Computers in Railways XII 485

CBTC test simulation bench

J. M. Mera, I. Gómez-Rey & E. Rodrigo
CITEF (Railway Technology Research Centre),
Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Industriales,
Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain

Abstract
Due to its safety characteristics, signalling equipment requires a great amount of
testing and validation during the different stages of its life cycle, and particularly
during the installation and commissioning of a new line or upgrade of an existing
line, the latter being even more complicated due to the short engineering periods
available overnight.
This project aims to develop a tool to reduce the above-mentioned efforts by
simulating the CBTC trackside, fulfilling the interfaces between subsystems and
elements of these subsystems, and using some real elements.
In this way, a testing environment for signalling equipment and data has been
developed for the CBTC system. The aims of the project that were set out at the
beginning of the development and completed with the present simulator are as
follows:

 Real CBTC equipment trials and integration: CBTC on-board

equipment, CBTC Radio Centre, etc.
 Other signalling elements trials and integration: interlockings and
SCCs.
 CBTC track data validation.

In order to achieve these objectives, various simulation applications have

been developed, of which the most important are the following: Infrastructure,
Automatic trains, Train systems, Planning and Control Desk, etc.
This system has been developed, and is currently adding new modules and
functionalities, for companies of the Invensys Group: Westinghouse Rail

WIT Transactions on The Built Environment, Vol 114, © 2010 WIT Press
www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3509 (on-line)
doi:10.2495/CR100451
486 Computers in Railways XII

Systems in the UK and Dimetronic Signals in Spain, which are using it for the
new CBTC lines under their responsibility.
Keywords: computer techniques, management and languages (simulation),
advanced train control (CBTC), equipment test.

1 Introduction
The increasing expansion of underground railway networks seen in recent years
to meet the growing demand has highlighted the need to integrate new signalling
and rail traffic management systems, such as CBTC [1, 2], which enable line
capacity to be increased as well as line operating safety. Therefore, in order to
obtain a safe and reliable operation, numerous tests need to be performed, but the
high costs of infrastructures as well as rolling stock make it extremely difficult to
immobilize both in order to use them for testing and training. For this reason,
and because sometimes it is impossible to create high risk situations to
demonstrate the procedure to follow, the use of simulators is more than justified
in the world of railways. Within the scope of railway simulators, we can find
different functionalities, such as driving simulators and operational simulators,
for testing real equipment, and analyzing data, etc.
The main aims of the project with which we are dealing, are to develop a tool
to reduce the effort needed to bring a new line into service, and at the same time
avoid immobilizing infrastructure and rolling stock. The tool may even be used
for carrying out tests prior to the physical existence of the new line. For this
reason, our simulator is included among those developed for testing real
equipment and analyzing data. In order to develop the simulator, all the elements
needed as well as their real interfaces have been simulated, it being possible to
replace each of these elements by their real equivalents.
In order to attain these goals, a test environment for signalling and data
equipment has been developed within the CBTC system. The aims set at the
start of the project, which are being completed with this simulator, are as
follows:

 Integration and testing of real CBTC equipment, such as: BPs, ATP,
etc.
 Integration and testing of other signalling elements, such as:
Interlockings, SCCs, etc.

2 System architecture design

The set objectives require an independent module-based software structure to be
developed so that each of the modules corresponds to a real element and can
therefore be replaced by it. This layout is shown in Figure 1.
The system is based on the ERTMS/ETCS simulator developed for Invensys
Rail [3–5], and shares several of its modules with it. The most important
elements that have been reused are:

WIT Transactions on The Built Environment, Vol 114, © 2010 WIT Press
www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3509 (on-line)
 Computers in Railways XII 487

Automatic Train

Dynamic

Automatic
DMI ATP Train Systems
Driver
TIU

Antenna
Radio
Track Circuit
APR Reader
Code Reader

Infrastructure

BP
APR Balise Signals

Analysis Tool

Planning and
Interlocking Control Desk
Track Circuit Switches

SCC

Real Data

Figure 1: General layout of the CBTC Simulator.

