News

Dubai,09.03.2016
Middle East Rail Conference
Project Director Niklaus H. König was invited to present the SwissRapide Express projects led by Swiss Railway Engineering to over 500 international delegates at the Middle East Rail Conference in Dubai. The innovative SwissRapide PI2 financing model as well as potential SwissRapide-based Maglev projects in the Middle East were also presented by Mr. König. Within the scope of the conference, talks were also held with Hyperloop Technologies Inc. CEO Rob Lloyd and Hyperloop Vice President Knut Sauer, as well as with representatives from the Oman Rail Company, AECOM, ABB and CANARAIL.

Ljubljana/Zurich,29.06.2015
Comtrade Automotive and Swiss Railway Engineering SRE GmbH Announce a Strategic Partnership to Meet the Mobility Needs of the Future
Comtrade Automotive, a European digital platform provider for mobility-as-a-service solutions and Swiss Railway Engineering SRE GmbH, a leading Centre of Excellence for railway and magnetic levitation (Maglev) transport systems and projects, announced a strategic partnership to provide innovative solutions to meet the growing, sustainable mobility needs of cities and metropolitan areas. "Societal trends such as population growth, urbanisation and digitalisation will have a significant effect on mobility in the cities and regions in the coming years. Already today, infrastructure systems are not able to handle the current growth, and in addition, metropolitan areas will have to reduce their transportation emissions. For this reason, we believe that cities and regions will increasingly require new, sustainable mobility systems and smart technologies. Since railways are an important stakeholder in the mobility-as-a-service eco-system worldwide, we are excited about our partnership with Swiss Railway Engineering SRE GmbH." says Marko Javornik, GM/VP Automotive at Comtrade. "We believe that the key to the future of mobility is the implementation of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS), which means introducing new, innovative systems, improving and optimising the current transport technologies, as well as integrating the different services in order to provide end-to-end mobility solutions. Bringing together knowledge from the two fields " railway engineering and digitalisation " will enable the partner companies to provide intelligent, future-oriented solutions that will better meet the mobility needs of our citizens," stated Niklaus H. König, Director and CEO of Swiss Railway Engineering.

Lausanne,01.03.2015
Independent Safety Assessor, Mauerhofer & Zuber SA
Swiss Railway Engineering has been contracted by Mauerhofer & Zuber Entreprises Electriques SA as Independent Safety Assessor for the detailed safety evaluation of their new LED-based railway signal. The contract involves the assessment of over 60 safety related documents for conformation to the CENELEC EN 50126/28/29 standards processes and safety requirements. For these tasks, SRE has been recognised as Independent Safety Assessor (ISA) by the Swiss Federal Office of Transport.

Basel/Olten,11.01.2015
Contracting Support for Re 484 Locomotive Refitting, SBB Cargo AG
Within the Re 484 refitting project for the migration of the locomotives to ETCS Level 2 systems for Swiss and cross-border services, Swiss Railway Engineering has been appointed by SBB Cargo for support in the set-up and contracting phase of the project. The work includes a detailed review of all contract, requirements and project planning documents, expert advice concerning the supplier strategy and the development of a formal requirements catalogue/compilation for the project, providing the client with a complete overview of all technical and contractual requirements in the project.

Berne,01.10.2014
Formal Risk Analysis for Swiss Federal Railways SBB AG
Swiss Railway Engineering in partnership with KnowGravity Inc. have completed a detailed risk analysis for a SIL 4 parallel to serial adapter used to interface interlocking systems of the SBB, replacing the previously used relay block systems. The risk analysis was developed entirely on a UML formal platform and is compliant with the CENELC Standards EN 50126/28/29. Based on this work, the SBB had now ordered the development of a further risk analysis from Swiss Railway Engineering/KnowGravity for the advanced interlocking-interlocking interface within the scope of the SwISS project.

