Rail Case Study: Israel railways

RAILWAY SYSTEM SAFETY ASSESSMENT AND TRACK INSPECTION FOR HIGH-SPEED TRAIN CONNECTION BETWEEN JERUSALEM AND TEL AVIV

FACTS AT A GLANCE

WHAT WAS THE CHALLENGE?

Israel Railways built a high-speed railway line to connect Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, a distance of about 57 km, with, among others, a station at Ben Gurion Airport. The goal was to provide a shortcut around massive traffic jams in and around these congested areas. This line is the first electrified line in Israel and includes nine bridges and five long tunnels to overcome the complex geology between the two cities. This was the first railway project of this size in Israel where the government decided to comply with European standards in order to ensure interoperability. Therefore, they needed the support of an international acknowledged independent safety assessor. The challenge was to support Israel Railways in adopting the European approach.

What was our solution?

As in Israel there is no notified body or authority that could evaluate the project and conduct a safety assessment, our TÜV SÜD experts took over this role and supported Israel Railways in this process.

Our experts conducted the assessment of the existing Safety Management System in Israel Railways to assure a safe basis for their operation and maintenance. This enabled Israel Railways to integrate their new projects in the existing - and now certified – safe operation. TÜV SÜD supported Israel Railways in a large number of following projects, like for instance the assessment of the electrification, the consequent introduction of electric rolling stock (locomotives and EMUs), the ETCS signalling system, the first longer railway tunnel and the track infrastructure of new lines. Independent safety assessments have been conducted according to EU regulation 2004/49, 1158/2010 (Railway Undertaking) and 1169/2010 (Infrastructure Manager) as well as the standards EN 50126, EN 50128 and EN 50129. An international team of experts from our TÜV SÜD entities in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Hungary and Italy supported onsite.

What was the customer benefit?

With the support of TÜV SÜD Rail´s assessment and certification services Israel Railways could ensure that their safety management system is compliant to relevant European regulations to create a solid base for the final implementation. TÜV SÜD Rail provided a holistic approach across all subsystems and all interfaces.