 Planning and Control Desk (PCD): this application allows the Simulator
user to generate, configure, launch, etc., the different scenarios. It has
had to be adapted to offer the possibility to generate and work with both
an ERTMS and a CBTC scenario.
 Infrastructure: this is automatically generated from a configuration file
containing a description of all the elements making up the
infrastructure, using a specified language: track circuits, points, balises,
signals, etc. The logic of each of these elements as well as their
functionality has also been simulated. Specific infrastructure
components have been developed for CBTC.
 Automatic Trains: it is possible to have up to thirty automatic trains
running on the line. The train systems elements are simulated, that is,
the pneumatic and electrical behaviour is modelled through their
respective circuits. The vehicle dynamics have also been simulated. The
driver’s actions are simulated automatically. By using automatic trains,
both the performance of the on-board equipment and the infrastructure

WIT Transactions on The Built Environment, Vol 114, © 2010 WIT Press
www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3509 (on-line)
488 Computers in Railways XII

can be checked. For example, the correct working of the BP with

several trains connected to it can be checked.
Of the new elements developed for adaptation to CBTC, the following are
particularly important:

 APR Balise: these elements contain the telegrams from the APR track-
side balises and send their contents when stimulated by the simulated
train.
 Track Circuit with Speed Codes: these elements simulate track circuit
occupation, whether it be untimely or due to an oncoming train. In
addition, they load a speed code in accordance with the conditions
contained in the interlocking and this is sent to the train when it invades
the interlocking.
 Interfaces with the real modules: since various types of real equipment
have had to be integrated, like the ATP or the DMI, elements have
needed to be developed that can send and/or receive, as need be, the
data that each piece of equipment must exchange with the simulated
part.
 Analysis Tool: this tool allows analysing the data loaded in the BP. By
taking the messages exchanged between an automatic train and the BP,
a series of graphs and checks are generated that can easily check
whether or not the engineering rules with which the signalling was
designed are being met, as well as determining if the BP is performing
properly under the circumstances specified for the analysis.

The modules that have been integrated are described below:

 ATP: the on-board train equipment has been integrated in its Host
version, that is, in its software version to be run in a PC.
 DMI: the driver interface has also been integrated in its Host version.
 BP: the Block Processor Host has also been included in the simulator.

The system also continues to use the same idea to separate the
communications in an independent module inside each application, as can be
seen in Figure 2. In this way, maximum integration capability is achieved for real
equipment, since it is ensured that the design does not change when real
equipment is inserted. Communication between different applications is achieved
through a ‘Host’ whose mission is to control communications and tell each
application where it can find the required data.
The use of the Components Technology developed by CITEF has also been
maintained in respect of the base system. One component is a DLL (Dynamic
Linked Library) which has a specific function. For example, a balise needs to
send its content to a train when stimulated by such. Each real element has its

WIT Transactions on The Built Environment, Vol 114, © 2010 WIT Press
www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3509 (on-line)
 Computers in Railways XII 489

TCP/IP

Communications
Module

Body of the Application

Figure 2: General layout of an application.

Figure 3: Communication mechanism between components.

equivalent in a component. The components involved in each application are

stored in a Components Container called a Variables Register, which enables
them to communicate with one another through the exchange of variables, as can
be seen in the diagram in Figure 3.

3 Interfaces with real equipment

A new inter-application communication mode has had to be developed to
achieve interaction with real equipment, such as the ATP Host and the DMI
Host. These communications are socket-based.

WIT Transactions on The Built Environment, Vol 114, © 2010 WIT Press
www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3509 (on-line)
490 Computers in Railways XII

The sockets enable any data flow to be reliably and orderly exchanged
between two applications. To define a socket, an IP address and a port are
necessary, apart from setting up a transport protocol capable of being interpreted
by both applications. Since IP addresses are being used, sockets can be used
between applications that are running in different computers. In the example in
Figure 4, it can be seen that applications A and B are connected by a socket that
joins the Port2 ports of the IP1and IP2 IPs. A socket can be made to look like a
direct pipeline between two applications so that one will supply the data that the
other needs to receive.
The sockets enable a client-server architecture to be implemented. The name
client is given to the application that initiates communication and server to the
application waiting for the other to initiate said communication. That is, in the
example in Figure 4, if application A makes a communication request to
application B, and application B accepts it, the socket is established between
both, and A plays the role of client and B the role of server.
In spite of the fact that using sockets allows two-way communication, the
developed system uses a one-way system so that the client only sends data and
the server only receives data. Where two-way communication is required, two
sockets are implemented so that both applications are servers and clients at the
same time. In Figure 5, applications A and B are connected to two sockets.
Socket 1 is used to send data from B to A and inside it. A is the server and B the
client; to the contrary, Socket 2 is used to send data from A to B and inside it. A
is the client and B the server.
The real equipment integrated is accompanied by a simulation layer that lets
sockets be implemented in it and serves as a data exchange interface in a format
that is adapted to the core of the real equipment.
Figure 6 shows the general layout of communications with the integrated real
equipment. The ATP and the DMI are the elements for which sockets have had
to be used.

