European GNSS Agency

The Payload In Orbit Testing activities is the last stage of the Early Operations Phase. It will enable the Galileo satellites 27-28 to enter service provision and their signals to become available to end-users down on Earth.

2022 is the year of delivery for EUSPA and the EU Space Programme.

Launched earlier in December from the European Spaceport in French Guyana, the Galileo satellites reached, on 22 January 21, their orbital position at 23.222 km above the Earth after completing the drift stop and fine-positioning maneuvers. 

Earlier today, Payload in Orbit Testing activities began for satellite 27 to be followed by satellite 28 the next day. This last stage of the Early Operation Phase allows to test the health of the Galileo signals and therefore ensure the entry into service provision the following months. During the next month, the clocks onboard the two satellites will be tested and their signal analyzed to ensure that they are ready to be included in the Galileo constellation and contribute to the most accurate navigation service in the world. 

The addition of the latest batch of Galileo satellites allows for enhanced accuracy and robustness in navigation services and a better experience for the end-users. It is also another step towards the declarations of Open Service Full Operational Capability by the end of 2022 and of Public Regulated Service Initial Operational Capability by the end of 2023.

The next batch of Galileo satellites 29-30 is scheduled for launch at the beginning of the second quarter of 2022.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

The Payload In Orbit Testing activities is the last stage of the Early Operations Phase. It will enable the Galileo satellites 27-28 to enter service provision and their signals to become available to end-users down on Earth.

2022 is the year of delivery for EUSPA and the EU Space Programme.

Launched earlier in December from the European Spaceport in French Guyana, the Galileo satellites reached, on 21 January 2022, their orbital position at 23.222 km above the Earth after completing the drift stop and fine-positioning maneuvers. 

Earlier today, Payload in Orbit Testing activities began for satellite 27 to be followed by satellite 28 the next day. This last stage of the Early Operation Phase allows to test the health of the Galileo signals and therefore ensure the entry into service provision the following months. During the next month, the clocks onboard the two satellites will be tested and their signal analyzed to ensure that they are ready to be included in the Galileo constellation and contribute to the most accurate navigation service in the world. 

The addition of the latest batch of Galileo satellites allows for enhanced accuracy and robustness in navigation services and a better experience for the end-users. It is also another step towards the declarations of Open Service Full Operational Capability by the end of 2022 and of Public Regulated Service Initial Operational Capability by the end of 2023.

The next batch of Galileo satellites 29-30 is scheduled for launch at the beginning of the second quarter of 2022.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

The EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is hosting a webinar on the Public Observation Test Phase of Galileo OSNMA. Scheduled for 2 February 2022, this digital gathering will offer receiver manufacturers and application developers a comprehensive overview of the new Galileo differentiator and insights in the ongoing test phase.

Intentional satellite interference is not a new issue. Lately, however, the GNSS industry has been facing more and more incidents of jamming and spoofing, driven mainly by the growing awareness and the availability of low-cost, illegal disruption equipment. GNSS signal falsification can have disastrous impacts on applications and market sectors that rely on precise and reliable position, navigation, and timing information. The global economy could suffer tremendous losses in case of GNSS outage caused by various attacks, including spoofing.

To contribute to the detection of certain types of data-level GNSS attacks, EUSPA and the European Commission are currently testing the Galileo Open Service – Navigation Message Authentication (OSNMA). The OSNMA is a new, breakthrough feature of Europe’s positioning system which meets a clear user need: the provision of a more robust and trustworthy GNSS benefitting a broad range of applications. This forthcoming service is an authentication mechanism that allows Open Service users to verify the authenticity of its Navigation Message, making sure that the data the users receive is indeed from Galileo and has not been modified in any way.

Read this: GALILEO OPEN SERVICE NAVIGATION MESSAGE AUTHENTICATION (OSNMA) Info Note now available for download

To acquaint interested receiver manufacturers and application developers with the Galileo OSNMA functionalities, EUSPA is hosting a webinar on the upcoming Public Observation Test Phase of the Galileo OSNMA on 02 February 2022. EUSPA experts will provide an overview of the OSNMA service roadmap and receiver guidelines, present concrete use cases where the service can make a difference, explain how to join the Public Observation Test phase, and share your feedback.

By participating in the test phase, you will be able to:

• test the performance of the new service in their solutions.
• get hands-on experience on a long-awaited feature of Galileo and GNSS as a whole
• Be part of a one-of-a-kind user community and gain exclusive insights from experts on the market
• Give your OSNMA-enabled solution extra visibility.  
• Have the chance to steer the service towards targeted enhancements

To find out more about the test phase register for the webinar here.

Please note that the OSNMA public observation phase is targeting receiver and device manufacturers. 

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

The deadline for the first EU Space-flavoured Horizon Europe Call is approaching. Don’t forget to submit by 16 February 2022 at 17:00:00 Brussels time!

   The EU Space downstream sector has been experiencing a large growth over the last years as space data is becoming increasingly available to end-users. Businesses turn into geospatial data from Copernicus or GNSS data from Galileo and EGNOS to optimize their operations, generate added value, and increase their return on investment. To facilitate access to EU Space data and services and create new downstream applications, in November 2021, the EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) launched its first Horizon Europe call.  

This financial instrument of 32.6 million EUR is fully aligned with the EU priorities and leverages #EUspace to transform the digital economy, increase the Union’s resilience and support the Green Deal. The EUSPA-backed call stretches into three different areas:

EGNSS and Copernicus applications fostering the European Green deal

The EU Space Programme is the opportunity to create synergies between the space components and services to fuel the EU Green Deal. European industry, entrepreneurs, and user communities can rely on EGNSS and Copernicus to develop smart solutions and serve new markets, fully aligned with the EU sustainability goals. Check out here all you need to know about this area of the call.

EGNSS applications for Safety and Crisis management 

When an emergency or a disaster hits a city or region, the priorities are to care for the wounded, restore infrastructure, provide logistics and basic services, and then restore livelihoods and reconstruct communities. European GNSS – Galileo and EGNOS – supports applications and the delivery of critical services during the four key phases of the disaster management life cycle: preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation. Click here for more call details

EGNSS applications for the Digital Age 

This area aims at accelerating the adoption of Galileo and EGNOS in mass and professional markets and rolling out applications with innovative features such as better multipath resistance, authentication, and more. Applications addressing this topic should maximise public benefits by supporting the development of solutions that will address pressing societal challenges in areas such as health, citizen safety and security, mobility, and the sharing economy. Hit the button and make EU Space part of your digital solution.

Being a market-oriented, operational EU Agency, EUSPA is looking for proposals that put the users' needs at the top. Applicants should demonstrate user engagement in all three topics and include a comprehensive business plan.  

About Horizon Europe

Horizon Europe is the EU’s key funding mechanism that facilitates collaboration and strengthens the impact of research and innovation in developing, supporting, and implementing EU policies while tackling global challenges. Staying true to its mission, linking space to user needs, EUSPA will leverage this instrument to stimulate the EU Space Programme operational research and foster the creation of commercial value-adding solutions that contribute to EU policies and priorities. Read more 

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

The deadline for the first EU Space-flavoured Horizon Europe Call is approaching. Don’t forget to submit by 16 February 2022 at 17:00:00 Brussels time!

 The EU Space downstream sector has been experiencing a large growth over the last years as space data is becoming increasingly available to end-users. Businesses turn into geospatial data from Copernicus or GNSS data from Galileo and EGNOS to optimize their operations, generate added value, and increase their return on investment. To facilitate access to EU Space data and services and create new downstream applications, in November 2021, the EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) launched its first Horizon Europe call.  

This financial instrument of 32.6 million EUR is fully aligned with the EU priorities and leverages #EUspace to transform the digital economy, increase the Union’s resilience and support the Green Deal. The EUSPA-backed call stretches into three different areas:

EGNSS and Copernicus applications fostering the European Green deal

The EU Space Programme is the opportunity to create synergies between the space components and services to fuel the EU Green Deal. European industry, entrepreneurs, and user communities can rely on EGNSS and Copernicus to develop smart solutions and serve new markets, fully aligned with the EU sustainability goals. Check out here all you need to know about this area of the call.

EGNSS applications for Safety and Crisis management 

When an emergency or a disaster hits a city or region, the priorities are to care for the wounded, restore infrastructure, provide logistics and basic services, and then restore livelihoods and reconstruct communities. European GNSS – Galileo and EGNOS – supports applications and the delivery of critical services during the four key phases of the disaster management life cycle: preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation. Click here for more call details

EGNSS applications for the Digital Age 

This area aims at accelerating the adoption of Galileo and EGNOS in mass and professional markets and rolling out applications with innovative features such as better multipath resistance, authentication, and more. Applications addressing this topic should maximise public benefits by supporting the development of solutions that will address pressing societal challenges in areas such as health, citizen safety and security, mobility, and the sharing economy. Hit the button and make EU Space part of your digital solution.

Being a market-oriented, operational EU Agency, EUSPA is looking for proposals that put the users' needs at the top. Applicants should demonstrate user engagement in all three topics and include a comprehensive business plan.  

About Horizon Europe

Horizon Europe is the EU’s key funding mechanism that facilitates collaboration and strengthens the impact of research and innovation in developing, supporting, and implementing EU policies while tackling global challenges. Staying true to its mission, linking space to user needs, EUSPA will leverage this instrument to stimulate the EU Space Programme operational research and foster the creation of commercial value-adding solutions that contribute to EU policies and priorities. Read more 

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

The deadline for the first EU Space-flavoured Horizon Europe Call is approaching. Don’t forget to submit by 16 February 2022 at 17:00:00 Brussels time!

The EU Space downstream sector has been experiencing a large growth over the last years as space data is becoming increasingly available to end-users. Businesses turn into geospatial data from Copernicus or GNSS data from Galileo and EGNOS to optimize their operations, generate added value, and increase their return on investment. To facilitate access to EU Space data and services and create new downstream applications, in November 2021, the EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) launched its first Horizon Europe call.  

This financial instrument of 32.6 million EUR is fully aligned with the EU priorities and leverages #EUspace to transform the digital economy, increase the Union’s resilience and support the Green Deal. The EUSPA-backed call stretches into three different areas:

EGNSS and Copernicus applications fostering the European Green Deal

The EU Space Programme is the opportunity to create synergies between the space components and services to fuel the EU Green Deal. European industry, entrepreneurs, and user communities can rely on EGNSS and Copernicus to develop smart solutions and serve new markets, fully aligned with the EU sustainability goals. Check out here all you need to know about this area of the call.

EGNSS applications for Safety and Crisis Management 

When an emergency or a disaster hits a city or region, the priorities are to care for the wounded, restore infrastructure, provide logistics and basic services, and then restore livelihoods and reconstruct communities. European GNSS – Galileo and EGNOS – supports applications and the delivery of critical services during the four key phases of the disaster management life cycle: preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation. Click here for more call details

EGNSS applications for the Digital Age 

This area aims at accelerating the adoption of Galileo and EGNOS in mass and professional markets and rolling out applications with innovative features such as better multipath resistance, authentication, and more. Applications addressing this topic should maximise public benefits by supporting the development of solutions that will address pressing societal challenges in areas such as health, citizen safety and security, mobility, and the sharing economy. Hit the button and make EU Space part of your digital solution.

Being a market-oriented, operational EU Agency, EUSPA is looking for proposals that put the users' needs at the top. Applicants should demonstrate user engagement in all three topics and include a comprehensive business plan.  

About Horizon Europe

Horizon Europe is the EU’s key funding mechanism that facilitates collaboration and strengthens the impact of research and innovation in developing, supporting, and implementing EU policies while tackling global challenges. Staying true to its mission, linking space to user needs, EUSPA will leverage this instrument to stimulate the EU Space Programme operational research and foster the creation of commercial value-adding solutions that contribute to EU policies and priorities. Read more 

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

Topics discussed between EUSPA Executive Director Rodrigo da Costa and the President of the European Council included the new mandate of the agency and its role in the delivery of EU priorities such as the EU Green Deal and the digitization and growth of the European economy.

During his stay in Prague, President Michel met with EUSPA Executive Director, Rodrigo da Costa, to discuss the Agency’s new role one year after the entry into force of the EU Space Regulation, together with Matthias Petschke, Director of Space at the European Commission and Bruno Vermeire, Chairperson of the EU Space Security Accreditation Board. EUSPA has now extended responsibilities when it comes to the management, service provision, evolution, and protection of the EU’s flagship navigation systems, Galileo and EGNOS, and the development of the GOVSATCOM Hub, while being in charge of the promotion of services and data from the EU Space Programme – now extended also to the further utilization of Copernicus and GOVSATCOM user aspects. As a gatekeeper of space security, the agency’s Security Accreditation Board has the mandate to accredit all components of the EU Space Programme. 

“I am thrilled to see the scope of EUSPA ‘s missions because the EUS Space action is crucial. Indeed, strategic autonomy is essential for the EU, so is the innovation capacity coming from space inspired which is helping for our European priorities. A few years ago, we set the objective of a climate-neutral EU by 2050, which is the driving force of the Green Deal. And I believe that innovation and technology fostered by the EU Space Programme technology are essential to reach our European objectives including mitigating climate change,” declared President Charles MICHEL.

In line with the EU Green Deal, EUSPA supports the creation of solutions that mitigate the adverse effects of climate change and our environmental footprint on a wide range of areas, such as transport and agriculture. Synergies between Earth observation and navigation are central to the preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation of natural disasters. In the unfortunate event of wildfires, floods, or earthquakes access to a precise location and up-to-date geospatial information is vital to deliver an effective disaster management response. EUSPA recently launched a Horizon Europe call to develop space-based safety and crisis management applications.  

Fiammetta Diani, Head of EUSPA Market Development, acquainting President Charles Michel, with the features of H2020 funded GEAR project which leverages Galileo’s accurate signals. 

‘’Aside from our commitment to fostering the creation of solutions that make our planet greener, we also focus on innovation and technological progress with the help of our safe and secure Space Programme literally across all markets’’ said EUSPA Executive director Rodrigo da Costa’’. We offer the means to industry and academia, start-ups and SMEs to digitize their operations by relying on space services and data that are secure and accurate’’ da Costa concluded.

The security of safety-critical applications such as landing and navigating a plane,drones delivering medical equipment or ships transporting inflammable cargo trustworthy navigation data is crucial. Among others, EUSPA is currently testing the Galileo Open Service Navigation Message Authentication. A major differentiator for Europe’s positioning system, this service aims to meet a clear user need for a more robust and trustworthy GNSS solution that will bring benefit to a broad range of applications.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

Topics discussed between EUSPA Executive Director Rodrigo da Costa and the President of the European Council included the new mandate of the agency and its role in the delivery of EU priorities such as the EU Green Deal and the digitization and growth of the European economy.

During his stay in Prague, President Michel met with EUSPA Executive Director, Rodrigo da Costa, to discuss the Agency’s new role one year after the entry into force of the EU Space Regulation, together with Matthias Petschke, Director of Space at the European Commission and Bruno Vermeire, Chairperson of the EU Space Security Accreditation Board. EUSPA has now extended responsibilities when it comes to the management, service provision, evolution, and protection of the EU’s flagship navigation systems, Galileo and EGNOS, and the development of the GOVSATCOM Hub, while being in charge of the promotion of services and data from the EU Space Programme – now extended also to the further utilization of Copernicus and GOVSATCOM user aspects. As a gatekeeper of space security, the agency’s Security Accreditation Board has the mandate to accredit all components of the EU Space Programme. 

“I am thrilled to see the scope of EUSPA ‘s missions because the EUS Space action is crucial. Indeed, strategic autonomy is essential for the EU, so is the innovation capacity coming from space inspired which is helping for our European priorities. A few years ago, we set the objective of a climate-neutral EU by 2050, which is the driving force of the Green Deal. And I believe that innovation and technology fostered by the EU Space Programme technology are essential to reach our European objectives including mitigating climate change,” declared President Charles MICHEL.

In line with the EU Green Deal, EUSPA supports the creation of solutions that mitigate the adverse effects of climate change and our environmental footprint on a wide range of areas, such as transport and agriculture. Synergies between Earth observation and navigation are central to the preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation of natural disasters. In the unfortunate event of wildfires, floods, or earthquakes access to a precise location and up-to-date geospatial information is vital to deliver an effective disaster management response. EUSPA recently launched a Horizon Europe call to develop space-based safety and crisis management applications.  

Fiammetta Diani, Head of EUSPA Market Development, acquainting President Charles Michel, with the features of Fundamental Elements funded GEAR project which leverages Galileo’s accurate signals. 

‘’Aside from our commitment to fostering the creation of solutions that make our planet greener, we also focus on innovation and technological progress with the help of our safe and secure Space Programme literally across all markets’’ said EUSPA Executive director Rodrigo da Costa’’. We offer the means to industry and academia, start-ups and SMEs to digitize their operations by relying on space services and data that are secure and accurate’’ da Costa concluded.

The security of safety-critical applications such as landing and navigating a plane,drones delivering medical equipment or ships transporting inflammable cargo trustworthy navigation data is crucial. Among others, EUSPA is currently testing the Galileo Open Service Navigation Message Authentication. A major differentiator for Europe’s positioning system, this service aims to meet a clear user need for a more robust and trustworthy GNSS solution that will bring benefit to a broad range of applications.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

Since 1st January 2022, France holds the reins of the EU Council Presidency. The priorities for the French Presidency involve the EU space activities, underlining the need for a more sovereign and humane Europe, with sustainable economic growth and job opportunities. 

After six months at the helm of the EU, Slovenia passed on the baton of the EU Council Presidency to France, which will preside until June 30th. France begins a new cycle and will work as a trio with the Czech Republic in the second half of 2022 and Sweden in the first half of 2023. During his opening speech at the Palais de l’Elysée on December 9th, 2021, President Macron presented the three axes around which the French Presidency will be spinning for the following six months : European sovereignty, a new European model of growth, and a more human Europe.

The French President outlined the pillars that will support the priorities, and new technologies such as the space technologies are central to their delivery.

EU Space equals sovereignty  

With the launch of the first Galileo satellite in 2011, Europe demonstrated its technological autonomy, but also redefined the international standards for global navigation satellite systems. Galileo offers superior performance and a broad range of value-adding services. Ten years later, cognizant of the strategic importance of space, the Union created its own, fully-fledged space programme to further boost its sovereignty.

Should existing satellite navigation services be disrupted or become less reliable, Europe has its state-of-the-art positioning system to act as a backup. Galileo, currently used by over 2.5 billion users, keeps the European economy up and running but - above all- ensures the safety of its citizens.

Unique features of Galileo, such as the Public Regulated Service (PRS), scheduled for Initial Capability Operations in 2023, will give an extra layer of security to governmental authorised users and sensitive applications that require high continuity.

Satellite navigation services are further enhanced by Copernicus. Data from the Copernicus Sentinel satellites and in situ data collected from ground-based, sea-borne, or air-borne monitoring systems provide precious insights to national governments and EU policymakers on climate change, for instance. Soon, the EU will bridge gaps in satellite communications with GOVSATCOM. The objective of the GOVSATCOM initiative is to ensure the long-term availability of reliable, secured, and cost-effective satellite communication (satcom) services to its users. Paving the way towards a new satcom solution for governmental applications, the initiative will benefit a broad range of EU and national entities in their day-to-day operations, and contribute to the security and safety of all EU citizens.

EU Space for a renewed European model

Space data and services are invisible infrastructures but generate a dearth of tangible benefits to Europeans daily. The EU Space Programme is becoming the basis for the construction of a new EU model of strategic growth that…

…spurs innovation and creates jobs

Over the past years, EUSPA created a vibrant ecosystem of startups and SMEs that rely on EU space technology to add value to their operations. Most companies are now scaling up, attracting new talents across Europe. From Galileo-enabled drones that perform atmospheric analysis to robotic solutions for pest management, EUSPA has been steering EU funds and knowhow to develop space downstream applications.

…digitizes and greens the economy 

Space enables us to rethink the way we produce and consume. The combination of Earth Observation and GNSS data, for example, enables various industries such as agribusiness to operate in an eco-friendlier way. Farmers are able to allocate resources such as water or fertilizers more responsibly thanks to the accurate guidance offered by Galileo and EGNOS and the information on soil fertility from Copernicus. Thanks to the cooperation between the EU Space assets, it is estimated that EU farmers can save up to 20% of pesticides and fertilisers.  

