The Spanish railway network is characterised by traditional Iberian and standard UIC gauges. On dual-gauge sections, which are becoming more frequent, track vacancy detection can be quite challenging as wheel sensors must be installed on two rails next to each other in tight spaces and detect axles reliably on the respective rail.

However, Frauscher developed a three-rail solution for the dual-gauge section between Castellbisal and Tarragona that fulfils all requirements stipulated by the Spanish railway infrastructure manager ADIF and successfully proves the seamless integration of its solutions with different interlocking technologies along the line.

This is made possible through the Frauscher Advanced Counter FAdC® that provides the Frauscher Safe Ethernet FSE interface for Bombardier installations while for Siemens installations the customer-specific protocol WNC is used, proving its flexibility and versatility while complying with both customer-specific protocols and standard protocols like EULYNX. In addition to clear/occupied information from a section, it also states on which gauge the train is running.

The project started in March 2020 and comprises 920 detection points in 19 stations. Addressing the above challenges of limited spacing for mounting, Frauscher Wheel Sensors RSR123 and a specially developed type of the Frauscher rail claw SK150 are deployed.