Zurich,01.08.2014
Test Management SBB ETCS On-board Rollout, Wave 2
Swiss Railway Engineering SRE GmbH has been contracted by Siemens Schweiz AG to provide the Test Management for the Wave 2 rollout of ETCS Level 2 on-board on the network of the Swiss Federal Railway SBB AG. The rollout includes 250 vehicles of 9 different types to be fitted with Level 2 version 2.3.0d, among others for use on the new Gotthard Base Tunnel line, the longest railway tunnel in the world, expected to be commissioned in June, 2016. The contract with Siemens also includes on-site test leadership as well as test management for the network interoperability tests of SBB.

Bolzano Italy,01.07.2014
ETCS Level 3 for the Vinschgauer Railway
Swiss Railway Engineering SRE GmbH has completed a detailed concept for the migration of the Vinschgauer Railway in the Italian province of Bolzano to ERTMS Level 3. The concept study included the development of a project road map for the migration, the technical clarifications for the migration of the interlocking systems to a dedicated ETCS Level 3 interlocking/RBC system, a detailed planning of the GSM-R base transceiver stations, the preliminary design of the infrastructure systems for Level 3 operations, detailed costs calculations for the ETCS Level 3 and the GSM-R systems as well as an investigation into possible EU financing for the project. The implementation at the Vinschgauer Railway is expected to be the world’s first ETCS Level 3 application with the completion of the project planned for 2018.

Tokyo/Delhi,01.04.2014
Indian Western Dedicated Freight Corridor project
Swiss Railway Engineering has been contracted by the Toyo Engineering Corporation of Japan to support a consortium of Japanese and Indian companies in the development of their tender for the signalling and telecommunication systems within the scope of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor project. The project is currently under construction and entails over 1,100 km of new, double-track, electrified lines in northern India. SRE’s work included the development of the detailed RAMS Plan, the EMC Management Plan as well as detailed RAMS requirements for the signalling and telecommunication systems, the review of the GSM-R base transceiver station planning, including contingency scenarios and the development of the detailed cost estimate for the GSM-R system.

Berne/Zurich,01.10.2013
SBB SwISS Interlocking Interface Standards
The SwISS Consortium consisting of KnowGravity Inc. from Zurich and the Swiss Railway Engineering SRE GmbH has been awarded a contract by Swiss Federal Railways SBB to lead the work for the Change Management of the SwISS Interlocking Interface Standards. Siemens and Thales have been awarded contracts for the implementation of the SwISS Standards in the Simis W and ELECTRA2 interlocking systems. The new SwISS Consortium contract extends to 2017 and will cover all updating, change management and project management work in the SwISS project. The SwISS Standards currently provide interface specifications for the interlocking to interlocking interfaces, including block and route-to-route functionality. The standards also included interfaces specifications to electronic TVP systems, such as axle counters and track circuit systems. The first SwISS interface is expected to be commissioned by Siemens (Schweiz) AG at the beginning of 2015 in the new interlocking systems between the Zurich Main Train Station and Zurich-Oerlikon in the € 2.0 billion SBB Durchmesserlinie project.

Zurich,01.09.2013
Support of Alpiq InTec AG in the Swiss Ceneri AlpTransit Project
Swiss Railway Engineering has successfully supported Alpiq InTec AG in Zurich within the scope of the Swiss Ceneri AlpTransit Project. In the course of 2012/2013, Alpiq InTec submitted a tender for the planning and implementation of electrical and telecommunication railway systems in the Ceneri project. The tender also included the overall Project Management for the planning and construction of all railway systems. Swiss Railway Engineering was responsible for the management and development of the Project Management part of the bid, and was designated Project Management Organisation in the Alpiq tender. In the Project Management section of the Alpiq bid, Swiss Railway Engineering received the highest score of all bidders with 3.9 of maximum 4.0 points in the technical evaluation, thus confirming SRE’s strength in the area of railway project management.