Satellite-based remote sensing from Copernicus is a cost-effective solution that keeps an eye on clean energy infrastructures, offering precious information on their integrity and targeted maintenance. Geospatial data by the EU Earth Observation system are used to enable better planning of these assets by offering greater situational awareness and helping mitigate risks such as vegetation encroachment on power grids and turbines. Moreover, Copernicus can optimize the performance of tidal power generators, by offering data on the rise and fall of tides through tidal currents prediction systems.

…promotes collaboration between the Member States 

A revisited EU model of growth requires robust synergies between various industrial and institutional actors but, above all EU Member States. To harness the power of our space assets knowledge-sharing is pivotal, EUSPA and the European Commission have put in place various initiatives such as Horizon Europe and Fundamental Elements to boost collaboration between EU countries. 

As of now, over 400 events are set to take place as part of the presidency's programme. The first, space-related event is scheduled on February 16 -17, 2022 in Toulouse and EUSPA will be present.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

Since 1st January 2022, France holds the reins of the EU Council Presidency. The priorities for the French Presidency involve the EU space activities, underlining the need for a more sovereign and humane Europe, with sustainable economic growth and job opportunities. 

After six months at the helm of the EU, Slovenia passed on the baton of the EU Council Presidency to France, which will preside until June 30th. France begins a new cycle and will work as a trio with the Czech Republic in the second half of 2022 and Sweden in the first half of 2023. During his opening speech at the Palais de l’Elysée on December 9th, 2021, President Macron presented the three axes around which the French Presidency will be spinning for the following six months : European sovereignty, a new European model of growth, and a more human Europe.

The French President outlined the pillars that will support the priorities, and new technologies such as EU space data and services are central to their delivery.

EU Space equals sovereignty  

With the launch of the first Galileo satellite in 2011, Europe demonstrated its technological autonomy, but also redefined the international standards for global navigation satellite systems. Galileo offers superior performance and a broad range of value-adding services. Ten years later, cognizant of the strategic importance of space, the Union created its own, fully-fledged space programme to further boost its sovereignty.

Should existing satellite navigation services be disrupted or become less reliable, Europe has its state-of-the-art positioning system to act as a backup. Galileo, currently used by over 2.5 billion users, keeps the European economy up and running but - above all- ensures the safety of its citizens.

Unique features of Galileo, such as the Public Regulated Service (PRS), scheduled for Initial Capability Operations in 2023, will give an extra layer of security to governmental authorised users and sensitive applications that require high continuity.

Satellite navigation services are further enhanced by Copernicus. Data from the Copernicus Sentinel satellites and in situ data collected from ground-based, sea-borne, or air-borne monitoring systems provide precious insights to national governments and EU policymakers on climate change, for instance. Soon, the EU will bridge gaps in satellite communications with GOVSATCOM. The objective of the GOVSATCOM initiative is to ensure the long-term availability of reliable, secured, and cost-effective satellite communication (satcom) services to its users. Paving the way towards a new satcom solution for governmental applications, the initiative will benefit a broad range of EU and national entities in their day-to-day operations, and contribute to the security and safety of all EU citizens.

EU Space for a renewed European model

Space data and services are invisible infrastructures but generate a dearth of tangible benefits to Europeans daily. The EU Space Programme is becoming the basis for the construction of a new EU model of strategic growth that…

…spurs innovation and creates jobs

Over the past years, EUSPA created a vibrant ecosystem of startups and SMEs that rely on EU space technology to add value to their operations. Most companies are now scaling up, attracting new talents across Europe. From Galileo-enabled drones that perform atmospheric analysis to robotic solutions for pest management, EUSPA has been steering EU funds and knowhow to develop space downstream applications.

…digitizes and greens the economy 

Space enables us to rethink the way we produce and consume. The combination of Earth Observation and GNSS data, for example, enables various industries such as agribusiness to operate in an eco-friendlier way. Farmers are able to allocate resources such as water or fertilizers more responsibly thanks to the accurate guidance offered by Galileo and EGNOS and the information on soil fertility from Copernicus. Thanks to the cooperation between the EU Space assets, it is estimated that EU farmers can save up to 20% of pesticides and fertilisers.  

Satellite-based remote sensing from Copernicus is a cost-effective solution that keeps an eye on clean energy infrastructures, offering precious information on their integrity and targeted maintenance. Geospatial data by the EU Earth Observation system are used to enable better planning of these assets by offering greater situational awareness and helping mitigate risks such as vegetation encroachment on power grids and turbines. Moreover, Copernicus can optimize the performance of tidal power generators, by offering data on the rise and fall of tides through tidal currents prediction systems.

…promotes collaboration between the Member States 

A revisited EU model of growth requires robust synergies between various industrial and institutional actors but, above all EU Member States. To harness the power of our space assets knowledge-sharing is pivotal. EUSPA and the European Commission have put in place various initiatives such as Horizon Europe and Fundamental Elements to boost collaboration between EU countries. 

As of now, over 400 events are set to take place as part of the presidency's programme. The first, space-related event is scheduled on February 16 -17, 2022 in Toulouse and EUSPA will be present.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

2021 was undeniably a year of change for the European Union in space. The Union now has at its disposal a policy framework that brings under the same roof all the space assets. EU citizens have a user-oriented operational agency that delivers secure, space-based services to citizens, governments, and businesses alike: the EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA).

The entry into force of the Space Regulation brought many structural changes to EU Space Programme and led to the creation of EUSPA. The signature of the Financial Framework Partnership Agreement in June 2022 set out clear tasks and responsibilities between the European Commission, EUSPA, and the European Space Agency (ESA) but also reaffirmed the EU’s position as a leading space power.

Building on the know-how and GNSS expertise of its predecessor, EUSPA was entrusted with more responsibilities for EGNOS and Galileo, in terms of operations and service provision. The agency now acts as exploitation manager and System Prime for both satellite navigation systems in operation. It also acts as the gatekeeper of security for all Space Components. The mandate extension now includes the coordination of GOVSATCOM’s users and the development of the Hub, an important step into securing governmental communications. This comes along with Copernicus market uptake for commercial users. In short, EUSPA had its hands full throughout 2021.

New services bring new users

Throughout its transformation from the European GNSS Agency (GSA) to EUSPA, the Agency remained true to its mission: linking space to user needs. Anticipating the demand for secured services in markets such as Critical Infrastructure, EUSPA announced the testing phase of the Galileo Navigation Message Authentication (OSNMA). It is an authentication mechanism that allows Open Service users to verify the authenticity of GNSS information, making sure that the data they receive is indeed from Galileo and has not been modified in any way. 

A few months later, in collaboration with the European Commission, the Galileo High Accuracy Service (HAS) Info Note was made available to users. This service can benefit various applications that require higher performance than that offered by the Galileo Open Service such as autonomous vehicles.

EU Space services continued penetrating more sectors also thanks to EGNOS. In aviation, over 400 airports rely on Europe’s SBAS for safer approaches, and the trend is on the rise. Likewise, after having European farmers use EGNOS widely, now, steps towards the adoption of EGNOS are made also in the maritime and rail sectors.

Gatekeeping security 

Given the complexity and importance for the European Union of both the space and the ground segment, securing the EU Space Programme components is crucial. With more than 2,4 billion Galileo devices worldwide, one of EUSPA’s key tasks is to protect the system, enabling it to achieve its full potential to boost innovation for the European economy and its citizens. The security governance in place guarantees that the system, ground, and space segments are protected against such threats. 

The mandate of the Agency’s Security Accreditation Board covers all the programme components, such as Galileo, EGNOS, Copernicus, and GOVSATCOM. For Galileo specifically, the Galileo Security Monitoring Centre is an integral part of the EU’s positioning system. It monitors and acts in relation to security threats, alerts, and the operational status of systems components. 

At the beginning of 2021, we were also reminded that increasing traffic and space debris are a risk to our valuable space assets. In March 2021, EUSPA, staying true to its mission to provide safe and secure satellite services, in collaboration with the European Commission and the Galileo operator, performed a collision avoidance manoeuvre to eliminate the risk of collision with an old launcher part. The action was performed successfully, and the satellite returned to service provision.

With secure satellite communication being a trending topic among governmental users, the Agency ramped up its preparatory activities and completed the coordination of the public consultation for the collection of GOVSATCOM user requirements and use cases with more than 150 participants. The team in charge also prepared the Hubs documentation and launched the related procurement.  Related to that, EUSPA also supported the European Commission in other security activities, such as the preparations of the Secure Connectivity Initiative.

Boosting innovation and entrepreneurship

The last quarter of 2021 was the busiest for most of our EUSPA teams. To ensure the adoption of the EU Space Programme and to attract space entrepreneurial spirit, in 2022, we introduced the #myEUSpace competition – as part of the CASSINI Programme targeting mainly SME´s and start-ups. We challenged participants to develop space applications by fusing GNSS and Earth Observation data with new technologies such as AI, IoT, and, for the first time, quantum technologies. The contest followed the announcement of a 32.6 million euros Horizon Europe call to transform the digital economy, increase the Union’s resilience and support the Green Deal. The calls are designed in a way to include Copernicus and its market uptake in line with the Space Regulation. This comes along with the well-established innovation schemes “Fundamental Elements” for innovation at receiver and device-level. 

More launches planned for 2022 only to keep you on your toes!

Before waving goodbye to 2021, on December 5th, 2021, two more Galileo satellites lifted off from Kourou, French Guyana, increasing the number of Galileo satellites in space to 28. The satellites -now under EUSPA management- are being calibrated and tested before entering service provision in mid-2022. 

“As we are only a few days away from 2022, we can already start looking forward to the next Galileo launch, slated for the beginning of spring. I would like to thank my team at EUSPA for the extraordinary commitment they showcased during this new chapter for our Agency, our counterparts at the European Commission and ESA, and industry but above all you: our users. Thanks to your support and your inputs that help us deliver services tailored to your needs,” said EUSPA Director Rodrigo da Costa.

2021 was undeniably a year of change for the European Union in space. The Union now has at its disposal a policy framework that brings under the same roof all the space assets. EU citizens have a user-oriented operational agency that delivers secure, space-based services to citizens, governments, and businesses alike: the EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA).

The entry into force of the Space Regulation brought many structural changes to EU Space Programme and led to the creation of EUSPA. The signature of the Financial Framework Partnership Agreement in June 2022 set out clear tasks and responsibilities between the European Commission, EUSPA, and the European Space Agency (ESA) but also reaffirmed the EU’s position as a leading space power.

Building on the know-how and GNSS expertise of its predecessor, EUSPA was entrusted with more responsibilities for EGNOS and Galileo, in terms of operations and service provision. The agency now acts as exploitation manager and System Prime for both satellite navigation systems in operation. It also acts as the gatekeeper of security for all Space Components. The mandate extension now includes the coordination of GOVSATCOM’s users and the development of the Hub, an important step into securing governmental communications. This comes along with Copernicus market uptake for commercial users. In short, EUSPA had its hands full throughout 2021.

New services bring new users

Throughout its transformation from the European GNSS Agency (GSA) to EUSPA, the Agency remained true to its mission: linking space to user needs. Anticipating the demand for secured services in markets such as Critical Infrastructure, EUSPA announced the testing phase of the Galileo Navigation Message Authentication (OSNMA). It is an authentication mechanism that allows Open Service users to verify the authenticity of GNSS information, making sure that the data they receive is indeed from Galileo and has not been modified in any way. 

A few months later, in collaboration with the European Commission, the Galileo High Accuracy Service (HAS) Info Note was made available to users. This service can benefit various applications that require higher performance than that offered by the Galileo Open Service such as autonomous vehicles.

EU Space services continued penetrating more sectors also thanks to EGNOS. In aviation, over 400 airports rely on Europe’s SBAS for safer approaches, and the trend is on the rise. Likewise, after having European farmers use EGNOS widely, now, steps towards the adoption of EGNOS are made also in the maritime and rail sectors.

Gatekeeping security 

Given the complexity and importance for the European Union of both the space and the ground segment, securing the EU Space Programme components is crucial. With more than 2,4 billion Galileo devices worldwide, one of EUSPA’s key tasks is to protect the system, enabling it to achieve its full potential to boost innovation for the European economy and its citizens. The security governance in place guarantees that the system, ground, and space segments are protected against such threats. 

The mandate of the Agency’s Security Accreditation Board covers all the programme components, such as Galileo, EGNOS, Copernicus, and GOVSATCOM. For Galileo specifically, the Galileo Security Monitoring Centre is an integral part of the EU’s positioning system. It monitors and acts in relation to security threats, alerts, and the operational status of systems components. 

At the beginning of 2021, we were also reminded that increasing traffic and space debris are a risk to our valuable space assets. In March 2021, EUSPA, staying true to its mission to provide safe and secure satellite services, in collaboration with the European Commission and the Galileo operator, performed a collision avoidance manoeuvre to eliminate the risk of collision with an old launcher part. The action was performed successfully, and the satellite returned to service provision.

With secure satellite communication bring a trending topic among governmental users, the Agency ramped up its preparatory activities and completed the coordination of the public consultation for the collection of GOVSATCOM user requirements and use cases with more than 150 participants. The team in charge also prepared the Hubs documentation and launched the related procurement.  Related to that, EUSPA also supported the European Commission in other security activities, such as the preparations of the Secure Connectivity Initiative.

Boosting innovation and entrepreneurship

The last quarter of 2021 was the busiest for most of our EUSPA teams. To ensure the adoption of the EU Space Programme and to attract space entrepreneurial spirit, in 2022, we introduced the #myEUSpace competition – as part of the CASSINI Programme targeting mainly SME´s and start-ups. We challenged participants to develop space applications by fusing GNSS and Earth Observation data with new technologies such as AI, IoT, and, for the first time, quantum technologies. The contest followed the announcement of a 36.2 million euros Horizon Europe call to transform the digital economy, increase the Union’s resilience and support the Green Deal. The calls are designed in a way to include Copernicus and its market uptake in line with the Space Regulation. This comes along with the well-established innovation schemes “Fundamental Elements” for innovation at receiver and device-level. 

More launches planned for 2022 only to keep you on your toes!

Before waving goodbye to 2021, on December 5th, 2021, two more Galileo satellites lifted off from Kourou, French Guyana, increasing the number of Galileo satellites in space to 28. The satellites -now under EUSPA management- are being calibrated and tested before entering service provision in mid-2022. 

“As we are only a few days away from 2022, we can already start looking forward to the next Galileo launch, slated for the beginning of spring. I would like to thank my team at EUSPA for the extraordinary commitment they showcased during this new chapter for our Agency, our counterparts at the European Commission and ESA, and industry but above all you: our users. Thanks to your support and your inputs that help us deliver services tailored to your needs,” said EUSPA Director Rodrigo da Costa.

2021 was undeniably a year of change for the European Union in space. The Union now has at its disposal a policy framework that brings under the same roof all the space assets. EU citizens have a user-oriented operational agency that delivers secure, space-based services to citizens, governments, and businesses alike: the EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA).

The entry into force of the Space Regulation brought many structural changes to EU Space Programme and led to the creation of EUSPA. The signature of the Financial Framework Partnership Agreement in June 2022 set out clear tasks and responsibilities between the European Commission, EUSPA, and the European Space Agency (ESA) but also reaffirmed the EU’s position as a leading space power.

Building on the know-how and GNSS expertise of its predecessor, EUSPA was entrusted with more responsibilities for EGNOS and Galileo, in terms of operations and service provision. The agency now acts as exploitation manager and System Prime for both satellite navigation systems in operation. It also acts as the gatekeeper of security for all Space Components. The mandate extension now includes the coordination of GOVSATCOM’s users and the development of the Hub, an important step into securing governmental communications. This comes along with Copernicus market uptake for commercial users. In short, EUSPA had its hands full throughout 2021.

New services bring new users

Throughout its transformation from the European GNSS Agency (GSA) to EUSPA, the Agency remained true to its mission: linking space to user needs. Anticipating the demand for secured services in markets such as Critical Infrastructure, EUSPA announced the testing phase of the Galileo Navigation Message Authentication (OSNMA). It is an authentication mechanism that allows Open Service users to verify the authenticity of GNSS information, making sure that the data they receive is indeed from Galileo and has not been modified in any way. 

A few months later, in collaboration with the European Commission, the Galileo High Accuracy Service (HAS) Info Note was made available to users. This service can benefit various applications that require higher performance than that offered by the Galileo Open Service such as autonomous vehicles.

EU Space services continued penetrating more sectors also thanks to EGNOS. In aviation, over 400 airports rely on Europe’s SBAS for safer approaches, and the trend is on the rise. Likewise, after having European farmers use EGNOS widely, now, steps towards the adoption of EGNOS are made also in the maritime and rail sectors.

Gatekeeping security 

Given the complexity and importance for the European Union of both the space and the ground segment, securing the EU Space Programme components is crucial. With more than 2,4 billion Galileo devices worldwide, one of EUSPA’s key tasks is to protect the system, enabling it to achieve its full potential to boost innovation for the European economy and its citizens. The security governance in place guarantees that the system, ground, and space segments are protected against such threats. 

The mandate of the Agency’s Security Accreditation Board covers all the programme components, such as Galileo, EGNOS, Copernicus, and GOVSATCOM. For Galileo specifically, the Galileo Security Monitoring Centre is an integral part of the EU’s positioning system. It monitors and acts in relation to security threats, alerts, and the operational status of systems components. 

At the beginning of 2021, we were also reminded that increasing traffic and space debris are a risk to our valuable space assets. In March 2021, EUSPA, staying true to its mission to provide safe and secure satellite services, in collaboration with the European Commission and the Galileo operator, performed a collision avoidance manoeuvre to eliminate the risk of collision with an old launcher part. The action was performed successfully, and the satellite returned to service provision.

With secure satellite communication bring a trending topic among governmental users, the Agency ramped up its preparatory activities and completed the coordination of the public consultation for the collection of GOVSATCOM user requirements and use cases with more than 150 participants. The team in charge also prepared the Hubs documentation and launched the related procurement.  Related to that, EUSPA also supported the European Commission in other security activities, such as the preparations of the Secure Connectivity Initiative.

Boosting innovation and entrepreneurship

The last quarter of 2021 was the busiest for most of our EUSPA teams. To ensure the adoption of the EU Space Programme and to attract space entrepreneurial spirit, in 2022, we introduced the #myEUSpace competition – as part of the CASSINI Programme targeting mainly SME´s and start-ups. We challenged participants to develop space applications by fusing GNSS and Earth Observation data with new technologies such as AI, IoT, and, for the first time, quantum technologies. The contest followed the announcement of a 36.2 million euros Horizon Europe call to transform the digital economy, increase the Union’s resilience and support the Green Deal. The calls are designed in a way to include Copernicus and its market uptake in line with the Space Regulation. This comes along with the well-established innovation schemes “Fundamental Elements” for innovation at receiver and device-level. 

More launches planned for 2022 only to keep you on your toes!

Before waving goodbye to 2021, on December 5th, 2021, two more Galileo satellites lifted off from Kourou, French Guyana, increasing the number of Galileo satellites in space to 28. The satellites -now under EUSPA management- are being calibrated and tested before entering service provision in mid-2022. 

“As we are only a few days away from 2022, we can already start looking forward to the next Galileo launch, slated for the beginning of spring. I would like to thank my team at EUSPA for the extraordinary commitment they showcased during this new chapter for our Agency, our counterparts at the European Commission and ESA, and industry but above all you: our users. Thanks to your support and your inputs that help us deliver services tailored to your needs,” said EUSPA Director Rodrigo da Costa.

The "Galileo - Open Service - Service Definition Document" (Galileo OS SDD) defines the Minimum Performance Levels (MPLs) of the Galileo Open Service (OS). Find out what billions of users of Galileo can expect. 

The European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) together with the European Commission announce the publication of the latest version of the Galileo Open Service Definition Document (OS SDD). The Galileo Open Service Definition Document (OS SDD) was updated on November 2021 to reflect upgrades in the Galileo system since the publication of the previous version in May 2019. The latest version, 1.2, can be found on the GSC web portal on this link. 