Figure 4: Scheme of a socket.

Figure 5: Scheme of implemented sockets.

WIT Transactions on The Built Environment, Vol 114, © 2010 WIT Press
www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3509 (on-line)
 Computers in Railways XII 491

The design developed by CITEF in the simulator incorporates new

components whose function is to replicate the data handled by the real
equipment by means of communication with a central component called an ATP
Router. It is this that is connected to the ATP and the DMI through sockets. The
elements developed for this purpose in the simulator are detailed below,
indicating the kind of data exchanged with the ATP Router:

 TIU Socket: sends/receives the discreet signals handled by the ATP. For
example, when the driver operates the emergency brake, the TIU
receives this data, which in turn is received by the TIU Socket, which
transmits it to the ATP Router for it to be sent to the ATP.
 Dynamic Socket: sends the speed and forward movement data that
calculates the dynamics for the ATP Router to be able to send it to the
ATP.
 APR Socket: sends the telegrams from the balises the train passes over
on its journey for them to be transmitted to ATP.
 Socket Speed Codes: sends the speed codes that the ATP must receive
as the train keeps occupying track circuits.

The ATP Router establishes the following sockets with the DMI and the ATP:

 ATP Despatch Socket: all the data required to be received by the ATP is
sent through this socket; that is, balise telegrams, discreet, dynamic
speed codes, messages from the BP and messages from the DMI.
 DMI Despatch Socket: the data to be shown to or requested of the
driver at any instant as indicated by the ATP at any instant is sent
through this socket.
 DMI Reception Socket: the actions taken by the driver on the DMI to be
transmitted to the ATP are received from this socket.
 ATP Reception Socket: three types of data are received; the messages
sent to the BP by the ATP, the discreet messages that the ATP orders
the TIU to activate or deactivate and the data the ATP sends the DMI so
that the latter can show it to the driver.

4 Data analysis
One of the most important parts of the development undertaken is the Analysis
Tool. This tool can be used to program analyses of the data exchanged between
the BP and the ATP.
The process followed to achieve this purpose is described below:

 A scenario is taken without automatic trains and without any set routes.

WIT Transactions on The Built Environment, Vol 114, © 2010 WIT Press
www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3509 (on-line)
492 Computers in Railways XII

Train Systems

TIU Socket TIU

DMI

Socket
Dynamic
Dynamic

Router ATP

APR Balises Socket APR

ATP
Track Circuits Socket
with Speed
Speed Codes Codes

Signals

Switches

Infrastructure

Antenna
BP
Radio

Figure 6: Communications with real equipments.

WIT Transactions on The Built Environment, Vol 114, © 2010 WIT Press
www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3509 (on-line)
 Computers in Railways XII 493

 In the real SCC the user sets the route to be analysed.

 The interlocking receives the order to set the route and sends it to the
field elements that are positioned to correspond to the route in question,
and when the conditions set are met, the interlocking sends a signal to
the BP to indicate that the route has been authorised. The Analysis Tool
is listening to the communication between the interlocking and the BP,
and is thus able to detect which route has been set.
 When the route has been authorised, the user can request an analysis of
the route in question, selecting the required analysis options.
 A train is automatically inserted in the simulator forward of the set route
and begins to run. The train must receive 2 APR balises before entering
the route. On receipt of the first balise, the train must initiate
communications with the BP, and after the second APR, the BP can
send the train a movement authorisation.
 Throughout the simulation, the messages exchanged by the train and the
BP are listened to by the Analysis Tool, and, so, the tool can decide
when the conditions set for the analysis have been met. At this moment,
the train will brake automatically, shut off communications with the
BP, and will be eliminated from the scenario.
 The Analysis Tool will analyse the messages that it has been listening to
during the simulation and generate the graphs and checks requested by
the user.