Moscow/Chisinau,10.05.2013
Russian Kyzyl-Kuragino Railway (KKR) project
Swiss Railway Engineering SRE GmbH has reached an agreement with the Eastern European branch of the China Overseas Engineering Group Co. Ltd. (COVEC) for strategic and management support in the Kyzyl-Kuragino Railway (KKR) project. The KKR project involves the construction of a 410 km long railway line linking a major coal mine in Tuva, Russia with Russian railway infrastructure network. This project represents a major innovation in Russia since it will be the first railway line in the country that is to be financed and operated on a private basis. The railway is to be carried out via the Tuva Energy Industrial Corporation and the Tuva Investment Corporation, who also own and operate the coal mine in the region. SRE is to be responsible for the overall project management in the planning and construction phases, and will also be responsible for the co-ordination of Russian and Chinese interests in the project. The total construction costs of the project are estimated at € 5 billion. COVEC is a daughter company of the China Railway Engineering Corporation (CREC).

Muscat, Oman,17.04.2013
Swiss Railway Engineering contracted for the Oman National Railway project
Swiss Railway Engineering SRE GmbH has signed a contract with Al Habib & Co. in Muscat within the scope of the € 12 billion Oman National Railway project. SRE has been contracted to establish an international Oman/Swiss consortium and to lead the work for the submission of a tender for the Project Management and Consulting (PMC) contract within the project. The PMC contract is to cover the overall project management in Phase 1 of the project, in which the construction of approximately 1,100 km of new, double-track railway lines in planned. The PMC contract will also consist of railway expertise consultancy services to the Oman Ministry of Transport and Communications, who are responsible for the execution of the project.

Stockholm,24.04.2012
10th ERTMS World Conference 2012
ETCS experts from Swiss Railway Engineering division of SRE GmbH participated in the 10th ERTMS World Conference 2012, which included over 600 rail signalling leaders and experts from around the world. The conference included a technical visit to the Västerdalsbanen in central Sweden to view the first commercial ERTMS Level 3 application in the world, which was commissioned in February 2012. Through its highly integrated architecture and use of state-of-the-art IT technologies, this ERTMS Level 3 application represents a revolution toward low-cost signalling applications while guaranteeing reliable and efficient railway operations. Swiss Railway Engineering experts have been closely following the development of ERTMS Level 3 and its application in Sweden since 1997. Another highlight at the conference was an excellent talk on the current state of ERTMS in Europe given by Libor Lochman, Executive Director of CER, and former member of the Euro-Interlocking Core Team founded by Niklaus H. König, now Director of Swiss Railway Engineering and CEO of SRE GmbH.

Frankfurt/Zurich,17.01.2012
Swiss Railway Engineering joins the “ITEA 2 openETCS” project
The Swiss Railway Engineering division of SRE GmbH has joined the "ITEA 2 openETCS" project as founding member and cluster leader for Switzerland, thus being the first company from Switzerland in this important project. To date, over 30 organisations, including railways, suppliers, consulting companies and universities from across Europe, have joined openETCS. The project aims at the reduction of life-cycle costs for the ETCS on-board unit (OBU) through system standardisation via the development of a "formal" version of the OBU SRS, through open-source software for the OBU and by the application of a standardised tool set for the validation and verification of the OBU software. Through its expertise in the area of formal requirements and system specification development, SRE will support the openETCS project in these areas.

Berne,16.12.2011
SBB SwISS Interlocking Interface Standards
The SwISS Consortium consisting of KnowGravity Inc. and the Swiss Railway Engineering division of SRE GmbH has completed the second phase of the SwISS interlocking interface standards project. This includes the expansion of the SwISS interlocking-interlocking interface specifications with full electronic block functionality as an add-on to the route-route functionality already specified in the SwISS standards. The SwISS Ethernet-based interface between electronic interlockings and track vacancy proving (TVP) systems has also been fully specified. In addition, the SwISS Consortium captured the detailed requirements for the use of the SBB telecom network by the SwISS interlocking interfaces. As well, KnowGravity and SRE have also completed a full set of the requirements and executable specifications for the new SwISS field ring for the Ethernet-based connection of peripheral elements (for example TVP systems) to the second generation electronic interlocking systems of the Swiss Federal Railways SBB. The SwISS interlocking interface standards will now be implemented by Siemens and Thales in Switzerland, in co-operation with their sister companies in Austria and Germany within the scope of the procurement of 12 new interlocking systems for the SBB network.