The SDD has been updated to include improvements of the Open Service, accounting for the current constellation and updates in the ground infrastructure that increase its robustness. This is the last update foreseen before Galileo Open Service reaches Full Operational Capability (FOC).

The updated SDD provides better Minimum Performance Levels (MPLs) for signal and position availability, updated definitions of some timing MPLs, and establishes a more stringent commitment on the time to publish Notice Advisories to Galileo Users (NAGUs). In addition, the concept of auxiliary satellites has been added, while some sections have been reworded to improve clarity.

Galileo Open Service Definition Document (OS SDD) at glance 

As in previous versions, the main information in the SDD includes:

• Service terms and conditions of use.
• Service characteristics (scope, general concepts, assumptions, reference systems).
• Service performance (Minimum Performance Levels and their associated conditions and constraints).
• Annexes (providing further details on the parameters, expected performance evolutions, additional metrics and the description of NAGUs).

Users are invited to download and read the updated “Galileo Open Service Definition Document (SDD)” to discover the improvements of the Open Service and learn about its main characteristics and performance. For more details on Galileo performance and its services, please contact the Galileo Help Desk. Moreover, to receive NAGUs and notifications of new Galileo publications, please register to the GSC web portal and subscribe to our newsletters.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

On December 15th 2016 the Galileo Services were declared operational, marking a cornerstone in the field of satellite navigation for European citizens and worldwide. Since then, the EU Agency for the Space Programme has endeavored to increase the robustness of the system and services, enhance market adoption and offer new services to its users.

From the declaration of services, users worldwide from several domains have been reaping the benefits offered by European Union Galileo Programme. To celebrate its 5th anniversary, we want to share some Galileo milestones! 

1. Galileo Open Service performances rank 1 among all GNSS service providers worldwide

The Galileo state of the art Open Service (OS) is providing free of charge outstanding seamless performance to users worldwide, in terms of ranging, positioning and timing. The Open Service performance ranks first among all GNSS service providers. The improvement of the service remains a priority, with a stronger commitment to liaise with users with the publication of Notice Advisories to Galileo Users (NAGUs), with updates of the ground infrastructure and the current constellation. A new version of the Galileo Open Service Definition Document (OS SDD) will be published soon through the GSC web portal with better Minimum Performance Levels (MPLs) for signal and position availability. Stay Connected to read the new version!

2. SAR/Galileo service and rescue mission

Galileo supports the international Search And Rescue (SAR) satellite services. It is transmitting distress signals from SAR beacons,  operating to COSPAS-SARSAT standards,  and relaying through the Galileo specific Return-Link Service (RLS) the responses to those beacons equipped with Galileo receivers. The Return-Link Service unique and pioneering feature of Galileo was declared operational in January 2020.  The Galileo RLS allows people in distress to receive an automatic acknowledgement that their signal has been picked up by the first responders. Galileo’s contribution to the Medium Earth Orbit Satellites Search and Rescue System (MEOSAR) managed by the International COSPAS-SARSAT Programme translates into 2000 lives saved per year. For example, in November 2020, this SAR/Galileo “lifesaver” service provided in less than 3 minutes key information leading to the successful rescue of a sailor in distress during the Vendee Globe Yacht race.

3. New Galileo service differentiator: High Accuracy Service (HAS)

The first-ever broadcast of High Accuracy Service test signal occurred on 19 May 2021 thanks to Galileo. This service will provide high accuracy data, enabling sub-meter level positioning accuracy. The initial performances are promising. Galileo is dressing the scene for the year to come. 

4. Galileo getting in our daily lives and professional applications

Galileo is not only satellites and services: since 2016, Galileo entered quickly in our daily lives, in our cars, smartphones, drones and is enhancing many professional domains, such as maritime navigation, agriculture and geomatics.  EUSPA’s market and user-driven approach has led to this success, developing innovative applications and receivers involving the growing GNSS downstream industry and SMEs, consulting with users, and launching innovation challenges for new space entrepreneurs.  

As of today, more than 2.4 billion Galileo-enabled smartphones are sold worldwide. It is a stunning number considering that the first Galileo-enabled smartphone only hit the market in 2016. Since April 2018, all new car models in the European Union are equipped with eCall technology that includes Galileo. In the event of a serious accident, eCall automatically dials 112 - Europe's single emergency number – providing the accurate position of the crashed vehicle to help the first responders reach the site faster.

What is next for Galileo?

The Galileo system robustness is being continuously improved to ensure seamless, safe and secured service delivery 24/7 to users worldwide.

The Public Regulated Service (PRS) of Galileo is expected to reach Initial Operational Capability by the end of 2023.

EUSPA is currently working on delivering next-generation services based on Galileo’s precise signals, timing capabilities, and robust performance. 

Visit the GNSS Service Centre website www.gsc-europa.eu for all details on Galileo service performance

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

On December 15th 2016 the Galileo Services were declared operational, marking a cornerstone in the field of satellite navigation for European citizens and worldwide. Since then, the EU Agency for the Space Programme has endeavored to increase the robustness of the system and services, enhance market adoption and offer new services to its users.

From the declaration of services, users worldwide from several domains have been reaping the benefits offered by European Union Galileo Programme. To celebrate its 5th anniversary, we want to share some Galileo milestones! 

1. Galileo Open Service performances rank 1 among all GNSS service providers worldwide

The Galileo state of the art Open Service (OS) is providing free of charge outstanding seamless performance to users worldwide, in terms of ranging, positioning and timing. The Open Service performance ranks first among all GNSS service providers. The improvement of the service remains a priority, with a stronger commitment to liaise with users with the publication of Notice Advisories to Galileo Users (NAGUs), with updates of the ground infrastructure and the current constellation. A new version of the Galileo Open Service Definition Document (OS SDD) will be published soon through the GSC web portal with better Minimum Performance Levels (MPLs) for signal and position availability. Stay Connected to read the new version!

2. SAR/Galileo service and rescue mission

Galileo supports the international Search And Rescue (SAR) satellite services. It is transmitting distress signals from SAR beacons,  operating to COSPAS-SARSAT standards,  and relaying through the Galileo specific Return-Link Service (RLS) the responses to those beacons equipped with Galileo receivers. The Return-Link Service unique and pioneering feature of Galileo was declared operational in January 2020.  The Galileo RLS allows people in distress to receive an automatic acknowledgement that their signal has been picked up by the first responders. Galileo’s contribution to the Medium Earth Orbit Satellites Search and Rescue System (MEOSAR) managed by the International COSPAS-SARSAT Programme translates into 2000 lives saved per year. For example, in November 2020, this SAR/Galileo “lifesaver” service provided in less than 3 minutes key information leading to the successful rescue of a sailor in distress during the Vendee Globe Yacht race.

3. New Galileo service differentiator: High Accuracy Service (HAS)

The first-ever broadcast of High Accuracy Service test signal occurred on 19 May 2021 thanks to Galileo. This service will provide high accuracy data, enabling sub-meter level positioning accuracy. The initial performances are promising. Galileo is dressing the scene for the year to come. 

4. Galileo getting in our daily lives and professional applications

Galileo is not only satellites and services: since 2016, Galileo entered quickly in our daily lives, in our cars, smartphones, drones and is enhancing many professional domains, such as maritime navigation, agriculture and geomatics.  EUSPA’s market and user-driven approach has led to this success, developing innovative applications and receivers involving the growing GNSS downstream industry and SMEs, consulting with users, and launching innovation challenges for new space entrepreneurs.  

As of today, more than 2.4 billion Galileo-enabled smartphones are sold worldwide. It is a stunning number considering that the first Galileo-enabled smartphone only hit the market in 2016. Since April 2018, all new car models in the European Union are equipped with eCall technology that includes Galileo. In the event of a serious accident, eCall automatically dials 112 - Europe's single emergency number – providing the accurate position of the crashed vehicle to help the first responders reach the site faster.

What is next for Galileo?

The Galileo system robustness is being continuously improved to ensure seamless, safe and secured service delivery 24/7 to users worldwide.

The Public Regulated Service (PRS) of Galileo is expected to reach Initial Operational Capability by the end of 2023.

EUSPA is currently working on delivering next-generation services based on Galileo’s precise signals, timing capabilities, and robust performance. 

Visit the GNSS Service Centre website www.gsc-europa.eu for all details on Galileo service performance

Undertaken by a European partnership, the European Commission manages Galileo, with EUSPA overseeing Galileo operations and service provision and ESA as the design authority overseeing its development, procuring satellites, and the ground segment.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

EUSPA launched a new initiative called "EUSPA Network of pilot projects" to facilitate the implementation of EGNOS-based procedures to non-instrument runways for general aviation and validate the safety assessment guidelines, published earlier in November.

Since its certification for use in civil aviation in 2011, EGNOS has become an important aid in the European aviation sector, increasing both the safety and accessibility of airports. Thanks to the accurate guidance offered by the system, pilots can easily land under challenging weather conditions such as poor visibility and avoid aborted landings (go-arounds). 

From an airport perspective, EGNOS LPV approaches allow for instrument landings at lower costs as there is no need to install ground navigation aids. Satellite-based approaches by EGNOS are precise, stable, offer smoother glide paths and very high levels of availability.

As of today, more than 400 airports -mostly medium or large- in Europe rely on EGNOS-based approaches. General Aviation aerodromes usually rely on only VFR operations and have limited ground infrastructure. Even though the General Aviation (GA) community undertakes millions of flights on aircraft equipped with GNSS-receivers, it is not taking full advantage of the technology.

EUSPA worked together with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and other general aviation stakeholders on the strategy and other materials to support the implementation of EGNOS for general aviation to increase instrument approaches with EGNOS at non-instrument aerodromes. In December 2019, the safety promotion material for the implementation of EGNOS based procedures to general aviation was published followed by the safety assessment guidance material focusing on safety assessment development. One of the biggest challenges of the implementation of EGNOS-based approaches to non-instrument runways for general aviation is the safety assessment.  EUSPA launched a new initiative called "EUSPA Network of pilot projects" to facilitate the implementation of EGNOS-based procedures to non-instrument runways for general aviation and validate the safety assessment guidelines.

Click here to read all you need to know about the "EUSPA Network of pilot projects"

Why invest in EGNOS?

Implementing EGNOS-based LPV procedures across European General Aviation airports brings numerous opportunities, from increasing flight traffic and boosting the economy of local communities to benefitting flight schools.  SBAS approaches can help smaller airports create more connections for General and Business Aviation flights, while GA and BA pilots can rely on their instruments to land even under poor weather conditions such as decreased visibility.

About EGNOS

The European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service, or EGNOS in short, is European Union regional satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS). SBASs are used to correct the performance of global navigation satellite systems, such as GPS. To do so, EGNOS uses a set of geostationary satellites and a network of ground stations to increase the accuracy of GPS. In the next 3 years, a new, more powerful system called "EGNOS V3" will become available and the user experience will be maximised through the strengthening of Galileo’s signal in addition to GPS’s.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

The 10th edition of the EGNOS Workshop brought together nearly 500 users of the European Satellite-Based augmentation service (SBAS), EGNOS, to appreciate how they are taking the best out of this component of the EU Space Programme.

The EGNOS Workshop is an opportunity to connect with Europe’s SBAS users, catch up on the GNSS latest developments, share success stories, and exchange views. Entrepreneurs, SMEs, space industry experts, and institutional stakeholders from a broad range of industries comprising aviation, maritime, rail, and agriculture joined us for this year’s online version.

The workshop gathered high-level speakers and users of EGNOS. EUSPA Head of Market Development, Fiammetta Diani, presented new market uptake strategies that will increase the EGNOS user base. Market segments with great EGNOS potential include autonomous vehicles, drones, and aviation with AFIS (Aerodrome Flight Information Service).

EGNOS to become a standard in aviation by 2024

2021 marked the 10th anniversary of the EGNOS Safety of Life service. The service was declared operational in March 2011, enabling approaches down to LPV (Localiser Performance with Vertical guidance) minima at airports across Europe. As of today, there are 798 EGNOS mapped procedures at 422 airports and aerodromes across the EU24 and in countries such as Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Montenegro, and Serbia. According to EUSPA experts, in October, 62718 flights used EGNOS for landing, a number which is expected to grow even more in the years to come. A major step in enhancing the market uptake of EGNOS was the adoption of the PBN Implementing Rule by the European Commission in late 2018. By 2024, all European instrument runways should have implemented LPV approaches delivered by EGNOS. 

Various EGNOS use cases in aviation were presented. For instance, the first transcontinental flight using SBAS LPV approaches at both origin and destination airport. On September 12th, 2020, Finnair’s pilots set a flight plan from Helsinki Vantaa Airport to New York JFK to land on runway 4 with a LPV approach. The approach and landing were uneventful and carried out under optimal visual conditions. On September 13th, after a 24-hour layover at New York and using the same airbus A350, Finnair performed a cargo flight landing in Helsinki airport using EGNOS. 

Agriculture, rail, and maritime at the heart of EGNOS service provision

EGNOS has been a ‘’go-to source’’ for farmers who look to invest in precision farming, with almost 100% of new tractors in Europe incorporating its corrections. Coupled with imagery and in-situ data by Copernicus, EGNOS’s trusted precision allows for solutions such Variable-Rate Technology (VRT), a technique that automates the application of fertilizers, chemical sprays, and seeds to a given piece of land.

In the rail sector, chipset and receiver manufacturers are already developing devices and modules that combine signals from multiple constellations while integrating EGNOS corrections to ensure better signal availability. Mission studies are progressing to define a dedicated EGNSS service for rail safety-critical applications. Within non-safety critical applications, EUSPA has been instrumental in convincing stakeholders to adopt Galileo and EGNOS to achieve better performance in the area of asset tracking. A recent example of such successful EGNSS uptake in the rail sector was presented by DB Cargo representative, Sören Linse. At present, already more than 60.000 DB wagons rely on EGNSS to ensure effective asset monitoring, including geofencing alerts or improved billing processes for their transport service delivery to customers.

Watch this: #EUSpace for Rail

EGNOS's corrections Europe-wide is already making a difference in many inland waterways and ports. EUSPA is currently developing a new EGNOS service dedicated to the maritime community that will complement and serve as an alternative to the local DGNSS networks deployed along the European coasts. Additionally, in the maritime and inland waterways sector, EUSPA is supporting Members States with the upgrade of shore station equipment that enables the transmission of EGNOS corrections over IALA Radio beacons and AIS stations. 

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

The 10th edition of the EGNOS Workshop brought together nearly 500 users of the European Satellite-Based augmentation service (SBAS), EGNOS, to appreciate how they are taking the best out of this component of the EU Space Programme.

The EGNOS Workshop is an opportunity to connect with Europe’s SBAS users, catch up on the GNSS latest developments, share success stories, and exchange views. Entrepreneurs, SMEs, space industry experts, and institutional stakeholders from a broad range of industries comprising aviation, maritime, rail, and agriculture joined us for this year’s online version.

The workshop gathered high-level speakers and users of EGNOS. EUSPA Head of Market Development, Fiammetta Diani, presented new market uptake strategies that will increase the EGNOS user base. Market segments with great EGNOS potential include autonomous vehicles, drones, and aviation with AFIS (Aerodrome Flight Information Service).

EGNOS to become a standard in aviation by 2024

2021 marked the 10th anniversary of the EGNOS Safety of Life service. The service was declared operational in March 2011, enabling approaches down to LPV (Localiser Performance with Vertical guidance) minima at airports across Europe. As of today, there are 798 EGNOS mapped procedures at 422 airports and aerodromes across the EU24 and in countries such as Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Montenegro, and Serbia. According to EUSPA experts, in October, 62718 flights used EGNOS for landing, a number which is expected to grow even more in the years to come. A major step in enhancing the market uptake of EGNOS was the adoption of the PBN Implementing Rule by the European Commission in late 2018. By 2024, all European instrument runways should have implemented LPV approaches delivered by EGNOS. 

Various EGNOS use cases in aviation were presented. For instance, the first transcontinental flight using SBAS LPV approaches at both origin and destination airport. On September 12th, 2020, Finnair’s pilots set a flight plan from Helsinki Vantaa Airport to New York JFK to land on runway 4 with a LPV approach. The approach and landing were uneventful and carried out under optimal visual conditions. On September 13th, after a 24-hour layover at New York and using the same airbus A350, Finnair performed a cargo flight landing in Helsinki airport using EGNOS. 

Agriculture, rail, and maritime at the heart of EGNOS service provision

EGNOS has been a ‘’go-to source’’ for farmers who look to invest in precision farming, with almost 100% of new tractors in Europe incorporating its corrections. Coupled with imagery and in-situ data by Copernicus, EGNOS’s trusted precision allows for solutions such Variable-Rate Technology (VRT), a technique that automates the application of fertilizers, chemical sprays, and seeds to a given piece of land.

In the rail sector, chipset and receiver manufacturers are already developing devices and modules that combine signals from multiple constellations while integrating EGNOS corrections to ensure better signal availability. Mission studies are progressing to define a dedicated EGNSS service for rail safety-critical applications. Within non-safety critical applications, EUSPA has been instrumental in convincing stakeholders to adopt Galileo and EGNOS to achieve better performance in the area of asset tracking. A recent example of such successful EGNSS uptake in the rail sector was presented by DB Cargo representative, Sören Linse. At present, already more than 60.000 DB wagons rely on EGNSS to ensure effective asset monitoring, including geofencing alerts or improved billing processes for their transport service delivery to customers.

Watch this: #EUSpace for Rail

EGNOS's corrections Europe-wide are already making a difference in many inland waterways and ports. EUSPA is currently developing a new EGNOS service dedicated to the maritime community that will complement and serve as an alternative to the local DGNSS networks deployed along the European coasts. Additionally, in the maritime and inland waterways sector, EUSPA is supporting Members States with the upgrade of shore station equipment that enables the transmission of EGNOS corrections over IALA Radio beacons and AIS stations. 

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

The 10th edition of the EGNOS Workshop brought together nearly 500 users of the European Satellite-Based augmentation service (SBAS), EGNOS, to appreciate how they are taking the best out of this component of the EU Space Programme.

The EGNOS Workshop is an opportunity to connect with Europe’s SBAS users, catch up on the GNSS latest developments, share success stories, and exchange views. Entrepreneurs, SMEs, space industry experts, and institutional stakeholders from a broad range of industries comprising aviation, maritime, rail, and agriculture joined us for this year’s online version.

The workshop gathered high-level speakers and users of EGNOS. EUSPA Head of Market Development, Fiammetta Diani, presented new market uptake strategies that will increase the EGNOS user base. Market segments with great EGNOS potential include autonomous vehicles, drones, and aviation with AFIS (Aerodrome Flight Information Service).

EGNOS to become a standard in aviation by 2024

2021 marked the 10th anniversary of the EGNOS Safety of Life service. The service was declared operational in March 2011, enabling approaches down to LPV (Localiser Performance with Vertical guidance) minima at airports across Europe. As of today, there are 798 EGNOS mapped procedures at 422 airports and aerodromes across the EU27 and in countries such as Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Montenegro, and Serbia. According to EUSPA experts, in October, 62718 flights used EGNOS for landing, a number which is expected to grow even more in the years to come. A major step in enhancing the market uptake of EGNOS was the adoption of the PBN Implementing Rule by the European Commission in late 2018. By 2024, all European instrument runways should have implemented LPV approaches delivered by EGNOS. 

Various EGNOS use cases in aviation were presented. For instance, the first transcontinental flight using SBAS LPV approaches at both origin and destination airport. On September 12th, 2020, Finnair’s pilots set a flight plan from Helsinki Vantaa Airport to New York JFK to land on runway 4 with a LPV approach. The approach and landing were uneventful and carried out under optimal visual conditions. On September 13th, after a 24-hour layover at New York and using the same airbus A350, Finnair performed a cargo flight landing in Helsinki airport using EGNOS. 

Agriculture, rail, and maritime at the heart of EGNOS service provision

EGNOS has been a ‘’go-to source’’ for farmers who look to invest in precision farming, with almost 100% of new tractors in Europe incorporating its corrections. Coupled with imagery and in-situ data by Copernicus, EGNOS’s trusted precision allows for solutions such Variable-Rate Technology (VRT), a technique that automates the application of fertilizers, chemical sprays, and seeds to a given piece of land.

