Milestone for Public Transport: The S-line is Now Digital 

Banedanmark is currently replacing all analog signaling systems on the Danish long-distance railway lines and on the S-line. The replacement is taking place because the previous analog signaling systems are old and worn out. The signaling system is therefore being replaced with a new, modern digital system that ensures robust and reliable train traffic on the tracks, so that train passengers get more trains on time, more stable train services and better traffic information for passengers. 

During the weekend, the last stage of many years of intense work to plan and organize the replacement of all signals on the S-line with the new modern signalling system was completed. 

 At Atkins Denmark, we have been deeply involved in the rollout of the new digital signals on the S-line and are proud to now be able to take the last stretch into use. Several of our skilled fuse experts were present at the weekend’s commissioning of the new signaling system on the S-line and at the celebration at Banedanmark. 

AT THE FINISH LINE WITH A DIGITAL S-LINE 

The last three S-train lines to Frederikssund, Høje Taastrup and Køge are now connected to the new signal, making the entire S-train line digital. A milestone that first and foremost benefits the millions of passengers who take the S-train in Copenhagen every year, and it is a gain for public transport and thus the green transition. 

The new signaling system on the S-train network is based on the so-called Communication Based Train Control (CBTC), which is the latest generation of signaling systems for urban railways. There will no longer be visible signals in the landscape, as the information is presented in the train cabs, and traffic will be controlled and monitored from Banedanmark’s traffic tower. The trains and tracks will be equipped with new technical equipment that communicates in a unified system, allowing for the optimization of train traffic management and better utilization of the entire S-train network’s capacity.

All the physical signals along the tracks have been removed and replaced with a fully digital solution in the train and command post. In the future, there will be no need to maintain signals in the field, and therefore there will be no signal failures.

Per Lindholm Larsen, Director of RAIL at SYSTRA

Close and strong collaboration

SYSTRA, together with our international colleagues, has completed the tasks in a joint venture with Rambøll, Emch+Berger, and Parsons in close collaboration with Banedanmark.

We are proud and pleased to have assisted Banedanmark in replacing the signals on the S-train network and look forward to continuing our collaboration with Banedanmark on replacing all signals on the mainline in the coming years.

Our skilled security experts have been involved from the very beginning in 2009 until today, where the last signals are being turned off and replaced by the new system. It is an intense and close collaboration with Banedanmark, the supplier Siemens, and our partners Rambøll, Emch+Berger, and Parsons over many years, which can now be concluded.

Although it is wonderful to be able to conclude a long project, it is also bittersweet to end the good collaboration that has been the foundation for us to roll out the final stretches today. A big thank you to everyone involved, but especially a big thank you to our skilled colleagues at Atkins, who have been the backbone of the project.

We are now looking forward to continuing the work of rolling out the final sections on the mainline, so that in a few years we can achieve another milestone in the deployment of new digital signals across the entire Danish railway network.

Per Lindholm Larsen, Director of RAIL at SYSTRA