Berne,01.10.2011
SBB Interlocking Procurement using the SwISS Interlocking Interface Standards
The Swiss Federal Railways SBB has put out a call for tenders for 12 new electronic interlocking systems based on the SwISS interlocking interface standards developed by KnowGravity Inc. and the Swiss Railway Engineering division of SRE GmbH. The total value of the contracts resulting from the procurement is estimated to be about CHF 100 million. The award of the contracts for the implementation of these interlockings by Siemens and Thales of Switzerland is expected in the second quarter of 2012. At this time, Siemens and Thales are also expected to start the system development for the implementation of the SwISS interface standards. The interlockings procured in this call for tenders will come into operation on the SBB network between 2014 and 2016.

Berne,01.07.2011
SBB SwISS Interlocking Interface Standardisation Project
KnowGravity Inc. and the Swiss Railway Engineering division of SRE GmbH were awarded a follow-up contract by Swiss Federal Railways SBB for the development of further interlocking interface requirements and specifications within the scope of the SBB SwISS Interlocking Interface Standardisation Project. In particular, KnowGravity and SRE (SwISS Consortium) are to specify the interface between electronic interlocking systems and electronic track vacancy proving systems. In addition, the SwISS Consortium will develop the detailed requirements for the use of the SBB Telecom network by the SwISS interlocking interfaces. As well, the consortium will also set the requirements and specifications for the use of a new SwISS field ring for the Ethernet-based connection of peripheral elements (for example track vacancy proving systems) to electronic interlockings. Furthermore, a detailed concept will be developed for the connection of existing relay and first generation interlocking systems to the SwISS Ethernet-based serial interfaces. As with the interface specification work already completed by the SwISS Consortium, formal methods, highly structured, model-based requirements, as well as fully executable specifications will be apply stringently in this phase of the SwISS project.

Bangalore/London,07.06.2011
Bangalore Monorail / LRT Project
Swiss Railway Engineering SRE GmbH has been engaged by Capita Symonds from the U.K. to support them with rail expertise the Bangalore Monorail / LRT project. The responsibilities of SRE GmbH include the development of the operative principles, development of the concepts, feasibility study and cost analysis for the signalling, traffic management and telecommunication systems for this unique project.

Berne,01.09.2010
SBB SwISS Interlocking Interface Standardisation Project
KnowGravity Inc. together with their partner company Swiss Railway Engineering SRE GmbH have been contracted by Swiss Federal Railways SBB to specify and standardise the interfaces between interlocking systems in the country. KnowGravity and SRE will specify and deliver both a serial ICT-based interface standard as well as a parallel interface standard to be used to couple new electronic interlocking systems with existing relay-based interlockings. In their choice of expert companies, the SBB placed a high priority on the application of formal methods as well as structured requirements methodology in the development of the specification, an area of speciality of KnowGravity and SRE. The experts of both companies were involved in the founding and development of the UIC "Euro-Interlocking" project, in which international requirements and interface standards for railway interlocking and traffic management systems were created. In the SBB "SwISS" interface project, KnowGravity/SRE will also be developing the technical concept and road map for the development of standards to interface interlocking systems to track elements such as points, signals, TVP systems, level crossing control systems, etc. The detailed project planning developed by KnowGravity/SRE foresees the specification, standardisation and technical concept work to be completed by March 2011.

Lausanne,30.06.2010
SwissRapide Express® West
This month, SwissRapide AG, together with its partner companies Swiss Railway Engineering SRE GmbH and Farner Consulting AG, launched the SwissRapide West Maglev Project between Lausanne and Geneva. The aim of the project is to plan and construct a high-speed maglev line reducing travel time between Lausanne und Geneva from 35 minutes today to only 10 minutes. With departures every 5 minutes in dense traffic times, SwissRapide West also will provide at least 6 times more capacity than today, in order to satisfy the high demand between these two cities. The preliminary concept also foresees the extension of the line from the Geneva main train station to the international airport in the city. This project supplements the SwissRapide Central project between Berne and Zurich, for which the preliminary feasibility study, the financing model and business case as well as the business plan have been completed to date.