In the rail sector, chipset and receiver manufacturers are already developing devices and modules that combine signals from multiple constellations while integrating EGNOS corrections to ensure better signal availability. Mission studies are progressing to define a dedicated EGNSS service for rail safety-critical applications. Within non-safety critical applications, EUSPA has been instrumental in convincing stakeholders to adopt Galileo and EGNOS to achieve better performance in the area of asset tracking. A recent example of such successful EGNSS uptake in the rail sector was presented by DB Cargo representative, Sören Linse. At present, already more than 60.000 DB wagons rely on EGNSS to ensure effective asset monitoring, including geofencing alerts or improved billing processes for their transport service delivery to customers.

Watch this: #EUSpace for Rail

EGNOS's corrections Europe-wide are already making a difference in many inland waterways and ports. EUSPA is currently developing a new EGNOS service dedicated to the maritime community that will complement and serve as an alternative to the local DGNSS networks deployed along the European coasts. Additionally, in the maritime and inland waterways sector, EUSPA is supporting Members States with the upgrade of shore station equipment that enables the transmission of EGNOS corrections over IALA Radio beacons and AIS stations. 

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

EUSPA-funded ‘’GEARS’’ set to conclude at the end of December developed a super accurate and highly robust Galileo-enabled receiver to provide time and frequency data for critical infrastructures. Join our webinar on 16th December 2021 for all the details!

GNSS Timing capability is at the core of Critical Infrastructures (CI). The GNSS CI market is driven by its strategic importance rather than its size. Currently, telecommunications represent 90% of the overall CI market and with the arrival of 5G, shipments of GNSS devices are expected to soar. Moreover, new regulations require financial institutions to trace operations within a consistent and accurate time scale, while smart grids are replacing traditional solutions in the field of energy.

In 2019, the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) awarded a grant to positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) solution provider Orolia to develop a resilient time and frequency receiver to protect critical GNSS-reliant systems. The Galileo Authenticated Robust Timing System (GEARS) project developed an accurate and highly robust Galileo-enabled receiver for critical infrastructures. After two years of continuous work, Orolia is ready to market GEARS to boost operators' confidence in Galileo's Timing and Synchronisation services.

A webinar is scheduled for December 16th at 14:30 CET to present the concepts, activities, and results obtained by GEARS. Participants will be able to interact with the project contributors through a dedicated Q & A session.

You can register free here. 

About Fundamental Elements

Fundamental Elements is an EU R&D funding mechanism supporting the development of EGNSS-enabled chipsets, receivers, and antennas. The Fundamental Elements projects are part of the overall European GNSS strategy for market uptake, led by EUSPA. Read more.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

EUSPA-funded ‘’GEARS’’ set to conclude at the end of December developed a super accurate and highly robust Galileo-enabled receiver to provide time and frequency data for critical infrastructures. Join our webinar on 16th December 2021 for all the details!

GNSS Timing capability is at the core of Critical Infrastructures (CI). The GNSS CI market is driven by its strategic importance rather than its size. Currently, telecommunications represent 90% of the overall CI market and with the arrival of 5G, shipments of GNSS devices are expected to soar. Moreover, new regulations require financial institutions to trace operations within a consistent and accurate time scale, while smart grids are replacing traditional solutions in the field of energy.

In 2019, the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) awarded a grant to positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) solution provider Orolia to develop a resilient time and frequency receiver to protect critical GNSS-reliant systems. The Galileo Authenticated Robust Timing System (GEARS) project developed an accurate and highly robust Galileo-enabled receiver for critical infrastructures. After two years of continuous work, Orolia is ready to market GEARS to boost operators' confidence in Galileo's Timing and Synchronisation services.

A webinar is scheduled for December 16th at 14:30 CET to present the concepts, activities, and results obtained by GEARS. Participants will be able to interact with the project contributors through a dedicated Q & A session.

You can register free here. 

About Fundamental Elements

Fundamental Elements is an EU R&D funding mechanism supporting the development of EGNSS-enabled chipsets, receivers, and antennas. The Fundamental Elements projects are part of the overall European GNSS strategy for market uptake, led by EUSPA. Read more.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

The EGNOS Workshop is the yearly opportunity to learn about the evolution of EGNOS services and connect with Europe’s Satellite Based Augmentation System (SBAS) users. 

Organised by the EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) and the EGNOS Service Provider (ESSP), the EGNOS Annual Workshop provided nearly 500 participants first-hand information on the status and roadmap of EGNOS services, its development, and its implementation in fields such as aviation, maritime, rail and agriculture. 

The workshop kicked off with a welcome speech by EUSPA Executive Director, Rodrigo da Costa, who highlighted a major change for EGNOS, in line with the new EU Space Programme regulation. ‘’The transition into the EUSPA came with an enlarged scope of responsibilities reinforcing, in particular, our mission for EGNOS, one of the EU Space Programme founding components. We are the Exploitation Manager and now system prime of the EGNOS system in operation’’ said da Costa.

As EGNOS Exploitation Manager, and System Prime responsible for the changes to the system in operations, EUSPA was especially keen on demonstrating its vision of development of the system together with its partners, showcasing success stories and examples of the benefits that EGNOS keeps offering to European users. 

In her welcoming speech Charlotte Neyret, new ESSP CEO, remarked: “10 years have passed since EGNOS Safety of Life entered into service for the aviation sector, and as the PBN IR REGULATION (2018) states, by 2024 all-instrumental runway ends in Europe must have an RNP APCH procedure to LPV minima published, so I am confident that this figure of +700 EGNOS – enabled procedures for around 400 airports will continue to grow.”

EGNOS service provision to further expand 

With multi-constellation becoming the norm, the GNSS industry is now witnessing a shift towards the adoption of multi-frequency. In the coming years, EGNOS V3 will be available. This evolved system, will augment both GPS and Galileo in the L1 and L5 bands and will provide additional satellite-based augmentation system service capabilities through a new SBAS channel on L5. The increased EGNOS services availability will go beyond the EU, supporting a growing number of users.

In 2021, Iceland just joined the EGNOS Programme, as a new participating State. Furthermore, currently providing corrections and integrity information in a broad area centred over Europe, the EGNOS coverage area is set to expand. The European Commission has set aside some EUR 8 million from the European Neighbourhood Instrument for the Eastern Partnership countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine) in order to extend the EGNOS V3 System enabling future extensions to these territories of EGNOS high-quality services and cutting-edge technology.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

The EGNOS Workshop is the yearly opportunity to learn about the evolution of EGNOS services and connect with Europe’s Satellite Based Augmentation System (SBAS) users. 

Organised by the EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) and the EGNOS Service Provider (ESSP), the EGNOS Annual Workshop provided nearly 500 participants first-hand information on the status and roadmap of EGNOS services, its development, and its implementation in fields such as aviation, maritime, rail and agriculture. 

The workshop kicked off with a welcome speech by EUSPA Executive Director, Rodrigo da Costa, who highlighted a major change for EGNOS, in line with the new EU Space Programme regulation. ‘’The transition into the EUSPA came with an enlarged scope of responsibilities reinforcing, in particular, our mission for EGNOS, one of the EU Space Programme founding components. We are the Exploitation Manager and now system prime of the EGNOS system in operation’’ said da Costa.

As EGNOS Exploitation Manager, and System Prime responsible for the changes to the system in operations, EUSPA was especially keen on demonstrating its vision of development of the system together with its partners, showcasing success stories and examples of the benefits that EGNOS keeps offering to European users. 

In her welcoming speech Charlotte Neyret, new ESSP CEO, remarked: “10 years have passed since EGNOS Safety of Life entered into service for the aviation sector, and as the PBN IR REGULATION (2018) states, by 2024 all-instrumental runway ends in Europe must have an RNP APCH procedure to LPV minima published, so I am confident that this figure of +700 EGNOS – enabled procedures for around 400 airports will continue to grow.”

EGNOS service provision to further expand 

With multi-constellation becoming the norm, the GNSS industry is now witnessing a shift towards the adoption of multi-frequency. In the coming years, EGNOS V3 will be available. This evolved system, will augment both GPS and Galileo in the L1 and L5 bands and will provide additional satellite-based augmentation system service capabilities through a new SBAS channel on L5. The increased EGNOS services availability will go beyond the EU, supporting a growing number of users.

In 2021, Iceland just joined the EGNOS Programme, as a new participating State. Furthermore, currently providing corrections and integrity information in a broad area centred over Europe, the EGNOS coverage area is set to expand. The European Commission has set aside some EUR 8 million from the European Neighbourhood Instrument for the Eastern Partnership countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine) in order to extend the EGNOS V3 System enabling future extensions to these territories of EGNOS high-quality services and cutting-edge technology.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

The EGNOS Workshop is the opportunity to learn about the evolution of EGNOS services and connect with Europe’s Satellite Based Augmentation System (SBAS) users. 

Organised by the EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) and the EGNOS Service Provider (ESSP), the EGNOS Annual Workshop provided nearly 500 participants first-hand information on the status and roadmap of EGNOS services, its development, and its implementation in fields such as aviation, maritime, rail and agriculture. 

The workshop kicked off with a welcome speech by EUSPA Executive Director, Rodrigo da Costa, who highlighted a major change for EGNOS, in line with the new EU Space Programme regulation. ‘’The transition into the EUSPA came with an enlarged scope of responsibilities reinforcing, in particular, our mission for EGNOS, one of the EU Space Programme founding components. We are the Exploitation Manager and now system prime of the EGNOS system in operation’’ said da Costa.

As EGNOS Exploitation Manager, and System Prime responsible for the changes to the system in operations, EUSPA was especially keen on demonstrating its vision of development of the system together with its partners, showcasing success stories and examples of the benefits that EGNOS keeps offering to European users. 

In her welcoming speech Charlotte Neyret, new ESSP CEO, remarked: “10 years have passed since EGNOS Safety of Life entered into service for the aviation sector, and as the PBN IR REGULATION (2018) states, by 2024 all-instrumental runway ends in Europe must have an RNP APCH procedure to LPV minima published, so I am confident that this figure of +700 EGNOS – enabled procedures for around 400 airports will continue to grow.”

EGNOS service provision to further expand 

With multi-constellation becoming the norm, the GNSS industry is now witnessing a shift towards the adoption of multi-frequency. In the coming years, EGNOS V3 will be available. This evolved system, will augment both GPS and Galileo in the L1 and L5 bands and will provide additional satellite-based augmentation system service capabilities through a new SBAS channel on L5. The increased EGNOS services availability will go beyond the EU, supporting a growing number of users.

In 2021, Iceland just joined the EGNOS Programme, as a new participating State. Furthermore, currently providing corrections and integrity information in a broad area centred over Europe, the EGNOS coverage area is set to expand. The European Commission has set aside some EUR 8 million from the European Neighbourhood Instrument for the Eastern Partnership countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine) in order to extend the EGNOS V3 System enabling future extensions to these territories of EGNOS high-quality services and cutting-edge technology.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

The EU Agency for the Space Programme, EUSPA, has launched the 2021 Galileo and EGNOS User Satisfaction Surveys. Having your feedback is crucial to the evolution of the satnav components of the EU Space Programme.

The Galileo and EGNOS User Satisfaction Surveys are addressing all users and market segments including: Aviation, Maritime, Rail, Road, Consumer Solutions, Agriculture, Geomatics and Critical Infrastructure. When responding to the survey, select the market segment in which you operate; the market segment that corresponds to your main area of activity; or the market segment that is the most important for your company or organisation, if you are active in multiple market segments you can select more than one. The surveys only take a few minutes to complete and your feedback will make a real difference.  

Take part in the Galileo survey here.

In addition, the EGNOS survey also covers all the EGNOS services, including the Open Service, the Safety of Life Service and the EGNOS Data Access Service (EDAS). It also assesses the EGNOS service provider’s management of EGNOS User Support Services. 

Take part in the EGNOS survey here.

Based on the feedback, recommendations will be drawn up for improvements across all the EGNOS and Galileo services and support to users. For an overview of the results of the previous EGNOS and Galileo User Satisfaction Surveys and the recommendations generated, click here for Galileo and here for EGNOS. 

The EU Space Programme was conceived with the core aim of multiplying the benefits of space for the society. EUSPA wants to make sure that all end users in Europe and across the globe are satisfied with the service provision. Let’s keep our conversation going!

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

The EU Agency for the Space Programme has launched the 2021 Galileo and EGNOS User Satisfaction Surveys. Having your feedback is crucial to the evolution of the satnav components of the EU Space Programme.

The Galileo and EGNOS User Satisfaction Surveys are addressing all users and market segments including: Aviation, Maritime, Rail, Road, Location Based Services, Agriculture and Surveying and Mapping. When responding to the survey, select the market segment in which you operate; the market segment that corresponds to your main area of activity; or the market segment that is the most important for your company or organisation, if you are active in multiple market segments. The surveys only take a few minutes to complete and your feedback will make a real difference.  

Take part in the Galileo survey here.

In addition to the various market segments, the EGNOS survey also covers all the EGNOS services, including the Open Service, the Safety of Life Service and the EGNOS Data Access Service (EDAS). It also assesses the EGNOS service provider’s management of EGNOS User Support Services. 

Take part in the EGNOS survey here.

Based on the feedback, recommendations will be drawn up for improvements across all the EGNOS and Galileo services and support to users. For an overview of the results of the previous EGNOS and Galileo User Satisfaction Surveys and the recommendations they generated, click here for Galileo and here for EGNOS. 

The EU Space Programme was conceived with the core aim of multiplying the benefits of space and putting them into society. EUSPA wants to make sure that all end users in Europe and across the globe are satisfied with the service provision. Let’s keep our conversation going!

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

The EU Agency for the Space Programme has launched the 2021 Galileo and EGNOS User Satisfaction Surveys. Having your feedback is crucial to the evolution of the satnav components of the EU Space Programme.

The Galileo and EGNOS User Satisfaction Surveys are addressing all users and market segments including: Aviation, Maritime, Rail, Road, Location Based Services, Agriculture and Surveying and Mapping. When responding to the survey, select the market segment in which you operate; the market segment that corresponds to your main area of activity; or the market segment that is the most important for your company or organisation, if you are active in multiple market segments. The surveys only take a few minutes to complete and your feedback will make a real difference.  

Take part in the Galileo survey here.

In addition to the various market segments, the EGNOS survey also covers all the EGNOS services, including the Open Service, the Safety of Life Service and the EGNOS Data Access Service (EDAS). It also assesses the EGNOS service provider’s management of EGNOS User Support Services. 

Take part in the EGNOS survey here.

Based on the feedback, recommendations will be drawn up for improvements across all the EGNOS and Galileo services and support to users. For an overview of the results of the previous EGNOS and Galileo User Satisfaction Surveys and the recommendations they generated, click here for Galileo and here for EGNOS. 

The EU Space Programme was conceived with the core aim of multiplying the benefits of space and putting them into society. EUSPA wants to make sure that all end users in Europe and across the globe are satisfied with the service provision. Let’s keep our conversation going!

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

The EU Agency for the Space Programme, EUSPA, has launched the 2021 Galileo and EGNOS User Satisfaction Surveys. Having your feedback is crucial to the evolution of the satnav components of the EU Space Programme.

The Galileo and EGNOS User Satisfaction Surveys are addressing all users and market segments including: Aviation, Maritime, Rail, Road, Consumer Solutions, Agriculture, Geomatics and Critical Infrastructure. When responding to the survey, select the market segment in which you operate; the market segment that corresponds to your main area of activity; or the market segment that is the most important for your company or organisation, if you are active in multiple market segments you can select more than one. The surveys only take a few minutes to complete and your feedback will make a real difference.  

Take part in the Galileo survey here.

In addition, the EGNOS survey also covers all the EGNOS services, including the Open Service, the Safety of Life Service and the EGNOS Data Access Service (EDAS). It also assesses the EGNOS service provider’s management of EGNOS User Support Services. 

Take part in the EGNOS survey here.

Based on the feedback, recommendations will be drawn up for improvements across all the EGNOS and Galileo services and support to users. For an overview of the results of the previous EGNOS and Galileo User Satisfaction Surveys and the recommendations generated, click here for Galileo and here for EGNOS. 

The EU Space Programme was conceived with the core aim of multiplying the benefits of space for the society. EUSPA wants to make sure that all end users in Europe and across the globe are satisfied with the service provision. Let’s keep our conversation going!

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

The EU Agency for the Space Programme, EUSPA, has launched the 2021 Galileo and EGNOS User Satisfaction Surveys. Having your feedback is crucial to the evolution of the satnav components of the EU Space Programme.

The Galileo and EGNOS User Satisfaction Surveys are addressing all users and market segments including: Aviation, Maritime, Rail, Road, Consumer Solutions, Agriculture, Geomatics and Critical Infrastructure. When responding to the survey, select the market segment in which you operate; the market segment that corresponds to your main area of activity; or the market segment that is the most important for your company or organisation, if you are active in multiple market segments you can select more than one. The surveys only take a few minutes to complete and your feedback will make a real difference.  

Take part in the Galileo survey here.

In addition, the EGNOS survey also covers all the EGNOS services, including the Open Service, the Safety of Life Service and the EGNOS Data Access Service (EDAS). It also assesses the EGNOS service provider’s management of EGNOS User Support Services. 

Take part in the EGNOS survey here.

Based on the feedback, recommendations will be drawn up for improvements across all the EGNOS and Galileo services and support to users. For an overview of the results of the previous EGNOS and Galileo User Satisfaction Surveys and the recommendations generated, click here for Galileo and here for EGNOS. 

The EU Space Programme was conceived with the core aim of multiplying the benefits of space for the society. EUSPA wants to make sure that all end users in Europe and across the globe are satisfied with the service provision. Let’s keep our conversation going!

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

The EU Agency for the Space Programme, EUSPA, has launched the 2021 Galileo and EGNOS User Satisfaction Surveys. Having your feedback is crucial to the evolution of the satnav components of the EU Space Programme.

The Galileo and EGNOS User Satisfaction Surveys are addressing all users and market segments including: Aviation, Maritime, Rail, Road, Consumer Solutions, Agriculture, Geomatics and Critical Infrastructure. When responding to the survey, select the market segment in which you operate; the market segment that corresponds to your main area of activity; or the market segment that is the most important for your company or organisation, if you are active in multiple market segments you can select more than one. The surveys only take a few minutes to complete and your feedback will make a real difference.  

Take part in the Galileo survey here.

In addition, the EGNOS survey also covers all the EGNOS services, including the Open Service, the Safety of Life Service and the EGNOS Data Access Service (EDAS). It also assesses the EGNOS service provider’s management of EGNOS User Support Services. 

Take part in the EGNOS survey here.

Based on the feedback, recommendations will be drawn up for improvements across all the EGNOS and Galileo services and support to users. For an overview of the results of the previous EGNOS and Galileo User Satisfaction Surveys and the recommendations generated, click here for Galileo and here for EGNOS. 

The EU Space Programme was conceived with the core aim of multiplying the benefits of space for the society. EUSPA wants to make sure that all end users in Europe and across the globe are satisfied with the service provision. Let’s keep our conversation going!

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

The Galileo satellites 27 and 28 were successfully launched on-board of a Soyuz carrier earlier on December 4 at 21:19, Kourou time – or on December 5 at 01:19 CET from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guyana. 

Earlier today, the 46m tall Soyuz launcher VS-26, successfully lifted off from Kourou, French Guyana, for a nearly four-hour voyage till the separation of the Galileo satellites 27-28 from the rocket. The Galileo Launch 11 is the first of a series of 6 launches (with two satellites per launch), which will allow Galileo to deliver greater accuracy to existing users and open up new market opportunities.

The Galileo satellites were ejected from the upper stage of the launcher at 05:09 CET. They are currently managed from the Galileo Control Centre in Oberpfaffenhofen in Germany by the EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) and its Galileo Service Operator team led by SpaceOpal, in charge of the satellite operations after separation from the Launch vehicle. It is part of the Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP)

Relive the launch here

The Launch and Early Orbit Phase is one of the most exciting and important phases of a space mission, as it handles the launch of the spacecraft its travel into the correct orbit, gradually switching on the spacecraft platform to test the core-satellite elements. Over the following days, the EUSPA and SpaceOpal team will be manoeuvring the satellites until the start of the drift phase which should last around 3 weeks till the Drift Stop and Fine Positioning Manoeuvres (DSFP), when the satellites will be placed into their home orbit at 23 220 km. 

