling, automation, and transport safety systems, with an accompanying plan of action. Joint work between Russian Railways and Finmeccanica is focused on developing innovative products through combined research efforts, reported the press-centre of Russian Railways.

Under the document, the companies intend to jointly develop, test, introduce, replicate, and service in Russia modern systems for train control, signaling, automation and transport safety, using microprocessor and satellite technology. In line with the memorandum, the partners intend to work together on the following:

creating a new train control system based on the ITARUS-ATC system, and further replicating the system;

creating, on the basis of the ITARUS-ATC system, integrated microprocessor-based dispatch centralization complexes with broadened functional capabilities, using satellite navigation, a digital channel, and state-of-the-art diagnostic systems;

creating, with the use of innovative solutions developed by the partners, railway automation and telemechanics parts and devices to improve the efficiency and safety of the systems in use;

creating and replicating the latest transport safety systems, in particular intelligent systems and risk assessment systems.
 
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On 6 April 2009 in Moscow, NIIAS (a subsidiary of RZD) and AnsaldoSTS S.p.A (a subsidiary of Finmeccanica) signed a contract to install the ITARUS-ATS system on an experimental railway section, and on 7 April 2009 the contract was approved by the heads of Russian Railways and Finmeccanica. The passenger-intensive Sochi – Adler line of Russia’s North Caucasus Railway was chosen as the pilot track for introducing new-generation digital radio communications.

The ITARUS-ATS project is a fundamentally new train control and safety management system based on cutting-edge Russian and Italian technology. The Russian ABTC-M automatic blocking computer technology and the integrated locomotive safety device KLUB-U will feature as components of the system. The Russian part of the project includes the application of GLONASS/GPS satellite navigation technology, which is already in use in over 12,000 locomotives and self-propelled railcars in Russia.

Specialists, including international experts, have found that ITARUS-ATS will entail lower capital expenditure and maintenance costs than European systems. Managers on both sides have now become involved in the project, and plan to introduce ITARUS-ATS in joint foreign projects after pilot trials.