5 Advantages and functionality of the system

It may, therefore, be stated that the main advantages and functionalities of the
system described in this article are as follows:

 A reduction in the efforts required to bring lines equipped with the

CBTC system into service.
 It offers the possibility to test different configurations of a single
scenario to see which option is most advantageous.
 Since neither the infrastructure nor the rolling stock need be
immobilized in order to carry out tests, a considerable reduction in costs
is obtained.
 Since the same interfaces are used as with the real equipment, this
means that functional tests can be performed on real equipment, with
the possibility of simultaneously including one or more pieces of real
equipment.
 It may be used to verify trackside data before it is installed, and in
addition, if need be, obtain results showing where the erroneous data is
located.

WIT Transactions on The Built Environment, Vol 114, © 2010 WIT Press
www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3509 (on-line)
494 Computers in Railways XII

Figure 7: Some snapshots of the simulation system.

6 Future developments

It is planned to extend the system in several stages in order to achieve the

following objectives:
 To test real Target equipment, that is, the hardware version with the
configuration to be installed on the track. To perform this, there will be
a stage where the ATP, DMI and BP Host will be replaced by Target
equipment.
 Target interlockings will also be tested and will also be required to be
integrated.
 To use the system as a driving simulator by incorporating a virtual cab
and a visual environment.
 To test the real ATO equipment, both in its Host version and Target
version. Therefore, this equipment will need to be integrated into the
simulator.

WIT Transactions on The Built Environment, Vol 114, © 2010 WIT Press
www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3509 (on-line)
 Computers in Railways XII 495

7 Conclusions
Since the CBTC Test Simulation Environment developed by CITEF implement
exactly the same interfaces built into real equipment, it can guarantee that the
behaviour of the simulated and real equipment is absolutely identical.
Moreover, if we take into account that the use of simulators in a railway
environment has been fully justified throughout this article, and more so in this
particular example of a CBTC environment, we may state that using this test
bench tool is an overriding guarantee for bringing new CBTC lines into service
as well as ensuring that the different track and on-board equipment will run
smoothly under absolutely any circumstances.
It is also a tool for preparing data, testing and detecting any possible failures
in track data.
We may state that in spite of the development costs for this type of tool, the
cost of track tests is reduced considerably thanks to this simulation environment,
since the number of track tests is reduced, thereby reducing the use of
infrastructure and rolling stock set aside for this purpose. This cost saving
becomes more hidden if it is borne in mind that it is a polyvalent system, as it
can be used for any line that implements CBTC.
This system is being developed, and is currently adding new modules and
functionalities, for companies of Invensys Rail: IRNE in the UK and IRSE in
Spain, which are going to use it for the new CBTC lines under their
responsibility.

References
[1] 1474.1 IEEE Standard for Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC)
Performance and Functional Requirements
[2] 1474.2 IEEE Standard for User Interface Requirements in Communications-
Based Train Control (CBTC) Systems
[3] Gómez-Rey, A, Mera, JM, et al. ERTMS Driving and Operation Simulator
under Distributed Architecture in a Virtual Reality Environment.
Proceedings of ITEC’2001. Lille, France. April 2001.
[4] Mera, JM, Gómez-Rey, I, et al. ERTMS/ETCS TEST SIMULATION
BENCH. 10th International Conference on Computer Aided Design,
Manufacture and Operation in Railway and other Advanced Mass Transit
Systems. COMPRAIL X. Prague, Check Republic. June 2006.
[5] Mera, JM, Gutiérrez, LM, et al. Simulation of the ERTMS / ETCS Railways
Control and Protection System; Levels 0, 1 and 2. 8th International
Conference on Computer Aided Design, Manufacture and Operation in
Railway and other Advanced Mass Transit Systems. COMPRAIL VIII.
Lemnos, Greece. June 2002.

WIT Transactions on The Built Environment, Vol 114, © 2010 WIT Press
www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3509 (on-line)