Upon commissioning and rigorous in-Orbit tests, the spacecraft will enter into the Galileo service provision.

“Today we can proudly celebrate another milestone achieved by the European Union’s most ambitious and largest industrial project, Galileo’’ says EUSPA Executive Director, Rodrigo da Costa. “The successful addition of satellites 27-28 to the world’s most precise positioning system is a very important step for our more than 2 billion users around the world and is the result of a robust collaboration between us, the European Commission, the European Space Agency (ESA), and our industrial partners. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to all the parties involved, who are working relentlessly to ensure the success of the mission.”

Watch Rodrigo da Costa's message here.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

The Galileo satellites 27 and 28 were successfully launched on-board of a Soyuz carrier earlier on December 4 at 21:19, Kourou time – or on December 5 at 01:19 CET from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guyana. 

Earlier today, the 46m tall Soyuz launcher VS-26, successfully lifted off from Kourou, French Guyana, for a nearly four-hour voyage till the separation of the Galileo satellites 27-28 from the rocket. The Galileo Launch 11 is the first of a series of 6 launches (with two satellites per launch), which will allow Galileo to deliver greater accuracy to existing users and open up new market opportunities.

The Galileo satellites were ejected from the upper stage of the launcher at 05:09 CET. They are currently managed from the Galileo Control Centre in Oberpfaffenhofen in Germany by the EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) and its Galileo Service Operator team led by SpaceOpal, in charge of the satellite operations after separation from the Launch vehicle. It is part of the Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP)

Relive the launch here

The Launch and Early Orbit Phase is one of the most exciting and important phases of a space mission, as it handles the launch of the spacecraft its travel into the correct orbit, gradually switching on the spacecraft platform to test the core-satellite elements. Over the following days, the EUSPA and SpaceOpal team will be manoeuvring the satellites until the start of the drift phase which should last around 3 weeks till the Drift Stop and Fine Positioning Manoeuvres (DSFP), when the satellites will be placed into their home orbit at 23 220 km. 

Upon commissioning and rigorous in-Orbit tests, the spacecraft will enter into the Galileo service provision.

“Today we can proudly celebrate another milestone achieved by the European Union’s most ambitious and largest industrial project, Galileo’’ says EUSPA Executive Director, Rodrigo da Costa. “The successful addition of satellites 27-28 to the world’s most precise positioning system is a very important step for our more than 2 billion users around the world and is the result of a robust collaboration between us, the European Commission, the European Space Agency (ESA), and our industrial partners. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to all the parties involved, who are working relentlessly to ensure the success of the mission.”

Watch Rodrigo da Costa's message here.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

The Galileo satellites 27 and 28 were successfully launched on-board of a Soyuz carrier earlier on December 4 at 21:19, Kourou time – or on December 5 at 01:19 CET from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guyana. 

Earlier today, the 46m tall Soyuz launcher VS-26, successfully lifted off from Kourou, French Guyana, for a nearly four-hour voyage till the separation of the Galileo satellites 27-28 from the rocket. The Galileo Launch 11 is the first of a series of 6 launches (with two satellites per launch), which will allow Galileo to deliver greater accuracy to existing users and open up new market opportunities.

The Galileo satellites were ejected from the upper stage of the launcher at 05:09 CET. They are currently managed from the Galileo Control Centre in Oberpfaffenhofen in Germany by the EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) and its Galileo Service Operator team led by SpaceOpal, in charge of the satellite operations after separation from the Launch vehicle. It is part of the Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP)

Relive the launch here

The Launch and Early Orbit Phase is one of the most exciting and important phases of a space mission, as it handles the launch of the spacecraft its travel into the correct orbit, gradually switching on the spacecraft platform to test the core-satellite elements. Over the following days, the EUSPA and SpaceOpal team will be manoeuvring the satellites until the start of the drift phase which should last around 3 weeks till the Drift Stop and Fine Positioning Manoeuvres (DSFP), when the satellites will be placed into their home orbit at 23 220 km. 

Upon commissioning and rigorous in-Orbit tests, the spacecraft will enter into the Galileo service provision.

“Today we can proudly celebrate another milestone achieved by the European Union’s most ambitious and largest industrial project, Galileo’’ says EUSPA Executive Director, Rodrigo da Costa. “The successful addition of satellites 27-28 to the world’s most precise positioning system is a very important step for our more than 2 billion users around the world and is the result of a robust collaboration between us, the European Commission, the European Space Agency (ESA), and our industrial partners. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to all the parties involved, who are working relentlessly to ensure the success of the mission.”

Watch Rodrigo da Costa's message here.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

The Galileo satellites 27 and 28 were successfully launched on-board of a Soyuz carrier earlier on December 4 at 21:19, Kourou time – or on December 5 at 01:19 CET from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guyana. 

Earlier today, the 46m tall Soyuz launcher VS-26, successfully lifted off from Kourou, French Guyana, for a nearly four-hour voyage till the separation of the Galileo satellites 27-28 from the rocket. The Galileo Launch 11 is the first of a series of 6 launches (with two satellites per launch), which will allow Galileo to deliver greater accuracy to existing users and open up new market opportunities.

The Galileo satellites were ejected from the upper stage of the launcher at 05:09 CET. They are currently managed from the Galileo Control Centre in Oberpfaffenhofen in Germany by the EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) and its Galileo Service Operator team led by SpaceOpal, in charge of the satellite operations after separation from the Launch vehicle. It is part of the Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP)

The Launch and Early Orbit Phase is one of the most exciting and important phases of a space mission, as it handles the launch of the spacecraft its travel into the correct orbit, gradually switching on the spacecraft platform to test the core-satellite elements. Over the following days, the EUSPA and SpaceOpal team will be manoeuvring the satellites until the start of the drift phase which should last around 3 weeks till the Drift Stop and Fine Positioning Manoeuvres (DSFP), when the satellites will be placed into their home orbit at 23 220 km. 

Upon commissioning and rigorous in-Orbit tests, the spacecraft will enter into the Galileo service provision.

“Today we can proudly celebrate another milestone achieved by the European Union’s most ambitious and largest industrial project, Galileo’’ says EUSPA Executive Director, Rodrigo da Costa. “The successful addition of satellites 27-28 to the world’s most precise positioning system is a very important step for our more than 2 billion users around the world and is the result of a robust collaboration between us, the European Commission, the European Space Agency (ESA), and our industrial partners. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to all the parties involved, who are working relentlessly to ensure the success of the mission.”

Watch Rodrigo da Costa message here.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

We have many countdowns to look forward to this week, the first being the Galileo Launch 11 taking place 24 hours just before the #myEUSpace deadline! To help you put a final touch on your projects/ideas, here are the nuts and bolts of the "Space my Life" and "Dive in Quantum" challenges.

The "Space my life" challenge looks to create consumer solutions such as mobile applications and services using space data for health, gaming, sports, leisure, tourism, and everyday life purposes. The ideas should be leveraging innovative features of EGNSS and Copernicus in the mobile apps and smart wearables domain, fusing non-space technologies like IoT, big data, artificial intelligence, drones, 5G, augmented/mixed reality, etc.

For example, Galileo’s capability to deliver precise, robust positioning and timing information, combined with IoT, can enhance our lives through interconnected devices. Another example of innovative applications in this area is the exploitation of Galileo’s differentiators – like the High Accuracy Service and the authentication features – of which mobile applications can benefits thanks to the availability of GNSS raw measurements in smartphones.

Previous solutions targeting mass markets were #MyGalileoSolution competition overall winner "Vision Anchor" and #ΜyGalileoSolution finalist "Bit Pet".  

Dive in Quantum, yes that’s a tough one!

Quantum technologies use the properties of quantum effects – the interactions of molecules, atoms, and even smaller particles, known as quantum objects – to create practical applications in many different fields, and space applications are one of them.

Participants are tasked with coupling Copernicus and Galileo with quantum technologies such as quantum computing, sensing, simulation, encryption to enhance space downstream applications. 

With high-speed connectivity, protected communications, and high computing power becoming essential, quantum technologies can address or help mitigate some of the biggest challenges of today’s digital challenges.

Applications addressing the "Dive in Quantum" innovation area shall be submitted only in Track 1. In Track 1, applicants will have to turn their theoretical idea into a prototype of their product, articulating their value proposition and exploring Problem-Solution Fit based on a validation test in a relevant environment. Projects are expected to reach at least TRL 4.

In Track 2 teams are asked to bring their prototype/beta version to a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), reach a functional stage and commercialization readiness and develop a value proposition to meet Product-Market Fit. Projects expected to reach at least TRL 9.

Time is running out but before submitting, remember to read again the Terms of References here. Good luck!

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

The 5th General Assembly of the Copernicus Academy and Relays Networks, organized by the European Commission, was the opportunity to reflect on the 2021 Earth Observation milestones and build the future of the Copernicus networks together. The EU Agency for the Space Programme was present for the first time to present its new mission and highlight Copernicus flavored funding opportunities. 

The two-day event, which took place on 23-24 November, gathered interesting European Commission policy experts, industry stakeholders, and Earth Observation enthusiasts. Distinguished panelists highlighted the importance of the new EU Space Programme policy framework and the potential synergies between the components can offer. Particular emphasis was placed on how Copernicus, in conjunction with Galileo and EGNOS, can contribute to current pressing challenges such as environmental compliance or ice retreat in polar regions.

For the first time after its extended mandate to support the promotion and commercialisation of the downstream Copernicus services, EUSPA participated in the General Assembly.  Justyna Redelkiewicz, head of LBS at EUSPA Market Development, participated in the Session ‘’CASSINI: Moving forward with a more competitive EU Space Industry’’ where she presented the revisited mission of the agency as well new funding opportunities that now also include Copernicus. Redelkiewicz highlighted that the Horizon Europe calls are designed to boost synergies between the EU Space Programme components and blend well with the EU Green Deal. She also sent a reminder to #myEUspace applicants about the December 2nd submission deadline before giving a hint about the upcoming EUSPA Market Report, as it will include Copernicus insights. 

New Space and Copernicus is the real deal!

Interest was sparked during the ''New Space & Copernicus: How can they best cooperate?'' session. European Commission experts pointed out, that relationship between the EU Earth Observation Programme and New Space companies is mutually beneficial. Copernicus offers a vast amount of geospatial data that help them step up their business operations. At the same time, Copernicus can benefit from quality input such as very high-resolution imagery from new space companies in Europe.

Guest speakers during this session included ICEYE, a Finnish global leader in small satellite synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) technology. The company recently became the first European New Space company to provide data to the Copernicus Contributing Missions. Copernicus services will now receive access to ICEYE’s SAR imagery and use it to enhance public safety, border control, security, and maritime domain awareness. Other New space companies included ScanWorld and Auroratech, both of which rely on Sentinel data for vegetation analysis and wildfire detection, respectively.

Read this: Unlocking Africa’s full EO potential with EU Space synergies

#EUSpace is truly global

The EU space economy is the second-largest - in the world- supported by flagship space assets Galileo, EGNOS, and Copernicus. It is estimated to have generated over 250,000 jobs, with over 50,000 in the downstream sector. The edition of the 2021 General Assemblies was the opportunity to tap on this and present the newly established initiative of DG DEFIS called ‘’EU GLOBAL ACTION on Space’’ aimed at deepening existing and forging new business opportunities with targeted third countries across the globe. Copernicus network members can patriciate in or benefit from webinars and events organized by Global action. 

‘’Propagating information about Copernicus's potential and preparing new generations of professionals to use space applications is fundamental for a successful European Space policy. In this respect, the Assembly of Copernicus Academy and Relays Networks has an important role and will also benefit from the extended mandate that EUSPA has gained in the New Space Programme” The Generally Assembly meeting is now renewed for 2022 and EUSPA looks forward to it,’’ says Mauro Facchini, Head of the Copernicus Unit at DG DEFIS.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

The 5th General Assembly of the Copernicus Academy and Relays Networks, organized by the European Commission, was the opportunity to reflect on the 2021 Earth Observation milestones and build the future of the Copernicus networks together. The EU Agency for the Space Programme was present for the first time to present its new mission and highlight Copernicus flavored funding opportunities. 

The two-day event, which took place on 23-24 November, gathered interesting European Commission policy experts, industry stakeholders, and Earth Observation enthusiasts. Distinguished panelists highlighted the importance of the new EU Space Programme policy framework and the potential synergies between the components can offer. Particular emphasis was placed on how Copernicus, in conjunction with Galileo and EGNOS, can contribute to current pressing challenges such as environmental compliance or ice retreat in polar regions.

For the first time after its extended mandate to support the promotion and commercialisation of the downstream Copernicus services, EUSPA participated in the General Assembly.  Justyna Redelkiewicz, head of LBS at EUSPA Market Development, participated in the Session ‘’CASSINI: Moving forward with a more competitive EU Space Industry’’ where she presented the revisited mission of the agency as well new funding opportunities that now also include Copernicus. Redelkiewicz highlighted that the Horizon Europe calls are designed to boost synergies between the EU Space Programme components and blend well with the EU Green Deal. She also sent a reminder to #myEUspace applicants about the December 3rd submission deadline before giving a hint about the upcoming EUSPA Market Report, as it will include Copernicus insights. 

New Space and Copernicus is the real deal!

Interest was sparked during the ''New Space & Copernicus: How can they best cooperate?'' session. European Commission experts pointed out, that relationship between the EU Earth Observation Programme and New Space companies is mutually beneficial. Copernicus offers a vast amount of geospatial data that help them step up their business operations. At the same time, Copernicus can benefit from quality input such as very high-resolution imagery from new space companies in Europe.

Guest speakers during this session included ICEYE, a Finnish global leader in small satellite synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) technology. The company recently became the first European New Space company to provide data to the Copernicus Contributing Missions. Copernicus services will now receive access to ICEYE’s SAR imagery and use it to enhance public safety, border control, security, and maritime domain awareness. Other New space companies included ScanWorld and Auroratech, both of which rely on Sentinel data for vegetation analysis and wildfire detection, respectively.

Read this: Unlocking Africa’s full EO potential with EU Space synergies

#EUSpace is truly global

The EU space economy is the second-largest - in the world- supported by flagship space assets Galileo, EGNOS, and Copernicus. It is estimated to have generated over 250,000 jobs, with over 50,000 in the downstream sector. The edition of the 2021 General Assemblies was the opportunity to tap on this and present the newly established initiative of DG DEFIS called ‘’EU GLOBAL ACTION on Space’’ aimed at deepening existing and forging new business opportunities with targeted third countries across the globe. Copernicus network members can patriciate in or benefit from webinars and events organized by Global action. 

‘’Propagating information about Copernicus's potential and preparing new generations of professionals to use space applications is fundamental for a successful European Space policy. In this respect, the Assembly of Copernicus Academy and Relays Networks has an important role and will also benefit from the extended mandate that EUSPA has gained in the New Space Programme” The Generally Assembly meeting is now renewed for 2022 and EUSPA looks forward to it,’’ says Mauro Facchini, Head of the Copernicus Unit at DG DEFIS.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

The 5th General Assembly of the Copernicus Academy and Relays Networks, organized by the European Commission, was the opportunity to reflect on the 2021 Earth Observation milestones and build the future of the Copernicus networks together. The EU Agency for the Space Programme was present for the first time to present its new mission and highlight Copernicus flavored funding opportunities. 

The two-day event, which took place on 23-24 November, gathered interesting European Commission policy experts, industry stakeholders, and Earth Observation enthusiasts. Distinguished panelists highlighted the importance of the new EU Space Programme policy framework and the potential synergies between the components can offer. Particular emphasis was placed on how Copernicus, in conjunction with Galileo and EGNOS, can contribute to current pressing challenges such as environmental compliance or ice retreat in polar regions.

For the first time after its extended mandate to support the promotion and commercialisation of the downstream Copernicus services, EUSPA participated in the General Assembly.  Justyna Redelkiewicz, head of LBS at EUSPA Market Development, participated in the Session ‘’CASSINI: Moving forward with a more competitive EU Space Industry’’ where she presented the revisited mission of the agency as well new funding opportunities that now also include Copernicus. Redelkiewicz highlighted that the Horizon Europe calls are designed to boost synergies between the EU Space Programme components and blend well with the EU Green Deal. She also sent a reminder to #myEUspace applicants about the December 3rd submission deadline before giving a hint about the upcoming EUSPA Market Report, as it will include Copernicus insights. 

New Space and Copernicus is the real deal!

Interest was sparked during the ''New Space & Copernicus: How can they best cooperate?'' session. European Commission experts pointed out, that relationship between the EU Earth Observation Programme and New Space companies is mutually beneficial. Copernicus offers a vast amount of geospatial data that help them step up their business operations. At the same time, Copernicus can benefit from quality input such as very high-resolution imagery from new space companies in Europe.

Guest speakers during this session included ICEYE, a Finnish global leader in small satellite synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) technology. The company recently became the first European New Space company to provide data to the Copernicus Contributing Missions. Copernicus services will now receive access to ICEYE’s SAR imagery and use it to enhance public safety, border control, security, and maritime domain awareness. Other New space companies included ScanWorld and Auroratech, both of which rely on Sentinel data for vegetation analysis and wildfire detection, respectively.

Read this: Unlocking Africa’s full EO potential with EU Space synergies

#EUSpace is truly global

The EU space economy is the second-largest - in the world- supported by flagship space assets Galileo, EGNOS, and Copernicus. It is estimated to have generated over 250,000 jobs, with over 50,000 in the downstream sector. The edition of the 2021 General Assemblies was the opportunity to tap on this and present the newly established initiative of DG DEFIS called ‘’EU GLOBAL ACTION on Space’’ aimed at deepening existing and forging new business opportunities with targeted third countries across the globe. Copernicus network members can patriciate in or benefit from webinars and events organized by Global action. 

‘’Propagating information about Copernicus's potential and preparing new generations of professionals to use space applications is fundamental for a successful European Space policy. In this respect, the Assembly of Copernicus Academy and Relays Networks has an important role and will also benefit from the extended mandate that EUSPA has gained in the New Space Programme,”  says Mauro Facchini, Head of the Copernicus Unit at DG DEFIS.

The Generally Assembly meeting is now renewed for 2022 and EUSPA looks forward to it!

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

The EU Agency for the Space Programme, EUSPA, is gathering input from industry and academia to define new funding priorities in view of Horizon Europe.

Building on the EGNSS R&I momentum gained through Horizon 2020, and to include Copernicus and GOVSATCOM, EUSPA launched today a survey to collect feedback from the industry and academia, in view of the upcoming Horizon Europe funding scheme.

The downstream space sector keeps creating new jobs thanks to the exploitation of satellite data. Today, the GNSS market has generated more than 50,000 jobs in the European downstream market. Interestingly, economic activities linked to the need for localisation through satellite navigation systems, including European GNSS (Galileo and EGNOS), contribute to over 10% of European GDP. 

R& I investment will substantially focus on the downstream domain, increasing the use of space signals and data, leveraging the differentiators of the EU Space Programme components to improve the worldwide market share of EU downstream industry and SMEs.

With the present Research and Innovation (R&I) consultation, EUSPA aims at receiving inputs on the needs and priorities for downstream R&I related to the EU Space programme components: EGNSS (Galileo, EGNOS), Copernicus, and GOVSATCOM and in particular information on major technological and application trends and challenges for the next 5-10 years. 

This consultation builds on the "European GNSS downstream Research & Innovation, priorities, and consultation results" gathering updates on GNSS and other EU Space Programme components downstream.

To help us shape the future of the EU Space Programme, please fill in this short survey by December 12, 2021.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

The EU Agency for the Space Programme, EUSPA, is gathering input from industry and academia to define new funding priorities in view of Horizon Europe.

Building on the EGNSS R&I momentum gained through Horizon 2020, and to include Copernicus and GOVSATCOM, EUSPA launched today a survey to collect feedback from the industry and academia, in view of the upcoming Horizon Europe funding scheme.

