Indra and Lithuanian Railways to work together on the development of a pioneering digital signalling interlocking system to guarantee safer and better connected trains

Today, at Indra’s stand at Innotrans, the world’s leading railway event, Raúl Ripio, Senior Vice President of Mobility & Technology at Indra, and Vytis Zalimas, CEO of LTG Infra, company of Lithuanian Railways, signed a letter of intent in which they undertake to explore the joint development of a pioneering digital interlocking system, a key component of the most advanced railway signalling systems.

The aim of this agreement is to analyze the possibility of jointly developing an open standard-based digital interlocking device compatible with the European ERTMS Level-2 signalling system in order to improve safety and efficiency and facilitate the harmonization of these kinds of systems in Europe, thus improving network connectivity and moving towards the creation of a single European railway area.

“The commitment of LTG Infra to the early adoption of highly innovative technology has enabled us to successfully implement our most advanced railway solutions in the country. With this new agreement, we want to go one step further with a cutting-edge common development laying the groundwork to drive an initiative that could be joined in the future by other European rail infrastructure managers, replicating the success achieved with the air traffic management technology developed by Indra”, declared Raúl Ripio, Senior Vice President of Mobility & Technology at Indra.

As for Vytis Zalimas CEO of LTG Infra, he pointed out that “this innovative system will allow us to reduce the amount of equipment and the cost of maintenance, operation and upgrade of alarm systems, significantly reduce installation costs, standardise engineering processes, and democratise access to the alarm solution for any system integrator or installer. The new solution will meet today's digital information and cybersecurity requirements and reduce dependence on alarm manufacturers."

Indra has been the technological partner of Lithuanian Railways for the modernization of its 2,000 km network for over a decade. It has deployed its traffic management technology (TMS) and signalling and telecommunications technology, integrating the two into the control center of the country’s National Rail Traffic Center. Within the framework of this latest railway safety project, Indra was able to apply electronic intelligence to the country's electromechanical interlocking systems.

Innovative railway technology

Indra has become one of the leading technology companies in the railway sector thanks to its commitment to innovation. Its latest end-to-end technology solutions have positioned it at the forefront of the sector and, as well as in Lithuania, they have been or are being rolled out in Spain, Ireland, Estonia, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, India and many other countries.

For example, Indra’s railway management system (TMS) has continued to reinforce its position as the most advanced currently in operation, and in recent years it has been chosen to manage the Irish and Estonian railway networks and control the entire Spanish network, the Mecca-Medina high-speed rail in Saudi Arabia and the Lithuanian network. In terms of railway safety, Indra has also completed major deployments in Spain and Lithuania.