Ankara,14.05.2010
Antalia - Alanya Maglev Project
Swiss Railway Engineering SRE GmbH was engaged by the Euro Türk Rapid organisation to support them in the promotion of their Maglev project in southern Turkey. On 14th May 2010 representatives from Euro Türk Rapid, SRE GmbH as well as further partner organisations met with Süleyman Karaman, President and General Director of Turkisch Federal Railway TCDD, as well as with 20 further railway representatives and government officials. The aim of the meeting was to gain support from TCDD for the further development of the Euro Türk Rapid Maglev project between Antalia and Alanya, whose financing strategy is based largely on the Private Investment for Public Infrastructure (PI2 ) financing model developed by SRE GmbH for the SwissRapide Express® project. Most of Mr Karaman’s questions concerned the financing of the Euro Türk Rapid project, for which SRE described the mechanisms and advantages of the PI2 financing model in detail. The meeting with TCDD proved successful and on 31st May 2010, Süleyman Karaman signed the Letter of Intend providing TCDDs backing of the Euro Türk Rapid Maglev project in southern Turkey.

Berne,17.12.2009
SwissRapide Express® Project
In their role as Programme and Project Manager, representatives of Swiss Railway Engineering and SwissRapide AG met with government officials from the Swiss Federal Office of Transport (BAV) to present the SwissRapide Project in order to pave the way for future co-operation between the two organisations. Government representatives were particularly impressed by the future services offered to travellers in Switzerland by SwissRapide as well as the financial model, in which the project is to be financed to 100 % by the private sector. The innovative Private Investment for Public Infrastructure (PI2 ) financial model was developed for SwissRapide by Swiss Railway Engineering SRE GmbH in co-operation with KPMG Schweiz and Farner Consulting AG in Zurich. Federal officials also proposed several ground-breaking additions to the project which were taken up with thanks by the SwissRapide management team.

Helsinki,02.11.2009
Finnish ERTMS Strategy Project
The Finnish Rail Administration RHK (as of 1. January 2010: Finnish Transport Agency FTA) announced that it has signed a contract with Swiss Railway Engineering to support the development of their national ERTMS strategy. The Finnish ERTMS Strategy Project will lay the foundation for the investments and implementation of ERTMS on the rail network for the next 20 to 30 years. Among others, SRE GmbH will focus on the development of an advanced ERTMS Cost Calculation System, which will be used as the basis for the investment and maintenance cost estimates in the project.

Winterthur/Zurich,19.06.2009
SwissRapide Express “Going Public“
After three years of intense project work by SRE GmbH, SwissRapide AG, the SwissRapide Consortium as well as by Partner Companies, the SwissRapide Express celebrated its "Going Public" on 19 June 2009. Supported by the project directors, media reports such as in the renowned NZZ newspaper as well as television reports by TeleZüri, TeleBasel und TeleBärn have confirmed that SwissRapide is one of the most unique transport projects world-wide in this century and represents a quantum leap in fast, reliable and environmentally friendly passenger transportation. For more information, consult the link on the Home page of the SRE website.

Zurich/Berlin/Frankfurt,30.04.2009
DBMAS Project, Germany Railways
SRE GmbH has been selected to support Supercomputing Systems AG, Zurich in their bid for the design and construction of the new DBMAS systems for DB Netz AG (German Railways). The system will bring together all warning and system maintenance information from various surveillance systems (such as hot-box detectors, tunnel ventilation and lighting systems) to the 7 central operational centres of DB Netz. SRE is supporting Supercomputing Systems in the areas of CENELEC RAMS,, risk management, system homologisation and railway operations, as well as advising on bid preparation, structure and strategy.