The downstream space sector keeps creating new jobs thanks to the exploitation of satellite data. Today, the GNSS market has generated more than 50,000 jobs in the European downstream market. Interestingly, economic activities linked to the need for localisation through satellite navigation systems, including European GNSS (Galileo and EGNOS), contribute to over 10% of European GDP. 

R& I investment will substantially focus on the downstream domain, increasing the use of space signals and data, leveraging the differentiators of the EU Space Programme components to improve the worldwide market share of EU downstream industry and SMEs.

With the present Research and Innovation (R&I) consultation, EUSPA aims at receiving inputs on the needs and priorities for downstream R&I related to the EU Space programme components: EGNSS (Galileo, EGNOS), Copernicus, and GOVSATCOM and in particular information on major technological and application trends and challenges for the next 5-10 years. 

This consultation builds on the "European GNSS downstream Research & Innovation, priorities, and consultation results" gathering updates on GNSS and other EU Space Programme components downstream.

To help us shape the future of the EU Space Programme, please fill in this short survey by December 13, 2021.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

Small EU aerodromes and airfields used for recreational aviation can rely on EGNOS to become safer and more accessible. EUSPA, EASA, and the aviation industry joint effort yielded a second publication offering Safety Assessment Guidelines to General Aviation operators.

General Aviation encompasses a wide range of aerial activities from private and recreational aviation, including business and recreational flights, flight training, or flying clubs, among others. Approximately 350,000 aircraft and 700,000 pilots are involved in these activities worldwide, according to IAOPA Europe, which is the European branch of the International Council of Aircraft Owner and Pilot Associations (IAOPA). General Aviation flights are usually dispatched from small aerodrome with non-instrument runways where pilots can only land using Visual Flight Rules (VFR), weather permitting. In many cases, these aerodromes do not offer Air Traffic Services (ATS).

General Aviation aerodromes usually rely on only VFR operations and have limited ground infrastructure. EGNOS is a perfect technology to enable the implementation of Instrument Flight Procedures for the general aviation community that brings additional operational and safety benefits without the need to invest in ground navigation and additional infrastructure. Even though the General Aviation (GA) community undertakes millions of flights on aircraft equipped with GNSS-receivers, it is not taking full advantage of the technology. 

Following the publication of (GNSS-based) Instrument Flight Procedures implementation for General Aviation Uncontrolled Aerodromes and non-instrument runways, in 2019, the EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) published today guidelines for developing a safety assessment for GNSS-based IFR operations at General Aviation. 

The present document is intended to be a supportive guidance material to ease the undertaking of the safety assessment-related activities in the local implementation process of EGNOS-based approaches in General Aviation operations. The target audience of this document is mainly the Airspace Change Initiator, but it also comprises airspace users, aerodrome operators, aerodrome owners, and National Competent Authorities (NCAs) willing to support the implementation of IFP procedures based on the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) in a General Aviation environment.

You can download it here: Safety Assessment Guidelines for the implementation of EGNOS-based instrument approaches to non-instrument runways located at aerodromes serving General Aviation. 

Why EGNOS is the future?

SBAS is becoming the favourite technology for both airlines and airports across the globe. In Europe only, more than 400 airports use EGNOS and the trend is on the rise. The provision of EGNOS services to airfields and aerodromes not equipped with conventional navigation aids increases aviation safety and airport accessibility, especially in remote regions. Accessible airports equal more opportunities for leisure and new flight routes at a regional level with minimum costs for ground infrastructure and its maintenance. 

Watch this: EGNOS for Aviation: High Precision, Low Investment

EGNOS guarantees safer approaches for the crew and the passengers while lowering the percentage of go-arounds due to poor visibility. As more and more SBASs switch to multi-constellation/multifrequency (notably benefiting from Galileo), the SBAS services offer greater availability to users while guaranteeing integrity to comply with aviation stringent regulations. 

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

Small EU aerodromes and airfields used for recreational aviation can rely on EGNOS to become safer and more accessible. EUSPA, EASA, and the aviation industry joint effort yielded a second publication offering Safety Assessment Guidelines to General Aviation operators.

General Aviation encompasses a wide range of aerial activities from private and recreational aviation to flight training, and flying clubs, among others. Approximately 350,000 aircraft and 700,000 pilots are involved in these activities worldwide, according to IAOPA Europe, which is the European branch of the International Council of Aircraft Owner and Pilot Associations (IAOPA). General Aviation flights are usually dispatched from small aerodromes with non-instrument runways where pilots can only land using Visual Flight Rules (VFR), weather permitting. In many cases, these aerodromes do not offer Air Traffic Services (ATS).

General Aviation aerodromes usually rely on only VFR operations and have limited ground infrastructure. EGNOS is a perfect technology to enable the implementation of Instrument Flight Procedures for the general aviation community that brings additional operational and safety benefits without the need to invest in ground navigation and additional infrastructure. Even though the General Aviation (GA) community undertakes millions of flights on aircraft equipped with GNSS-receivers, it is not taking full advantage of the technology. 

Following the publication of (GNSS-based) Instrument Flight Procedures implementation for General Aviation Uncontrolled Aerodromes and non-instrument runways, in 2019, the EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) published today guidelines for developing a safety assessment for GNSS-based IFR operations at General Aviation. 

The present document is intended to be a supportive guidance material to ease the undertaking of the safety assessment-related activities in the local implementation process of EGNOS-based approaches in General Aviation operations. The target audience of this document is mainly the Airspace Change Initiator, but it also comprises airspace users, aerodrome operators, aerodrome owners, and National Competent Authorities (NCAs) willing to support the implementation of IFP procedures based on the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) in a General Aviation environment. 

“I would like to salute the excellent cooperation between EASA and EUSPA teams in the development of these guidelines. The material an important element for achieving one of the key objectives of EASA General Aviation (GA) Roadmap - to allow safer, efficient and sustainable GA IFR operations in Europe,” said Dominique Roland, Champion for the GA roadmap project at EASA.

“This is another important step to facilitate EGNOS implementation in small general aviation aerodromes. EGNOS can enable landing with instrument guidance to non-instrumented aerodromes where now it is possible to land just visually. This material is an outcome of a great cooperation of EUSPA with EASA. The general aviation community and stakeholders supported us via their active participation in our working groups.” said Fiammetta Diani, Head of Market Development Department at EUSPA.

You can download it here: Safety Assessment Guidelines for the implementation of EGNOS-based instrument approaches to non-instrument runways located at aerodromes serving General Aviation. 

Why EGNOS is the future?

SBAS is becoming the favourite technology for both airlines and airports across the globe. In Europe only, more than 400 airports use EGNOS and the trend is on the rise. The provision of EGNOS services to airfields and aerodromes not equipped with conventional navigation aids increases aviation safety and airport accessibility, especially in remote regions. Accessible airports equal more opportunities for leisure and new flight routes at a regional level with minimum costs for ground infrastructure and its maintenance. 

Watch this: EGNOS for Aviation: High Precision, Low Investment

EGNOS guarantees safer approaches for the crew and the passengers while lowering the percentage of go-arounds due to poor visibility. As more and more SBASs switch to multi-constellation/multifrequency (notably benefiting from Galileo), the SBAS services offer greater availability to users while guaranteeing integrity to comply with aviation stringent regulations. 

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

Small EU aerodromes and airfields used for recreational aviation can rely on EGNOS to become safer and more accessible. EUSPA, EASA, and the aviation industry joint effort yielded a second publication offering Safety Assessment Guidelines to General Aviation operators.

General Aviation encompasses a wide range of aerial activities from private and recreational aviation, including business and recreational flights, flight training, or flying clubs, among others. Approximately 350,000 aircraft and 700,000 pilots are involved in these activities worldwide, according to IAOPA Europe, which is the European branch of the International Council of Aircraft Owner and Pilot Associations (IAOPA). General Aviation flights are usually dispatched from small aerodrome with non-instrument runways where pilots can only land using Visual Flight Rules (VFR), weather permitting. In many cases, these aerodromes do not offer Air Traffic Services (ATS).

General Aviation aerodromes usually rely on only VFR operations and have limited ground infrastructure. EGNOS is a perfect technology to enable the implementation of Instrument Flight Procedures for the general aviation community that brings additional operational and safety benefits without the need to invest in ground navigation and additional infrastructure. Even though the General Aviation (GA) community undertakes millions of flights on aircraft equipped with GNSS-receivers, it is not taking full advantage of the technology. 

Following the publication of (GNSS-based) Instrument Flight Procedures implementation for General Aviation Uncontrolled Aerodromes and non-instrument runways, in 2019, the EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) published today guidelines for developing a safety assessment for GNSS-based IFR operations at General Aviation. 

The present document is intended to be a supportive guidance material to ease the undertaking of the safety assessment-related activities in the local implementation process of EGNOS-based approaches in General Aviation operations. The target audience of this document is mainly the Airspace Change Initiator, but it also comprises airspace users, aerodrome operators, aerodrome owners, and National Competent Authorities (NCAs) willing to support the implementation of IFP procedures based on the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) in a General Aviation environment. “I would like to salute the excellent cooperation between EASA and EUSPA teams in the development of these guidelines. The material an important element for achieving one of the key objectives of EASA General Aviation (GA) Roadmap - to allow safer, efficient and sustainable GA IFR operations in Europe,” said Dominique Roland, Champion for the GA roadmap project at EASA.

You can download it here: Safety Assessment Guidelines for the implementation of EGNOS-based instrument approaches to non-instrument runways located at aerodromes serving General Aviation. 

Why EGNOS is the future?

SBAS is becoming the favourite technology for both airlines and airports across the globe. In Europe only, more than 400 airports use EGNOS and the trend is on the rise. The provision of EGNOS services to airfields and aerodromes not equipped with conventional navigation aids increases aviation safety and airport accessibility, especially in remote regions. Accessible airports equal more opportunities for leisure and new flight routes at a regional level with minimum costs for ground infrastructure and its maintenance. 

Watch this: EGNOS for Aviation: High Precision, Low Investment

EGNOS guarantees safer approaches for the crew and the passengers while lowering the percentage of go-arounds due to poor visibility. As more and more SBASs switch to multi-constellation/multifrequency (notably benefiting from Galileo), the SBAS services offer greater availability to users while guaranteeing integrity to comply with aviation stringent regulations. 

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

Small EU aerodromes and airfields used for recreational aviation can rely on EGNOS to become safer and more accessible. EUSPA, EASA, and the aviation industry joint effort yielded a second publication offering Safety Assessment Guidelines to General Aviation operators.

General Aviation encompasses a wide range of aerial activities from private and recreational aviation, including business and recreational flights, flight training, or flying clubs, among others. Approximately 350,000 aircraft and 700,000 pilots are involved in these activities worldwide, according to IAOPA Europe, which is the European branch of the International Council of Aircraft Owner and Pilot Associations (IAOPA). General Aviation flights are usually dispatched from small aerodrome with non-instrument runways where pilots can only land using Visual Flight Rules (VFR), weather permitting. In many cases, these aerodromes do not offer Air Traffic Services (ATS).

General Aviation aerodromes usually rely on only VFR operations and have limited ground infrastructure. EGNOS is a perfect technology to enable the implementation of Instrument Flight Procedures for the general aviation community that brings additional operational and safety benefits without the need to invest in ground navigation and additional infrastructure. Even though the General Aviation (GA) community undertakes millions of flights on aircraft equipped with GNSS-receivers, it is not taking full advantage of the technology. 

Following the publication of (GNSS-based) Instrument Flight Procedures implementation for General Aviation Uncontrolled Aerodromes and non-instrument runways, in 2019, the EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) published today guidelines for developing a safety assessment for GNSS-based IFR operations at General Aviation. 

The present document is intended to be a supportive guidance material to ease the undertaking of the safety assessment-related activities in the local implementation process of EGNOS-based

 approaches in General Aviation operations. The target audience of this document is mainly the Airspace Change Initiator, but it also comprises airspace users, aerodrome operators, aerodrome owners, and National Competent Authorities (NCAs) willing to support the implementation of IFP procedures based on the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) in a General Aviation environment.

You can download it here: Safety Assessment Guidelines for the implementation of EGNOS-based instrument approaches to non-instrument runways located at aerodromes serving General Aviation. 

Why EGNOS is the future?

SBAS is becoming the favourite technology for both airlines and airports across the globe. In Europe only, more than 400 airports use EGNOS and the trend is on the rise. The provision of EGNOS services to airfields and aerodromes not equipped with conventional navigation aids increases aviation safety and airport accessibility, especially in remote regions. Accessible airports equal more opportunities for leisure and new flight routes at a regional level with minimum costs for ground infrastructure and its maintenance. 

Watch this: EGNOS for Aviation: High Precision, Low Investment

EGNOS guarantees safer approaches for the crew and the passengers while lowering the percentage of go-arounds due to poor visibility. As more and more SBASs switch to multi-constellation/multifrequency (notably benefiting from Galileo), the SBAS services offer greater availability to users while guaranteeing integrity to comply with aviation stringent regulations. 

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

Small EU aerodromes and airfields used for recreational aviation can rely on EGNOS to become safer and more accessible. EUSPA, EASA, and the aviation industry joint effort yielded a second publication offering Safety Assessment Guidelines to General Aviation operators.

General Aviation encompasses a wide range of aerial activities from private and recreational aviation to flight training, and flying clubs, among others. Approximately 350,000 aircraft and 700,000 pilots are involved in these activities worldwide, according to IAOPA Europe, which is the European branch of the International Council of Aircraft Owner and Pilot Associations (IAOPA). General Aviation flights are usually dispatched from small aerodromes with non-instrument runways where pilots can only land using Visual Flight Rules (VFR), weather permitting. In many cases, these aerodromes do not offer Air Traffic Services (ATS).

General Aviation aerodromes usually rely on only VFR operations and have limited ground infrastructure. EGNOS is a perfect technology to enable the implementation of Instrument Flight Procedures for the general aviation community that brings additional operational and safety benefits without the need to invest in ground navigation and additional infrastructure. Even though the General Aviation (GA) community undertakes millions of flights on aircraft equipped with GNSS-receivers, it is not taking full advantage of the technology. 

Following the publication of (GNSS-based) Instrument Flight Procedures implementation for General Aviation Uncontrolled Aerodromes and non-instrument runways, in 2019, the EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) published today guidelines for developing a safety assessment for GNSS-based IFR operations at General Aviation. 

The present document is intended to be a supportive guidance material to ease the undertaking of the safety assessment-related activities in the local implementation process of EGNOS-based approaches in General Aviation operations. The target audience of this document is mainly the Airspace Change Initiator, but it also comprises airspace users, aerodrome operators, aerodrome owners, and National Competent Authorities (NCAs) willing to support the implementation of IFP procedures based on the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) in a General Aviation environment. “I would like to salute the excellent cooperation between EASA and EUSPA teams in the development of these guidelines. The material an important element for achieving one of the key objectives of EASA General Aviation (GA) Roadmap - to allow safer, efficient and sustainable GA IFR operations in Europe,” said Dominique Roland, Champion for the GA roadmap project at EASA.

You can download it here: Safety Assessment Guidelines for the implementation of EGNOS-based instrument approaches to non-instrument runways located at aerodromes serving General Aviation. 

Why EGNOS is the future?

SBAS is becoming the favourite technology for both airlines and airports across the globe. In Europe only, more than 400 airports use EGNOS and the trend is on the rise. The provision of EGNOS services to airfields and aerodromes not equipped with conventional navigation aids increases aviation safety and airport accessibility, especially in remote regions. Accessible airports equal more opportunities for leisure and new flight routes at a regional level with minimum costs for ground infrastructure and its maintenance. 

Watch this: EGNOS for Aviation: High Precision, Low Investment

EGNOS guarantees safer approaches for the crew and the passengers while lowering the percentage of go-arounds due to poor visibility. As more and more SBASs switch to multi-constellation/multifrequency (notably benefiting from Galileo), the SBAS services offer greater availability to users while guaranteeing integrity to comply with aviation stringent regulations. 

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

We are less than two weeks away from the latest Galileo launch from the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guyana. The Galileo Launch 11 is the first of a series of 6 launches (with two satellites per launch), and the EUSPA’s tightly-knit LEOP team is ready for a cooperative EU space mission!

The Galileo satellites 27 and 28 will be launched on-board of a Soyuz carrier on December 1, 2021 at 21:31:27, Kourou time – or 01:31:27 CET from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The 46m tall rocket will bring the Galileo satellites to their new home located 23,222 km above us, in its medium-Earth orbit. 

Role of EUSPA in the launch 11

The EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) will be in charge Launch and Early Orbit Phase  (LEOP) operations which will be overseen by a tightly-knit team of specialists, ranging from spacecraft to ground engineers, from operations to design and manufacturing specialists, and from commanding through mission direction and project management.

LEOP is one of the most exciting and important phases of a space mission, as it handles the launch of the spacecraft, its travel it into the correct orbit, gradually switching on the spacecraft platform to test the core satellite elements. 

Let’s rewind to the beginning…

Soon after the spacecraft separates from the launcher, an initialisation sequence will be automatically triggered by the On-Board Data Handling software to bring the satellites to a ‘breathing point’. This is the point at which the satellite’s attitude is stable and pointing towards the sun, and its solar arrays are deployed to provide full charging power to its batteries. At this stage the satellite is thermally stable, ensuring adequate temperature ranges for all units, and a stable link to the ground.

Later on, the spacecraft internal reaction wheels will be tested to ensure that the spacecraft can hold its momentum, and can execute simple rotation manoeuvres without spending its limited fuel in thrusting activities. The teams will proceed to celebrate once the spacecraft uses these wheels to rotate towards the earth to achieve the most stable attitude for its future operations.  After that, and to finish the activities, the satellite couple will part ways and be put into the direction of their own orbital positions, by means of a set of Drift Start manoeuvres.

Altogether, the LEOP will take about 10 days, beginning with a system countdown a few hours before the launch, all the way up to the execution of the drift start manoeuvres (i.e. sending the spacecraft from the injection to its target position in orbit), later followed by complete commissioning and In Orbit Tests, that will eventually lead the spacecraft to entering into Galileo service provision. 

The LEOP operations will be conducted and commanded from the Galileo Control Centre in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany. Working together with SpaceOpal and its GSOp consortium (DLR-GfR mbH, GSOC and Telespazio), in cooperation with CNES CSG and ESA, EUSPA is responsible for the different stages of the LEOP operations, which will eventually allow the new satellites to be inserted into the Galileo constellation.

Endorsed by the EUSPA Security Accreditation Board, responsible for the security approval of the satellite launches, Galileo LEOP operations will constitute one of the most cooperative activities between numerous European entities in the space sector.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

We are less than two weeks away from the latest Galileo launch from the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guyana. The Galileo Launch 11 is the first of a series of 6 launches (with two satellites per launch), and the EUSPA’s tightly-knit LEOP team is ready for a cooperative EU space mission!

The Galileo satellites 27 and 28 will be launched on-board of a Soyuz carrier on December 2, 2021 at 21:31:27, Kourou time – or 01:31:27 CET from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The 46m tall rocket will bring the Galileo satellites to their new home located 23,222 km above us, in its medium-Earth orbit. 

Role of EUSPA in the launch 11

The EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) will be in charge of the satellite operations from separation of the Launch vehicule. It will be overseen by a tightly-knit team of specialists, ranging from spacecraft to ground engineers, from operations to design and manufacturing specialists, and from commanding through mission direction and project management.

Launch and Early Orbit Phase is one of the most exciting and important phases of a space mission, as it handles the launch of the spacecraft, its travel into the correct orbit, gradually switching on the spacecraft platform to test the core satellite elements. 

Let’s rewind to the beginning…

Soon after the spacecraft separates from the launcher, an initialisation sequence will be automatically triggered by the On-Board Data Handling software to bring the satellites to a ‘breathing point’. This is the point at which the satellite’s attitude is stable and pointing towards the sun, and its solar arrays are deployed to provide full charging power to its batteries. At this stage the satellite is thermally stable, ensuring adequate temperature ranges for all units, and a stable link to the ground.

