Since June, the Santiago Underground (Metro de Santiago) has a new simulator that was developed by CITEF and is located at San Eugenio Depot to train staff to operate the new ALSTOM NS-16 rolling stock. This new simulator reproduces the infrastructures of lines 2 and 5 and begun to work months before the start of the operation of the new trains.
Given the high expertise required to operate the new rolling stock on the infrastructures where it will be used, this new simulator envisages a larger number of training positions than the previous simulators used by the Santiago Underground. Specifically, the simulator includes the following elements:
- Instructor post: to plan, manage and supervise the training.
- Traffic Control posts: reproduce the tools used to manage the infrastructure, including the Central Control Post and the different Supervisor Posts in the Depots and the Local Supervisor Post.
- Previous Advanced Post: reproduction of a driver’s cab that combines real controls with touch screens.
- Previous Training Post (15 units): reproduction of driver’s control stand with main real driving controls.
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These units are used for driving exercises with traffic management and signaling on lines 2 and 5. It allows individual exercises for each post or collaborative exercises with multiple drivers, as well as communications with the TETRA system, similar to the real lines.
Lines 2 and 5 have been reproduced with a high level of visual realism, considering all the tracks, with their engine sheds and depots, and taking into account traffic from other trains and an extensive range of weather conditions, reproduction of operating incidents…
The passenger model included in the line simulation is extremely realistic in terms of their appearance and behaviour as they get on or off the train, move along the platform, reproduce incidents, etc. It also provides the simulation of very busy platforms at peak time to match the characteristics of the Santiago Underground network.
A detailed model has been designed to represent the logical behaviour of the NS-16 train, reproducing a wide variety of breakdowns to ensure that the drivers are highly qualified in terms of safety, efficiency and quality standards before the Santiago Underground starts to operate the new trains.
Therefore, the system recreates scenarios where the drivers have to deal with breakdowns, certifies the knowledge of the operators and improves the teaching capacity with a high degree of details in all possible levels.
Furthermore, the simulator is connected to the simulators of lines 1 and 4, also developed by CITEF, for the NS-93, NS-07 and AS-02 rolling stock, sharing their user databases and training schemes, which leads to a comprehensive training system on most infrastructures and rolling stock operated by the Santiago Underground.
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New Santiago metro trains enter service (International Railway Journal)