RINA GROUP is to verify safety of the longest combined-traffic immersed tunnel in the world
Nine years prior to the opening of the Fehmarnbelt tunnel, railway safety is already at the core of the planning works. In January 2013, Femern A/S has entered into contract with organisations RINA and SINTEF, who will assess the railway link’s safety and its conformity to European regulations. Johnny Restrup-Sørensen, Director of Femern A/S’ railway department, describes what measures are taken to guarantee the utmost safety level on the railway track of the future tunnel.
Johnny Restrup-Sørensen, the Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link is part of the Trans-European Transport Network. Does this make the railway section subject to any particular technical and safety requirements?
Yes, definitely. Let me give you a little historical background: in Europe, there have been many historically grown national rail systems. Different technical standards have hindered comfortable and cost-effective cross-border rail traffic. For example, during international transits it was mostly necessary to change the locomotive at the border station. In some cases passengers even had to change trains and goods were transhipped.
To counter this, the European Union has introduced common European regulations for both standardisation and safety of railway systems in Europe. This has led to a comprehensive set of European railway specific directives containing safety and technical requirements applicable to all European member states. As part of the Trans-European Railway Network the railway section of the Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link must demonstrate compliance to the so-called Railway Interoperability Directive and the Safety Directive.
What requirements do these directives contain?
While the Safety Directive focuses on a large number of safety requirements, the Interoperability Directive includes the Technical Specifications for Interoperability, in short TSIs, which define the technical requirements that the railway systems have to meet. By gradually implementing these interoperability requirements into all European countries, all rail vehicles will be able to move throughout the member states’ different railway networks – and thereby ensure a safe and uninterrupted movement of trains from the very north of Scandinavia to the southern most countries within the Trans-European Railway Network.
If the fixed link has to meet these interoperability requirements, who controls the fact that Femern A/S actually complies with them?
That’s what the Notified Body does. A Notified Body is an independent organisation or unit with technical experts, which meets specific criteria as set out in the European Directives, including competence, independence and integrity. Notified Body companies have achieved anotified certification at the European level and are authorized to verify that the railway project design complies with the Directives and with technical requirements, the said TSI’s.
During all project phases – from the approval design to the operation of the Fixed Link – the Notified Body investigates and assesses the progressing design for the tunnel’s railway system including all its interfaces, e.g. technical installations in the tunnel, such as water- and power supply, or the transition zone connections to the adjacent infrastructures in both Denmark and Germany. At the end, the Notified Body documents its conclusion by drawing up the so-called EC-Declaration of Verification of Conformity.
Is the Notified Body the only external entity involved in the assessment of the fixed link’s railway section?
No. Before the tunnel’s railway section can be operated, Femern A/S must obtain a railway safety authorisation as well as the permission to operate from the Danish and German National Safety Authorities. In order to provide evidence of compliance to all safety requirements, European as well as national, an assessment of Femern A/S’ entire railway safety and risk management will be performed by a so-called CSM (Common Safety Methods) Assessment Body. This is an independent and competent person, organization or unit, approved for the specific task by the National Safety Authority. It will perform investigations through all project phases (including the test operation phase) and for all safety related activities.
Corresponding to the Notified Body’s EC-Declaration of Verification, the CSM Assessment Body documents its conclusion in a Safety Assessment Report. Both verification documents provide the required evidence for obtaining the necessary final approvals issued by both National Safety Authorities. Only then will the tunnel be open to both passenger and freight trains. Safety comes first.
And you already know who will undertake these tasks?
Yes. In September 2012 we called for bids for both the Notified Body and the CSM Assessment services. The companies RINA Services and SINTEF have as a consortium won the tender and will together serve as Notified Body and as CSM Assessment Body.
You also mentioned interoperability as an important factor. Are there still any differences between the Danish and German railway systems which affect the handling of the railway section of the fixed link?
There are some important differences between the national railway systems in Denmark and Germany. For example the power supply for the German catenary system has a different voltage feeding, which is why we foresee a transition zone at the Fehmarn-located connection to the German Hinterland infrastructure.
But basically the European requirements are being gradually implemented in the national regulations. A good example is the ERTMS project, (European Rail Traffic Management System) which will unify the different signalling and train control systems in Europe. The Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link and the German and Danish connected Hinterland systems will be equipped according to the ETRMS. At the same time we can thus ensure interoperability and take into account the latest technology for the progressing design of the railway section.
How does the coordination between the Danish and German railway authorities work in general? Are they already involved in the project before the actual approval procedure?
In Denmark the Railway Authority isTrafikstyrelsen and in Germany the corresponding authority isEisenbahn-Bundesamt. Both authorities are the National Safety Authorities (NSA). As a cross-border project the fixed link must obtain safety approval in both countries in compliance with the European and national applicable laws. This presents some challenges to the NSAs in terms of approval procedures and the distribution of responsibilities.
That is why Femern A/S has aimed for a timely involvement of both NSAs concerning the rail-specific issues. This has produced a presently developing fruitful dialogue, both among the two NSAs and between them and our Railway Department. As the project progresses, they will furthermore need to approve intermediate assessment results in order to minimise potential project risks from the design planning. Therefore it is of the utmost importance to maintain this comprehensive information flow with the NSAs.
The good cooperation that we have with the Danish railway authority Trafikstyrelsen and the German authority Eisenbahn-Bundesam, is the prerequisite for reaching our goals.
Source: Femern A/S
