Indra and Adif will install the Da Vinci technological platform on the Moroccan railway network

The Spanish consortium formed by Adif, the state-owned business controlled by the Ministerio de Fomento, and Indra will install the Da Vinci technological platform as a computer solution for the integrated management of traffic on the Moroccan railway network after winning the international tender held by the ONCF (Moroccan Railways) for the project.

The Ministerio de Fomento Minister Magdalena Álvarez, and Adif Chairman Antonio González met this morning in Rabat with the Moroccan Equipment and Transport Minister Karim Ghellab. During the course of the meeting different means of driving the joint activities of Adif and ONCF were decided on, and the contract for the installation of the Da Vinci system was signed along with Indra Chairman Javier Monzón. The Da Vinci system is an innovative Spanish computing development, which is one of the most advanced of its kind in the world, and can be adapted to any railway network.

The contract, which is worth €3,205,323.87, calls for the Da Vinci system to be rolled out throughout the Moroccan railway network. This event is a further step in the export of technological innovations developed within the Spanish railway community.

In the Da Vinci innovative system, Adif can call on one of the most modern technological advances in the area of railway traffic management. The Da Vinci integrated platform is designed for high-speed lines, but can also be adapted to other forms of railway traffic in Spain and in other countries.

The winning consortium of the international tender held by ONCF is the fruit of the collaboration framework agreement signed in 2005 by Adif, which holds the copyright for the Da Vinci software as well as the brand for the integrated platform developed by Indra using the technical specifications set by Adif. Indra also markets the system.

Indra is the technological partner selected by Adif to bring to bear its experience and ability in developing which is currently one of the most technologically advanced railway management platforms in the world. The company is a leader in the development of this type of system.

Adif has earned itself a global reputation in the area of technological innovation for the installation of its own infrastructure incorporating the most modern technology. At the same time, it has developed its own technology for high-speed traffic, helping to advance the growth of innovation in the Spanish business community.

The Da Vinci system

The Da Vinci system is used to manage traffic on the Spanish high-speed network and has the capacity and versatility to also manage networks of other characteristics such as Feve (Ferrocarriles Españoles de Vía Estrecha), with the installation of control and regulation systems in 2007 in Santander, Bilbao and El Berrón (Asturias); the Medellín underground (metro), where it has controlled traffic since 2005 along with other associated systems; and the London underground (Metronet). In addition, it is currently bidder in other international tenders in the UK such as the “Intelligent Infrastructure System” for Network Rail, and in a tender in China for the design, implementation and integration of the “Passenger Dedicated Lines Traffic Dispatching System” on the Chinese high-speed rail network.

The Da Vinci platform is a step towards a multi-discipline railway environment integrating management processes, systems and users, bringing all previously independent subsystems together under one system.

From a functional standpoint, it envisages the integration of all remote systems (enclaves, power, ERTMS, detectors, etc...), operational planning, a real-time traffic monitoring system, traffic predictions, automatic routing of trains, a geographical information system, delivery of data to train drivers, traffic regulation, statistics, passenger information, invoicing, simulation and reconstruction of earlier incidents. It also allows the dissemination of information via Internet and the remote monitoring of all systems.

The Da Vinci system is used on the Madrid-Barcelona, Córdoba-Málaga and Madrid-Valladolid railway lines, and work has started to implement it on the Madrid-Seville line. The system will be used on the new high-speed train lines currently under construction.

Indra

Indra is Spain's foremost IT company and one of the main players in Europe and Latin America. It is the second ranking European company in its sector by market capitalization and ranks second among Spanish companies in terms of R&D spend. In November 2008 Indra announced that it expects to generate full-year revenues of €2.38Bn. Indra employs over 24,000 staff and has customers in more than 90 countries.