Later on, the spacecraft internal reaction wheels will be tested to ensure that the spacecraft can hold its momentum, and can execute simple rotation manoeuvres without spending its limited fuel in thrusting activities. The teams will proceed to celebrate once the spacecraft uses these wheels to rotate towards the earth to achieve the most stable attitude for its future operations.  After that, and to finish the activities, the satellite couple will part ways and be put into the direction of their own orbital positions, by means of a set of Drift Start manoeuvres.

Altogether, the LEOP will take about 10 days, beginning with a system countdown a few hours before the launch, all the way up to the execution of the drift start manoeuvres (i.e. sending the spacecraft from the injection to its target position in orbit), later followed by complete commissioning and In Orbit Tests, that will eventually lead the spacecraft to entering into Galileo service provision. 

The satellite operations will be conducted and commanded from the Galileo Control Centre in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany. Working together with SpaceOpal and its GSOp consortium (DLR-GfR mbH, GSOC and Telespazio), in cooperation with CNES CSG and ESA, EUSPA is responsible for the different stages of the LEOP operations, which will eventually allow the new satellites to be inserted into the Galileo constellation.

Endorsed by the EUSPA Security Accreditation Board, responsible for the security approval of the satellite launches, Galileo LEOP operations will constitute one of the most cooperative activities between numerous European entities in the space sector.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

We are less than two weeks away from the latest Galileo launch from the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guyana. The Galileo Launch 11 is the first of a series of 6 launches (with two satellites per launch), and the EUSPA’s tightly-knit LEOP team is ready for a cooperative EU space mission!

The Galileo satellites 27 and 28 will be launched on-board of a Soyuz carrier on December 1, 2021 at 21:31:27, Kourou time – or 01:31:27 CET from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The 46m tall rocket will bring the Galileo satellites to their new home located 23,222 km above us, in its medium-Earth orbit. 

Role of EUSPA in the launch 11

The EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) will be in charge of Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP) operations which will be overseen by a tightly-knit team of specialists, ranging from spacecraft to ground engineers, from operations to design and manufacturing specialists, and from commanding through mission direction and project management.

LEOP is one of the most exciting and important phases of a space mission, as it handles the launch of the spacecraft, its travel it into the correct orbit, gradually switching on the spacecraft platform to test the core satellite elements. 

Let’s rewind to the beginning…

Soon after the spacecraft separates from the launcher, an initialisation sequence will be automatically triggered by the On-Board Data Handling software to bring the satellites to a ‘breathing point’. This is the point at which the satellite’s attitude is stable and pointing towards the sun, and its solar arrays are deployed to provide full charging power to its batteries. At this stage the satellite is thermally stable, ensuring adequate temperature ranges for all units, and a stable link to the ground.

Later on, the spacecraft internal reaction wheels will be tested to ensure that the spacecraft can hold its momentum, and can execute simple rotation manoeuvres without spending its limited fuel in thrusting activities. The teams will proceed to celebrate once the spacecraft uses these wheels to rotate towards the earth to achieve the most stable attitude for its future operations.  After that, and to finish the activities, the satellite couple will part ways and be put into the direction of their own orbital positions, by means of a set of Drift Start manoeuvres.

Altogether, the LEOP will take about 10 days, beginning with a system countdown a few hours before the launch, all the way up to the execution of the drift start manoeuvres (i.e. sending the spacecraft from the injection to its target position in orbit), later followed by complete commissioning and In Orbit Tests, that will eventually lead the spacecraft to entering into Galileo service provision. 

The LEOP operations will be conducted and commanded from the Galileo Control Centre in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany. Working together with SpaceOpal and its GSOp consortium (DLR-GfR mbH, GSOC and Telespazio), in cooperation with CNES CSG and ESA, EUSPA is responsible for the different stages of the LEOP operations, which will eventually allow the new satellites to be inserted into the Galileo constellation.

Endorsed by the EUSPA Security Accreditation Board, responsible for the security approval of the satellite launches, Galileo LEOP operations will constitute one of the most cooperative activities between numerous European entities in the space sector.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

We are less than two weeks away from the latest Galileo launch from the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guyana. The Galileo Launch 11 is the first of a series of 6 launches (with two satellites per launch), and the EUSPA’s tightly-knit LEOP team is ready for a cooperative EU space mission!

The Galileo satellites 27 and 28 will be launched on-board of a Soyuz carrier on December 2, 2021 at 21:31:27, Kourou time – or 01:31:27 CET from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The 46m tall rocket will bring the Galileo satellites to their new home located 23,222 km above us, in its medium-Earth orbit. 

Role of EUSPA in the launch 11

The EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) will be in charge of the satellite operations from separation of the Launch vehicule. It will be overseen by a tightly-knit team of specialists, ranging from spacecraft to ground engineers, from operations to design and manufacturing specialists, and from commanding through mission direction and project management.

Launch and Early Orbit Phase is one of the most exciting and important phases of a space mission, as it handles the launch of the spacecraft, its travel into the correct orbit, gradually switching on the spacecraft platform to test the core satellite elements. 

Let’s rewind to the beginning…

Soon after the spacecraft separates from the launcher, an initialisation sequence will be automatically triggered by the On-Board Data Handling software to bring the satellites to a ‘breathing point’. This is the point at which the satellite’s attitude is stable and pointing towards the sun, and its solar arrays are deployed to provide full charging power to its batteries. At this stage the satellite is thermally stable, ensuring adequate temperature ranges for all units, and a stable link to the ground.

Later on, the spacecraft internal reaction wheels will be tested to ensure that the spacecraft can hold its momentum, and can execute simple rotation manoeuvres without spending its limited fuel in thrusting activities. The teams will proceed to celebrate once the spacecraft uses these wheels to rotate towards the earth to achieve the most stable attitude for its future operations.  After that, and to finish the activities, the satellite couple will part ways and be put into the direction of their own orbital positions, by means of a set of Drift Start manoeuvres.

Altogether, the LEOP will take about 10 days, beginning with a system countdown a few hours before the launch, all the way up to the execution of the drift start manoeuvres (i.e. sending the spacecraft from the injection to its target position in orbit), later followed by complete commissioning and In Orbit Tests, that will eventually lead the spacecraft to entering into Galileo service provision. 

The satellite operations will be conducted and commanded from the Galileo Control Centre in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany. Working together with SpaceOpal and its GSOp consortium (DLR-GfR mbH, GSOC and Telespazio), in cooperation with CNES CSG and ESA, EUSPA is responsible for the different stages of the LEOP operations, which will eventually allow the new satellites to be inserted into the Galileo constellation.

Endorsed by the EUSPA Security Accreditation Board, responsible for the security approval of the satellite launches, Galileo LEOP operations will constitute one of the most cooperative activities between numerous European entities in the space sector.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

We are less than two weeks away from the latest Galileo launch from the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guyana. The Galileo Launch 11 is the first of a series of 6 launches (with two satellites per launch), and the EUSPA’s tightly-knit LEOP team is ready for a cooperative EU space mission!

The Galileo satellites 27 and 28 will be launched on-board of a Soyuz carrier on December 1, 2021 at 21:31:27, Kourou time – or 01:31:27 CET from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The 46m tall rocket will bring the Galileo satellites to their new home located 23,222 km above us, in its medium-Earth orbit. 

Role of EUSPA in the launch 11

The EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) will be in charge of Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP) operations which will be overseen by a tightly-knit team of specialists, ranging from spacecraft to ground engineers, from operations to design and manufacturing specialists, and from commanding through mission direction and project management.

LEOP is one of the most exciting and important phases of a space mission, as it handles the launch of the spacecraft, its travel into the correct orbit, gradually switching on the spacecraft platform to test the core satellite elements. 

Let’s rewind to the beginning…

Soon after the spacecraft separates from the launcher, an initialisation sequence will be automatically triggered by the On-Board Data Handling software to bring the satellites to a ‘breathing point’. This is the point at which the satellite’s attitude is stable and pointing towards the sun, and its solar arrays are deployed to provide full charging power to its batteries. At this stage the satellite is thermally stable, ensuring adequate temperature ranges for all units, and a stable link to the ground.

Later on, the spacecraft internal reaction wheels will be tested to ensure that the spacecraft can hold its momentum, and can execute simple rotation manoeuvres without spending its limited fuel in thrusting activities. The teams will proceed to celebrate once the spacecraft uses these wheels to rotate towards the earth to achieve the most stable attitude for its future operations.  After that, and to finish the activities, the satellite couple will part ways and be put into the direction of their own orbital positions, by means of a set of Drift Start manoeuvres.

Altogether, the LEOP will take about 10 days, beginning with a system countdown a few hours before the launch, all the way up to the execution of the drift start manoeuvres (i.e. sending the spacecraft from the injection to its target position in orbit), later followed by complete commissioning and In Orbit Tests, that will eventually lead the spacecraft to entering into Galileo service provision. 

The LEOP operations will be conducted and commanded from the Galileo Control Centre in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany. Working together with SpaceOpal and its GSOp consortium (DLR-GfR mbH, GSOC and Telespazio), in cooperation with CNES CSG and ESA, EUSPA is responsible for the different stages of the LEOP operations, which will eventually allow the new satellites to be inserted into the Galileo constellation.

Endorsed by the EUSPA Security Accreditation Board, responsible for the security approval of the satellite launches, Galileo LEOP operations will constitute one of the most cooperative activities between numerous European entities in the space sector.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

We are less than two weeks away from the latest Galileo launch from the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guyana. The Galileo Launch 11 is the first of a series of 6 launches (with two satellites per launch), and the EUSPA’s tightly-knit LEOP team is ready for a cooperative EU space mission!

The Galileo satellites 27 and 28 will be launched on-board of a Soyuz carrier on December 2, 2021 at 21:31:27, Kourou time – or 01:31:27 CET from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The 46m tall rocket will bring the Galileo satellites to their new home located 23,222 km above us, in its medium-Earth orbit. 

Role of EUSPA in the launch 11

The EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) will be in charge of the satellite operations from separation of the Launch vehicle. It will be overseen by a tightly-knit team of specialists, ranging from spacecraft to ground engineers, from operations to design and manufacturing specialists, and from commanding through mission direction and project management.

Launch and Early Orbit Phase is one of the most exciting and important phases of a space mission, as it handles the launch of the spacecraft, its travel into the correct orbit, gradually switching on the spacecraft platform to test the core satellite elements. 

Let’s rewind to the beginning…

Soon after the spacecraft separates from the launcher, an initialisation sequence will be automatically triggered by the On-Board Data Handling software to bring the satellites to a ‘breathing point’. This is the point at which the satellite’s attitude is stable and pointing towards the sun, and its solar arrays are deployed to provide full charging power to its batteries. At this stage the satellite is thermally stable, ensuring adequate temperature ranges for all units, and a stable link to the ground.

Later on, the spacecraft internal reaction wheels will be tested to ensure that the spacecraft can hold its momentum, and can execute simple rotation manoeuvres without spending its limited fuel in thrusting activities. The teams will proceed to celebrate once the spacecraft uses these wheels to rotate towards the earth to achieve the most stable attitude for its future operations.  After that, and to finish the activities, the satellite couple will part ways and be put into the direction of their own orbital positions, by means of a set of Drift Start manoeuvres.

Altogether, the LEOP will take about 10 days, beginning with a system countdown a few hours before the launch, all the way up to the execution of the drift start manoeuvres (i.e. sending the spacecraft from the injection to its target position in orbit), later followed by complete commissioning and In Orbit Tests, that will eventually lead the spacecraft to entering into Galileo service provision. 

The satellite operations will be conducted and commanded from the Galileo Control Centre in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany. Working together with SpaceOpal and its GSOp consortium (DLR-GfR mbH, GSOC and Telespazio), in cooperation with CNES CSG and ESA, EUSPA is responsible for the different stages of the LEOP operations, which will eventually allow the new satellites to be inserted into the Galileo constellation.

Endorsed by the EUSPA Security Accreditation Board, responsible for the security approval of the satellite launches, Galileo LEOP operations will constitute one of the most cooperative activities between numerous European entities in the space sector.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

We are less than two weeks away from the latest Galileo launch from the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guyana. The Galileo Launch 11 is the first of a series of 6 launches (with two satellites per launch), and the EUSPA’s tightly-knit LEOP team is ready for a cooperative EU space mission!

The Galileo satellites 27 and 28 will be launched on-board of a Soyuz carrier on 2 December 2021 at 21:27:25, Kourou time – or 3 December at 01:27:25 CET from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The 46m tall rocket will bring the Galileo satellites to their new home located 23,222 km above us, in its medium-Earth orbit. 

Role of EUSPA in the launch 11

The EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) will be in charge of the satellite operations from separation of the Launch vehicle. It will be overseen by a tightly-knit team of specialists, ranging from spacecraft to ground engineers, from operations to design and manufacturing specialists, and from commanding through mission direction and project management.

Launch and Early Orbit Phase is one of the most exciting and important phases of a space mission, as it handles the launch of the spacecraft, its travel into the correct orbit, gradually switching on the spacecraft platform to test the core satellite elements. 

Let’s rewind to the beginning…

Soon after the spacecraft separates from the launcher, an initialisation sequence will be automatically triggered by the On-Board Data Handling software to bring the satellites to a ‘breathing point’. This is the point at which the satellite’s attitude is stable and pointing towards the sun, and its solar arrays are deployed to provide full charging power to its batteries. At this stage the satellite is thermally stable, ensuring adequate temperature ranges for all units, and a stable link to the ground.

Later on, the spacecraft internal reaction wheels will be tested to ensure that the spacecraft can hold its momentum, and can execute simple rotation manoeuvres without spending its limited fuel in thrusting activities. The teams will proceed to celebrate once the spacecraft uses these wheels to rotate towards the earth to achieve the most stable attitude for its future operations.  After that, and to finish the activities, the satellite couple will part ways and be put into the direction of their own orbital positions, by means of a set of Drift Start manoeuvres.

Altogether, the LEOP will take about 10 days, beginning with a system countdown a few hours before the launch, all the way up to the execution of the drift start manoeuvres (i.e. sending the spacecraft from the injection to its target position in orbit), later followed by complete commissioning and In Orbit Tests, that will eventually lead the spacecraft to entering into Galileo service provision. 

The satellite operations will be conducted and commanded from the Galileo Control Centre in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany. Working together with SpaceOpal and its GSOp consortium (DLR-GfR mbH, GSOC and Telespazio), in cooperation with CNES CSG and ESA, EUSPA is responsible for the different stages of the LEOP operations, which will eventually allow the new satellites to be inserted into the Galileo constellation.

Endorsed by the EUSPA Security Accreditation Board, responsible for the security approval of the satellite launches, Galileo LEOP operations will constitute one of the most cooperative activities between numerous European entities in the space sector.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

We are less than two weeks away from the latest Galileo launch from the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guyana. The Galileo Launch 11 is the first of a series of 6 launches (with two satellites per launch), and the EUSPA’s tightly-knit LEOP team is ready for a cooperative EU space mission!

The Galileo satellites 27 and 28 will be launched on-board of a Soyuz carrier on 1 December 2021 at 21:31:27, Kourou time – or 2 December at 01:31:27 CET from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The 46m tall rocket will bring the Galileo satellites to their new home located 23,222 km above us, in its medium-Earth orbit. 

Role of EUSPA in the launch 11

The EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) will be in charge of the satellite operations from separation of the Launch vehicle. It will be overseen by a tightly-knit team of specialists, ranging from spacecraft to ground engineers, from operations to design and manufacturing specialists, and from commanding through mission direction and project management.

Launch and Early Orbit Phase is one of the most exciting and important phases of a space mission, as it handles the launch of the spacecraft, its travel into the correct orbit, gradually switching on the spacecraft platform to test the core satellite elements. 

Let’s rewind to the beginning…

Soon after the spacecraft separates from the launcher, an initialisation sequence will be automatically triggered by the On-Board Data Handling software to bring the satellites to a ‘breathing point’. This is the point at which the satellite’s attitude is stable and pointing towards the sun, and its solar arrays are deployed to provide full charging power to its batteries. At this stage the satellite is thermally stable, ensuring adequate temperature ranges for all units, and a stable link to the ground.

Later on, the spacecraft internal reaction wheels will be tested to ensure that the spacecraft can hold its momentum, and can execute simple rotation manoeuvres without spending its limited fuel in thrusting activities. The teams will proceed to celebrate once the spacecraft uses these wheels to rotate towards the earth to achieve the most stable attitude for its future operations.  After that, and to finish the activities, the satellite couple will part ways and be put into the direction of their own orbital positions, by means of a set of Drift Start manoeuvres.

Altogether, the LEOP will take about 10 days, beginning with a system countdown a few hours before the launch, all the way up to the execution of the drift start manoeuvres (i.e. sending the spacecraft from the injection to its target position in orbit), later followed by complete commissioning and In Orbit Tests, that will eventually lead the spacecraft to entering into Galileo service provision. 

The satellite operations will be conducted and commanded from the Galileo Control Centre in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany. Working together with SpaceOpal and its GSOp consortium (DLR-GfR mbH, GSOC and Telespazio), in cooperation with CNES CSG and ESA, EUSPA is responsible for the different stages of the LEOP operations, which will eventually allow the new satellites to be inserted into the Galileo constellation.

Endorsed by the EUSPA Security Accreditation Board, responsible for the security approval of the satellite launches, Galileo LEOP operations will constitute one of the most cooperative activities between numerous European entities in the space sector.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

We are less than two weeks away from the latest Galileo launch from the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guyana. The Galileo Launch 11 is the first of a series of 6 launches (with two satellites per launch), and the EUSPA’s tightly-knit LEOP team is ready for a cooperative EU space mission!

The Galileo satellites 27 and 28 will be launched on-board of a Soyuz carrier on 4 December 2021 at 21:19, Kourou time – or 5 December at 01:19 CET from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The 46m tall rocket will bring the Galileo satellites to their new home located 23,222 km above us, in its medium-Earth orbit. 

Role of EUSPA in the launch 11

The EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) will be in charge of the satellite operations from separation of the Launch vehicle. It will be overseen by a tightly-knit team of specialists, ranging from spacecraft to ground engineers, from operations to design and manufacturing specialists, and from commanding through mission direction and project management.

Launch and Early Orbit Phase is one of the most exciting and important phases of a space mission, as it handles the launch of the spacecraft, its travel into the correct orbit, gradually switching on the spacecraft platform to test the core satellite elements. 

Let’s rewind to the beginning…

Soon after the spacecraft separates from the launcher, an initialisation sequence will be automatically triggered by the On-Board Data Handling software to bring the satellites to a ‘breathing point’. This is the point at which the satellite’s attitude is stable and pointing towards the sun, and its solar arrays are deployed to provide full charging power to its batteries. At this stage the satellite is thermally stable, ensuring adequate temperature ranges for all units, and a stable link to the ground.

Later on, the spacecraft internal reaction wheels will be tested to ensure that the spacecraft can hold its momentum, and can execute simple rotation manoeuvres without spending its limited fuel in thrusting activities. The teams will proceed to celebrate once the spacecraft uses these wheels to rotate towards the earth to achieve the most stable attitude for its future operations.  After that, and to finish the activities, the satellite couple will part ways and be put into the direction of their own orbital positions, by means of a set of Drift Start manoeuvres.

Altogether, the LEOP will take about 10 days, beginning with a system countdown a few hours before the launch, all the way up to the execution of the drift start manoeuvres (i.e. sending the spacecraft from the injection to its target position in orbit), later followed by complete commissioning and In Orbit Tests, that will eventually lead the spacecraft to entering into Galileo service provision. 

The satellite operations will be conducted and commanded from the Galileo Control Centre in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany. Working together with SpaceOpal and its GSOp consortium (DLR-GfR mbH, GSOC and Telespazio), in cooperation with CNES CSG and ESA, EUSPA is responsible for the different stages of the LEOP operations, which will eventually allow the new satellites to be inserted into the Galileo constellation.

Endorsed by the EUSPA Security Accreditation Board, responsible for the security approval of the satellite launches, Galileo LEOP operations will constitute one of the most cooperative activities between numerous European entities in the space sector.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

We are less than two weeks away from the latest Galileo launch from the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guyana. The Galileo Launch 11 is the first of a series of 6 launches (with two satellites per launch), and the EUSPA’s tightly-knit LEOP team is ready for a cooperative EU space mission!