London, England,09.01.2009
Crossrail Project
The joint venture between Capita Symonds, Northcroft and Bovis, with support of Swiss Railway Engineering SRE GmbH, has successfully been selected for the final round of bidding as Programme Delivery Partner in the Crossrail project. The contract as Programme Delivery Partner, worth an estimated £ 400 million, will cover the management of the Central Tunnel Section, 26 km of tunnelling under London including the construction of 6 major stations. SRE GmbH is designated to lead the Rail Systems Directorate and is to be responsible for all railway systems and rail operations within the Central Tunnel Section.

San Diego, USA,14.12.2008
Maglev 2008 World Conference
At the Maglev 2008 Magnetic Levitation Transport System World Conference, SRE GmbH gave a well-attended presentation of the SwissRapide Express project. SRE also held successful meetings with various company and partner project representatives regarding co-operation within the context of the SwissRapide project. Over 350 experts from more than 20 countries attended the conference. SRE GmbH is responsible for the project management, financing, feasibility study, the project business case, marketing activities as well as investor relationships in the SwissRapide project.

Shanghai/Zurich,08.09.2008
Shanghai Maglev Transportation
Based on a request from Shanghai Maglev Transportation (SMT), management representatives of SRE GmbH met with the President of SMT, Commander Dr. Wu Xiangming along with further representatives of SMT for two days of meetings in Zurich. The main themes of the meetings were the new maglev project in China (connecting Shanghai with the Hongqiao International Airport and the city of Hangzhou) as well as the SwissRapide project. SMT and SRE GmbH reached an Agreement of Understanding concerning co-operation in the areas of maglev technologies and projects.

Tokyo,25.08.2008
Saudi Landbridge Project
SRE GmbH has signed a contract with TOYO Engineering in Japan covering the areas of signalling and ERTMS/ETCS systems within the framework of the Saudi Landbridge Project. The project aims at building approximately 1300 km of new railway lines across Saudi Arabia with a total budget of about 5 bn USD. TOYO is in the process of preparing a detailed tender for the interlocking, signalling, ERTMS/ETCS and telecom systems for the TARABOT Consortium. Within the management and signalling mandate, SRE GmbH is responsible for advising on organisational structure and processes, for the development of the signalling principles for the project, for general railway expertise as well as the evaluation of industry partner bids within the project.

Zurich,01.05.2008
New offices in Technopark Zürich
Despite waiting lists, SRE GmbH received green light to move into new offices in the renowned TECHNOPARK® Zurich. As well, the TECHNOPARK® Zurich Foundation has decided to support Swiss Railway Engineering thanks to SRE’s endeavours in the areas of innovative technologies, systems and methods as applied to railways and magnetic levitation transport (Maglev) systems and projects. The new offices are on the second floor of the Zeppelin wing overlooked Turbine Square. Guests and visitors are welcome anytime!

Brunswick,02.04.2008
AlpTransit Lötschberg Project, Switzerland
SRE GmbH has received a further contract with Siemens AG for detailed testing work on the Lötschberg basis line under the Alps. Functional and safety tests of the ERTMS/ETCS on-board systems will be carried out at speeds up to 280 km/h. The aim of the work is to receive official approval from the Federal Office of Transport (BAV) by July 2008 for the operation of five different types of trains and locomotives using the ERTMS/ETCS Level 2 equipment. With final costs in the area of € 4.8 bn, the AlpTransit Lötschberg Project includes a 34.6 km long tunnel under the Alps with operational speeds up to 250 km/h thanks to the application of ERTMS/ETCS Level 2 systems without wayside signals.

Rotterdam,17.12.2007
HSL Zuid PPP Project, Netherlands
Siemens AG has mandated SRE GmbH with testing work for ERTMS/ETCS on-board and infrastructure systems on the HSL Zuid high-speed line under construction in the Netherlands. Special emphasis is being placed on the functional and safety tests on the cross-border traffic to Belgium, the world’s first for ERTMS/ETCS systems. Regular tests runs over the new line at speeds up to 300 km/h are planned. With costs estimated at € 7.15 bn, the Dutch part of the line is 125 km long and will connect Amsterdam via Antwerp to Brussels. Organised and financed as a Public Private Partnership (PPP) project, the start of commercial operation is expected in 2008.