Keywords: ERTMS, signalling system, reference laboratory, Eurocab.

The Laboratorio de Interoperabilidad Ferroviaria is regarded as the European Benchmark Laboratory for new lines because of the role it has played in consolidating the European signalling system ERTMS [1,2], the keystone of railway interoperability, and in demonstrating its feasibitlity. This paper discusses a strategy to test real ETCS tracks in the laboratory.

The laboratory has continued developing by creating new tools. One of the most important tools is the TJDexplorer [3,4,5]. It is used to analyse the juridical recording unit (JRU) in an effective way because it has many possible search and view records. In this paper we focus on one of the most important current LIF laboratory projects. This is to endorse the laboratory as a suitable environment for performing the validation tests for the operation of new lines or existing lines when they are inserted into the European signalling system, ERTMS. This comparison was made between a series of tests on the track and in the laboratory.

The paper begins by explaining the test environment official reference tools used for the onboard ERTMS equipment validation, which are also the tools used to test the performance of new lines. To perform the test, we are required to transform the data supplied by the companies into the common format of the laboratory data. The GAE tool developed by CEDEX is the tool which performs this task. The second task performed by the GAE tool is to create operational scenarios equal to those of the track from the data supplied by the companies.

The most important point of this paper is to endorse the laboratory as a valid reference environment to perform the tests that are currently performed on the track: thereby providing a controlled and more efficient environment. For this propose, we have made some comparisons between track and laboratory scenarios [6,7]. There have been several studies comparing these scenarios. It has been concluded that all the comparisons are very similar except for one register of the L_DOUBOVER variable. Everything indicates that this difference arises from an odometry error because the odometry system implemented in the laboratory is slightly different to that of the train, but this issue is currently under study.

Laboratory limitations are mentioned towards the end of the paper, explaining that the laboratory can provide some advantages in performing tests, however, these tests have their limitations and can never fully replace the tests on the track. In conclusion, this paper demonstrates the aim of the study: is to prove that the laboratory is a valid environment in which to perform real tests.

1

UNISIG ERTMS work group, "System Requirements Specification: SUBSET-026", Issue 2.3.0 "d", 2009.

2

UNISIG ERTMS work group, "Functional Requirements for an on board Reference Test Facility: SUBSET-094", Issue 2.0.2, 2009.

3

UNISIG ERTMS work group, "FFFIS Juridical Recorder-Downloading tool: SUBSET-027", Issue 2.3.0, 2009.

4

A. Martinez, "JR_DECS: Juridical Recording Data Extraction, Check and Storage: User handbook", CEDEX, Madrid, Spain, May 2009.

5

A. Martinez, "TJDExplorer: Train Juridical Data Explorer: User handbook", CEDEX, Madrid, Spain, May 2010.

6

J. Tamarit, D. Molina, M. González, "ITG-CER001: Uso del laboratorio para el proyecto cercanías", CEDEX, Madrid, Spain, 2009.

7

J. Tamarit, D. Molina, M. González, "NT-Intercomparación LAB-VÍA: Informe intercomparación laboratorio-vía", CEDEX, Madrid, Spain, Mayo 2011.

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