Westinghouse Announces Completion of Phase Two of Faro Rail Modernisation
08 June 2004
Westinghouse Rail Systems Limited (WRSL) today announced the successful completion of phase two of the Ermidas – Faro railway project in Portugal.
The completion of this section of the railway – which covers 60km of track between Messines-Alte and Olhão – provides the crucial signalling infrastructure necessary to support Portugal’s direct rail link between the capital, Lisbon, and the coastal resort of Faro in the Algarve.
WRSL worked closely with sister company Dimetronic, and Portuguese rail company, REFER, to install five new solid state interlockings (SSIs) and a new signalling infrastructure within a demanding timeframe. The project also involved changes to the signalling interfaces for the Tunes and Olhão stations.
The modernisation of this section of track means that the whole line can now be controlled from the new Dimetronic centralised traffic command centre (CTC) in Faro, maximising the efficiency of the rail services and enabling increased line speeds.
The completion of this section of railway is also good news for football fans planning on attending the European Football Championships this summer, as they will now be able to travel by train directly to the Algarve stadiums.
The completion of this project brings the total number of new SSI interlockings in Portugal by the WRSL / Dimetronic consortium to 20 in the last five months.
“I think that this is a fantastic achievement from our team,” said John Cotton, Westinghouse Rail Systems’ Managing Director. “It is this kind of performance – delivering 20 SSIs on time and within budget - that makes us stand out from the crowd.”
