Siemens Wins Val Line Extension Deal in Turin

Siemens Rail Systems has secured a contract from Infra.To, the owner of the Turin Underground in Italy, to extend the fully automatic VAL type underground metro by 1.6km.

Following completion, Turin’s first underground line will have two new stations, Italia ’61 and Bengasi, bringing the total number of stations on the line to 23.
Operations on the extended line are expected to start for revenue service by the end of 2015.
Infra.To said the project’s construction work will not disrupt metro services.
Gruppo Torinese Trasporti (GTT) has been operating the fully automatic metro line in the northern Italian city since 2006, while Siemens supplied the rolling stock and automation equipment.
Under a €37.6m contract, Siemens Rail Systems will work with GTT’s Italian partner Tecnimont to provide Val control systems and carry out the required adjustments in the operations control centre.
Siemens has a share of €17.1m in the contract, which also includes the trial integration in the overall system.
Siemens Rail Systems will also be responsible for the certification and authorisation work involved in the commissioning of the line.
VAL, or automatic light-rail vehicle, is a driverless technology, which allows trains to run at more than 30 km/h with a peak speed of 80 km/h to reduce station waiting times to less than one minute.