Shanghai Metro Line 14 goes fully automated and driverless thanks to TST – Thales and Shanghai Electric JV in China
Demonstrating its world-leading capabilities in driverless system, Thales SEC Transport (TST), the joint venture with Shanghai Electric has been awarded the signalling contract for Line 14 of the Shanghai Metro by Shanghai Shentong Metro Group CO. Ltd. This will be Shanghai’s pilot project for a metro line run by Fully Automated Operation (FAO), with a highly integrated management system incorporating both signalling and supervision solutions. It aims to meet growing demand for metro transport capacity and alleviate traffic in downtown Shanghai.
- The line will serve as a Fully Automated Operation (FAO) pilot project for Shanghai with a highly integrated management system as well as signalling and supervision solutions.
- Scheduled to enter service at the end of 2020, the line will be both driverless and highly automated.
- China is the largest urban rail signalling market in the world and this fully automated project will help Thales to strengthen its leadership in China through its joint venture TST.
Shanghai is speeding up urban rail construction, with 16 urban railway transit lines currently in operation at a total length of 666 km. Line 14 will be the newest line, crossing Shanghai’s downtown area from east to west, with a total length of 38.5 km and 31 underground stations. The fully automated, driverless line will be connected to at least 13 other lines in the network. The Fully Automated Operation demonstration project provides high availability thanks to its fully redundant1 system architecture, which ensures that a signalling failure has zero operational impact. This is vital for a busy metro line in Shanghai, which will transport millions of passengers each day while providing a high level of service.
The Shanghai Line 14 project underlines the trust that Thales, SEC, and TST have built in China. It demonstrates the great success of our strategy on localizing R&D through our joint venture TST. This allows us to develop customised solutions in China with solid support from the Thales Group. Thales is the world-leader in driverless and Fully Automated Operation systems.
Laurent Guyot, VP North Asia & CEO of Thales in China
Scheduled to enter service at the end of 2020, the driverless line will also be highly automated. The signalling system will be integrated with a supervision solution, significantly improving operational efficiency by providing high-level automated control.
Thales has more than 30 years of experience in Fully Automated Operation lines through its involvement in design, implementation, operation, and maintenance projects around the world, including Dubai’s Red and Green lines, Vancouver’s SkyTrain lines, and Incheon’s Line 2 in South Korea. A joint team from Thales and TST will work together closely to ensure that this Fully Automated Operation project is delivered successfully by TST through local competencies and allows Shanghai Line 14 to enter revenue service on time.
In line with the Group’s strategy of becoming a local player in China and developing products and services for both domestic and global markets, this project demonstrates Thales’s long-term commitment to the country by locating R&D operations in China and working with local partners. This Fully Automated Operation project through the joint venture TST will help Thales to strengthen its leadership in China, the world’s largest urban rail signalling market.
1 A redundant system architecture improves availability by accomodating standby units or units working in parallel that can take over and maintain system functionality in the event of an equipment failure.