* FS - Trenitalia - Unità Tecnologie Materiale RotabileViale S. Lavagnini, 58I-50129 Firenze (Italy)Phone: ++390552353602Fax: ++390552353581E-Mail: cau@asamrt.interbusiness.it

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The new system for door control andcommand: implementation and tests on

a UIC projectDoct. Eng.Gianfranco Cau*

FS - Trenitalia - Unità Tecnologie Materiale Rotabile

TRENITALIA has been charged by UIC to perform the activities on the new door system of passenger coaches in orderto increase the complex safety of the related operations. Here are reported the main points of this realisation and someresults of the tests on real trains.

THE CONTEXTThe UIC (Union Internationale des Chemins de fer) decided to update the Leaflet 560 “Doors,entrance platforms, windows, steps, handles and handrails of coaches and luggage vans” to obtainsome benefits related to safety and to the optimisation in door operation. For this reason a WorkingGroup, to which many Railway Operators participated, issued a document containing a newdescription of doors control techniques that constituted the basis for field tests. The maininnovations introduced by this system are the selective door release on driver’s (or trainconductor’s) command, the centralised door blocking and the extension of door blocking for speedbelow the threshold.FS - TRENITALIA, which has been charged for the modification of a certain number of vehicles,decided to perform the field tests on real running trains to allow a clear evaluation of thefunctionality, of its acceptance by the users - operators and travellers - and of the robustness in allthe conditions of exploitation.In this work TRENITALIA has equipped eight coaches, six second class and one first class, andtwo locomotives E 444 R which are used in Intercity trains running between Rome and Ancona.The trains are formed by six coaches, five second class and one first class, while the other vehiclesare used as reserve to have at disposal reserve rolling stock for any eventuality. The twolocomotives permit to evaluate the different conditions which identifies the queue vehicle and canalso simulate a push-pull train.This ambitious set of activities has required a great effort on the technical side and on the logisticone, ranging from the planning of all the activities, the creation of the proper interfaces among theinvolved entities, the managing of the modifications in the workshops, the people training, and themethods to collect data: some hints on all these topics, besides the more technical one, are herereported and give an overview of this system.

* FS - Trenitalia - Unità Tecnologie Materiale RotabileViale S. Lavagnini, 58I-50129 Firenze (Italy)Phone: ++390552353602Fax: ++390552353581E-Mail: cau@asamrt.interbusiness.it

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The realisation of the equipment and the assumptions have been critically examined; at the sametime their usefulness to refine the engineering for a series production has been assessed and thisallows the supplier to use the most suitable technologies.The problems deriving from the installation of the system on an heterogeneous fleet of vehicles areconsidered, as well as some investigation on the impact of its introduction on rolling stock ownedby the various railways and this is strictly connected to the interoperability of this solution, whichcan really be obtained with a relatively cheap equipment.The tests have also offered the possibility to cope with the problem connected to all the operationalconditions of the modified vehicles: one of them is the identification of the coach in failure onwhich some maintenance action has to be performed.This and other aspects like fault tree analysis give some hints to refine the UIC document and tohave a stable and a tested specification.

* FS - Trenitalia - Unità Tecnologie Materiale RotabileViale S. Lavagnini, 58I-50129 Firenze (Italy)Phone: ++390552353602Fax: ++390552353581E-Mail: cau@asamrt.interbusiness.it

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* FS - Trenitalia - Unità Tecnologie Materiale RotabileViale S. Lavagnini, 58I-50129 Firenze (Italy)Phone: ++390552353602Fax: ++390552353581E-Mail: cau@asamrt.interbusiness.it

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* FS - Trenitalia - Unità Tecnologie Materiale RotabileViale S. Lavagnini, 58I-50129 Firenze (Italy)Phone: ++390552353602Fax: ++390552353581E-Mail: cau@asamrt.interbusiness.it

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THE STATE OF THE ART

Here are reported some photographs which demonstrate the work done.

Door central unit.

Door complex.

* FS - Trenitalia - Unità Tecnologie Materiale RotabileViale S. Lavagnini, 58I-50129 Firenze (Italy)Phone: ++390552353602Fax: ++390552353581E-Mail: cau@asamrt.interbusiness.it

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Driver's desk cab: door command & control.

Door status panel: detail.

* FS - Trenitalia - Unità Tecnologie Materiale RotabileViale S. Lavagnini, 58I-50129 Firenze (Italy)Phone: ++390552353602Fax: ++390552353581E-Mail: cau@asamrt.interbusiness.it

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Provisional loco panel: detail.

Z1 equipped coaches.

* FS - Trenitalia - Unità Tecnologie Materiale RotabileViale S. Lavagnini, 58I-50129 Firenze (Italy)Phone: ++390552353602Fax: ++390552353581E-Mail: cau@asamrt.interbusiness.it

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Loco E444 modified for door command & control.

At the moment (June 2001) the field tests have been completed and have pointed out some elementsto consider to issue the new UIC Leaflet 560. A general and detailed report is under edition andparticular emphasis is given on the analysis of the faults due to equipment and / or personnel whichmay occur during the exploitation of the system. At the moment we can say the liking of thistechnique by the railway operators and by the travellers is high, but the most important thig is theincrease of safety associated to doors operation.