The Galileo satellites 27 and 28 will be launched on-board of a Soyuz carrier on December 2, 2021 at 21:31:27, Kourou time – or 01:31:27 CET from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The 46m tall rocket will bring the Galileo satellites to their new home located 23,222 km above us, in its medium-Earth orbit. 

Role of EUSPA in the launch 11

The EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) will be in charge of Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP) operations which will be overseen by a tightly-knit team of specialists, ranging from spacecraft to ground engineers, from operations to design and manufacturing specialists, and from commanding through mission direction and project management.

LEOP is one of the most exciting and important phases of a space mission, as it handles the launch of the spacecraft, its travel into the correct orbit, gradually switching on the spacecraft platform to test the core satellite elements. 

Let’s rewind to the beginning…

Soon after the spacecraft separates from the launcher, an initialisation sequence will be automatically triggered by the On-Board Data Handling software to bring the satellites to a ‘breathing point’. This is the point at which the satellite’s attitude is stable and pointing towards the sun, and its solar arrays are deployed to provide full charging power to its batteries. At this stage the satellite is thermally stable, ensuring adequate temperature ranges for all units, and a stable link to the ground.

Later on, the spacecraft internal reaction wheels will be tested to ensure that the spacecraft can hold its momentum, and can execute simple rotation manoeuvres without spending its limited fuel in thrusting activities. The teams will proceed to celebrate once the spacecraft uses these wheels to rotate towards the earth to achieve the most stable attitude for its future operations.  After that, and to finish the activities, the satellite couple will part ways and be put into the direction of their own orbital positions, by means of a set of Drift Start manoeuvres.

Altogether, the LEOP will take about 10 days, beginning with a system countdown a few hours before the launch, all the way up to the execution of the drift start manoeuvres (i.e. sending the spacecraft from the injection to its target position in orbit), later followed by complete commissioning and In Orbit Tests, that will eventually lead the spacecraft to entering into Galileo service provision. 

The LEOP operations will be conducted and commanded from the Galileo Control Centre in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany. Working together with SpaceOpal and its GSOp consortium (DLR-GfR mbH, GSOC and Telespazio), in cooperation with CNES CSG and ESA, EUSPA is responsible for the different stages of the LEOP operations, which will eventually allow the new satellites to be inserted into the Galileo constellation.

Endorsed by the EUSPA Security Accreditation Board, responsible for the security approval of the satellite launches, Galileo LEOP operations will constitute one of the most cooperative activities between numerous European entities in the space sector.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

The European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) together with the European Business Angel Network (EBAN) are teaming up to boost space-tech start-ups! “Funding Space Forum” is a joint online panel session and fundraising event, where start-ups working with space data will pitch in front of Business Angels, receive feedback and raise interest for funding.

The EU Space Programme has created a dearth of opportunities for a broad range of businesses. Earth Observation data and new, more accurate, and secure GNSS services are emerging that enable start-ups to add value to their products and upscale their solutions or services. The EU is committed to helping businesses at their nascent stage to make the best use of space technology through private and public partnerships. 

EUSPA and EBAN teamed up to further assist small businesses to secure early investments. EUSPA also became a member of EBAN Space board to create synergies between space start-ups and business angels. 

Funding Space Forum will bring #MyGalileoSolution and #MyGalileoDrone participants Allerayde, Krattworks, LESS Industries, Lympik, Traxit together with the EU early-stage investor community. All the participating space-tech companies will have the opportunity to present their business plans in front of a panel of Business Angels, receive feedback and attract investments.

The event will also feature panel discussions on “Space Technology in Europe, what is next? Synergies between EU and angel investors hosted by Fiammetta Diani, Head of Market Development at EUSPA; Tomas S. Jonsson, Team Leader CASSINI initiative, European Commission, DG Defence Industry and Space; Uli Fricke, CEO Triangle Venture Capital Group, CEO FunderNation; Rob Desborough, Managing Partner Seraphim Space Fund, CEO Seraphim Space Camp moderated by Fabrice Testa, Co-chairman Luxembourg Space Tech Angels and EBAN Space Chairman. During this virtual panel session, seasoned space-tech investors and policymakers will discuss trends and challenges in the New Space ecosystem of Europe.

The forum will take place on November 22nd at 17:00 CET. Click here to register.  A matchmaking event with industry is also schedule for the first quarter of 2022.

About EBAN

EBAN is the pan-European representative for the early stage investor community gathering over 150-member organizations in more than 50 countries today. Established in 1999 by a group of pioneer angel networks in Europe with the collaboration of the European Commission and EURADA, EBAN represents a sector estimated to invest 11.4 billion Euros a year and playing a vital role in Europe’s future, notably in the funding of SMEs. EBAN fuels Europe’s growth through the creation of wealth and jobs.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

The European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) together with the European Business Angel Network (EBAN) are teaming up to boost space-tech start-ups! “Funding Space Forum” is a joint online panel session and fundraising event, where start-ups working with space data will pitch in front of Business Angels, receive feedback and raise interest for funding.

The EU Space Programme has created a dearth of opportunities for a broad range of businesses. Earth Observation data and new, more accurate, and secure GNSS services are emerging that enable start-ups to add value to their products and upscale their solutions or services. The EU is committed to helping businesses at their nascent stage to make the best use of space technology through private and public partnerships. 

EUSPA and EBAN teamed up to further assist small businesses to secure early investments. EUSPA also became a member of EBAN Space board to create synergies between space start-ups and business angels. 

Funding Space Forum will bring #MyGalileoSolution and #MyGalileoDrone participants Alleryade, Krattworks, LESS Industries, Lympik, Traxit together with the EU early-stage investor community. All the participating space-tech companies will have the opportunity to present their business plans in front of a panel of Business Angels, receive feedback and attract investments.

The event will also feature panel discussions on “Space Technology in Europe, what is next? Synergies between EU and angel investors hosted by Fiammetta Diani, Head of Market Development at EUSPA; Tomas S. Jonsson, Team Leader CASSINI initiative, European Commission, DG Defence Industry and Space; Uli Fricke, CEO Triangle Venture Capital Group, CEO FunderNation; Rob Desborough, Managing Partner Seraphim Space Fund, CEO Seraphim Space Camp moderated by Fabrice Testa, Co-chairman Luxembourg Space Tech Angels and EBAN Space Chairman. During this virtual panel session, seasoned space-tech investors and policymakers will discuss trends and challenges in the New Space ecosystem of Europe.

The forum will take place on November 22nd at 17:00 CET. Click here to register.  A matchmaking event with industry is also schedule for the first quarter of 2022.

About EBAN

EBAN is the pan-European representative for the early stage investor community gathering over 150-member organizations in more than 50 countries today. Established in 1999 by a group of pioneer angel networks in Europe with the collaboration of the European Commission and EURADA, EBAN represents a sector estimated to invest 11.4 billion Euros a year and playing a vital role in Europe’s future, notably in the funding of SMEs. EBAN fuels Europe’s growth through the creation of wealth and jobs.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

The new pioneering service of Galileo will pave the way towards robust Position, Velocity and Time information (PVT) for the Galileo Open Service users. An OSNMA Public Observation Test Phase will follow the publication of the Info Note. 

Robustness is part of the design of Galileo services. The evolution is bringing the need to provide the European Union secure and safe satellite navigation services one step further.

Spoofing is a sophisticated form of interfering and falsifying satellite navigation signals (GNSS). During a spoofing attack, a ‘’spoofer’’ uses a radio transmitter to generate fake GNSS signals and fool a receiver into showing its current location, for example, in the middle of the ocean while the smartphone user is climbing a mountain.

GNSS jamming incidents are reported in very large numbers, the vast majority of them caused by so-called “privacy protection devices” (illegal in most countries). GNSS spoofing (including meaconing) incidents are less frequently reported, but they are increasing in number. A possible explanation for the lower numbers is that successful spoofing attacks are not detected or not reported by their victims for security reasons.

GNSS signal falsification can have disastrous impacts on applications and market sectors that rely on precise navigation such as aviation, maritime, or drones. For instance, erroneous data of a vessel’s position, speed, and direction poses real threats to its operations but also surrounding ships, especially those carrying dangerous goods.

To contribute to the detection of GNSS attacks, EUSPA together with the European Commission is currently testing the Galileo Open Service – Navigation Message Authentication (OSNMA). This forthcoming service is an authentication mechanism that allows Open Service users to verify the authenticity of GNSS information, making sure that the data they receive is indeed from Galileo and has not been modified in any way. 

OSNMA is authenticating data for geolocation information from the Open Service through the Navigation Message (I/NAV) broadcast on the E1-B signal component. This is realised by transmitting authentication-specific data in previously reserved fields of the E1 I/NAV message. By using these previously reserved fields, OSNMA does not introduce any overlay to the system, thus the OS navigation performance remains untouched.

Authentication is set to further strengthen service robustness by increasing the capability of detecting spoofing events. However, it should be kept in mind that authentication does not prevent the occurrence of such an event, and does not protect against jamming. Nonetheless, this added layer of protection proposes to be one step ahead of evolving technological trends by amplifying the service’s overall robustness and resilience.

Analytical information can be found in the Info Note that was recently published.

You can download it here or visit the European GNSS Service Centre. 

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

#myEUspace competition is on a mission to bring disruptive, space-based commercial solutions and applications to the European market. The contest invites the participants to innovate not only with Copernicus and Galileo but also with quantum technology. We have great news for all the late birds - the competition deadline has been extended to 3 December 2021, 23:59 GMT+2! 

With more than two weeks left until the deadline, let’s take a look at how you can make the most out of this additional time.

Choose from six challenges

#myEUspace is one of the biggest competitions ever organized by the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA). The winning prize pool is nearly €1million, 54 teams will receive awards ranging from €10.000 to €50.000.

The contest has two independent tracks and six different thematic areas:

• Track 1 - From Idea to Prototype/customer validation – aims to turn a theoretical idea into a product prototype/beta version.
• Track 2 - From Prototype to Product /Market entry – encourages to develop a prototype or beta idea into a Minimum Viable Product (MVP). 

Your space-tech based idea/product should address one of these six challenges: Move Me Smart, Space Up My Life, Our Green Planet, Map My World, Farming by Satellite, and Dive in Quantum. You can learn more about each challenge here. 

Use your time wisely

#myEUspace competition page is packed with valuable material that you can rely on to fine-tune your application. We have prepared a list of resources, including GNSS Raw Measurements White Paper and GNSS Market Report, for you to get a better overview of how to make the most out of EU Space technology. If you have any doubts regarding the eligibility criteria or the overall process of the contest, take a look at the competition’s Terms of Reference.

Have you already submitted your project? Do not forget that the competition platform allows you to edit your entry up until the deadline.  

Still got any questions? Applicants may send their questions via email to prizes@euspa.europa.eu. The answers and clarifications are published weekly on #myEUspace page.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

The European Union and Japan are key actors and partners in the domain of space with rapidly evolving ecosystems. The GNSS Roundtable 2021 offers companies from the EU and Japan the opportunity to explore potential business cooperation in the application of GNSS technologies.

Organised by the European Commission and the Cabinet Office, Government of Japan, the 5th edition of the EU-Japan GNSS Roundtable aspires to enhance public-private dialogue, promote business cooperation and bring together established as well as new industry actors. Join the European Commission, the Japan Cabinet Office, and representatives of the private sector in the EU and Japan to discuss how to make the most of our evolving GNSS assets to boost industrial cooperation and technological innovation, and to deliver jointly on the Sustainable Development Goals and the climate objectives. The Roundtable is supported by the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) and the Horizon2020-funded project, GNSS.asia.

You can expect to learn about the latest system developments and market trends as well as exciting keynotes and panel discussions on GNSS for automotive unmanned mobility, emergency response, and innovative services for ICT, Industry 4.0, and IoT amongst others. In addition, more than 10 companies from Europe and Japan will present how they create innovative solutions using GNSS. 

Moreover, you will have the opportunity to network through digital get-togethers and build new business collaboration partnerships. 

For an up-to-date agenda, as well as registration and additional information, click here.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

The first Horizon Europe call managed by the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is now open for submissions. With an overall budget of 32.6 million EUR, the call aims at developing innovative downstream applications that leverage data from the EU Space Programme, namely Galileo, EGNOS, and Copernicus. The deadline for applications is 16 February 2022.

Horizon Europe is the EU’s key funding mechanism that facilitates collaboration and strengthens the impact of research and innovation in developing, supporting, and implementing EU policies while tackling global challenges. Staying true to its mission, linking space to user needs, EUSPA will leverage this instrument to stimulate the EU Space Programme operational research and foster the creation of commercial value-adding solutions that contribute to the Union’s policies and priorities. The call focuses on the following three areas:

1. EGNSS and Copernicus applications fostering the EU Green Deal, total budget: 14 million EUR
2. EGNSS applications for safety and crisis management, total budget: 9.3 million EUR
3. EGNSS applications for the digital age, total budget: 9.3 million EUR

The use of other space components such as Copernicus is highly encouraged in all topics. In addition, the solutions may integrate other non-space technologies like IoT, big data, artificial intelligence, drones, 5G, augmented/mixed reality, etc.

Analytical information about the calls can be found here and our press releases are available in all EU languages here.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

World ATM Congress, the world’s largest international air traffic management (ATM) exhibition and conference, is always the place to be for EUSPA. Aviation experts and market development professionals were present to voice the importance of the EU Space Programme in aviation and its contribution to making the industry more sustainable. Drone demos by #MyGalileoDrone winners took place at Cuatro Vientos Airport.

Greener air travel and cost-efficient flight operations were a trending topic at World ATM Congress 2021. Aviation is one of the fastest-growing sources of greenhouse gas emissions. In particular, the aviation sector creates 13.9% of the emissions from transport, making it the second-biggest source of transport greenhouse gas emissions after road transport. In line with the EU Green Deal and to put a lid on aviation emissions, the European Union is placing a great emphasis on space technology. EUSPA aviation expert, Katerina Strelcova, explained how EU space technology contributes to safe and green aviation during a dedicated session. 

For greener aviation, #EUspace is essential

Satellite-based landing is becoming the preferred technology for airlines that wish to optimise their routes and fuel consumption. EGNOS allows planes to make flexible approaches towards European airports and therefore shorten the flight path. Thanks to this flexibility, airlines can save up fuel and reduce noise above densely populated areas. 

By enabling aircraft to land safely under challenging weather conditions such as fog, EGNOS helps reduce the frequency of aborted landings and emissions. An estimated 20.000 diversions will be avoided EU-wide thanks to EGNOS by 2025. 

Copernicus contributes significantly to monitoring the environmental footprint of aviation through the Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS). This service provides consistent and quality-controlled information about air pollution, greenhouse gases, and climate forcing.

Copernicus data is used to measure and monitor aircraft emissions that can enable to reduce climate impact, especially from contrail formation. 

Moreover, atmospheric data from Copernicus delivers accurate information about atmospheric conditions that affect aviation, for example, the presence of dust or other particles which may degrade engines. When the data are further combined with AI, it can contribute to analytics for increased efficiency in managing aviation fleets and enhanced data for maintenance purposes. This Copernicus data can bring real added value to the industry. 

Safety and accessibility are always a priority

In Europe, more than 400 airports use EGNOS, and the trend is on the rise. The provision of EGNOS approaches offers an alternative to airports not equipped with conventional navigation aids. It increases aviation safety and airport accessibility, especially in remote regions. Accessible airports equal more commercial opportunities for airlines and new flight routes at a regional and international level, with minimum costs for ground infrastructure and its maintenance. 

Volcano eruptions -like the recent Cumbre Vieja Spain- significantly disrupt flight traffic, forcing pilots to take longer routes. Volcanic ash ejected into the atmosphere by explosive eruptions has known damaging effects on the aircraft fuselage. The CAMS generate atmosphere analyses to help assess the number of dust & particles which can affect the engine performance. 

Read this: EGNOS Safety of Life: Serving aviation for 10 years

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

World ATM Congress, the world’s largest international air traffic management (ATM) exhibition and conference, is always the place to be for EUSPA. Aviation experts and market development professionals were present to voice the importance of the EU Space Programme in aviation and its contribution to making the industry more sustainable. Drone demos by #MyGalileoDrone winners took place at Cuatro Vientos Airport.

Greener air travel and cost-efficient flight operations were a trending topic at World ATM Congress 2021. Aviation is one of the fastest-growing sources of greenhouse gas emissions. In particular, the aviation sector creates 13.9% of the emissions from transport, making it the second-biggest source of transport greenhouse gas emissions after road transport. In line with the EU Green Deal and to put a lid on aviation emissions, the European Union is placing a great emphasis on space technology. EUSPA aviation expert, Katerina Strelcova, explained how EU space technology contributes to safe and green aviation during a dedicated session. 

For greener aviation, #EUspace is essential

Satellite-based landing is becoming the preferred technology for airlines that wish to optimise their routes and fuel consumption. EGNOS allows planes to make flexible approaches towards European airports and therefore shorten the flight path. Thanks to this flexibility, airlines can save up fuel and reduce noise above densely populated areas. 

By enabling aircraft to land safely under challenging weather conditions such as fog, EGNOS helps reduce the frequency of aborted landings and emissions. An estimated 20.000 diversions will be avoided EU-wide thanks to EGNOS by 2025. 

Copernicus contributes significantly to monitoring the environmental footprint of aviation through the Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS). This service provides consistent and quality-controlled information about air pollution, greenhouse gases, and climate forcing.

Copernicus data is used to measure and monitor aircraft emissions that can enable to reduce climate impact, especially from contrail formation. 

Moreover, atmospheric data from Copernicus delivers accurate information about atmospheric conditions that affect aviation, for example, the presence of dust or other particles which may degrade engines. When the data are further combined with AI, it can contribute to analytics for increased efficiency in managing aviation fleets and enhanced data for maintenance purposes. This Copernicus data can bring real added value to the industry. 

Safety and accessibility are always a priority

In Europe, more than 400 airports use EGNOS, and the trend is on the rise. The provision of EGNOS approaches offers an alternative to airports not equipped with conventional navigation aids. It increases aviation safety and airport accessibility, especially in remote regions. Accessible airports equal more commercial opportunities for airlines and new flight routes at a regional and international level, with minimum costs for ground infrastructure and its maintenance. 

Volcano eruptions -like the recent Cumbre Vieja Spain- significantly disrupt flight traffic, forcing pilots to take longer routes. Volcanic ash ejected into the atmosphere by explosive eruptions has known damaging effects on the aircraft fuselage. The CAMS generate atmosphere analyses to help assess the number of dust & particles which can affect the engine performance. 

Read this: EGNOS Safety of Life: Serving aviation for 10 years

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

EUSPA is introducing itself to general public in Prague and the newly created EU Space Programme with an Open Space open-air, flashy exhibition full of colour.

Our daily lives are influenced by what happens in space, much more than we realise. Satellites in orbit allow millions of people to communicate and navigate using new technologies, to travel by land, sea and air, and to develop ways with which we can improve the health of our planet and grow our economy. Every year around November, the Agency used to throw its doors open, to familiarize citizens with its space-related activities through various interactive means. Τhis year, under a new name, with a broadened scope of activities, and while observing the current hygiene rules, the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) invites you to its first open-air exhibition called "EUSPA Open Space".

"EUSPA Open Space" is a three-day, 24 hours open, walk-through, open-air experience which will introduce visitors to the newly established EU Space Programme as well the agency’s new mission. An immersive experience full of colors invites you to discover the latest applications and services enabled by space. A particular focus will be placed on the contribution of EU space to environmental protection and digital innovation. 

"EUSPA’s new mission is multifaceted, complex and fascinating. We deliver the space-based services  of Galileo and EGNOS to a growing group of users; We make sure that EU companies are taking advantage of the whole EU Space programme. We ensure the systems’ operations both in space and on the ground while we also stand next to innovators and entrepreneurs looking for space solutions" says EUSPA Executive director, Rodrigo da Costa. "With the EUSPA Open Space, we want to communicate our work to the general public but also highlight the importance of the Union’s investment in space," da Costa concludes.

The exhibition will be open to the public around the clock from 4 to 6 November 2021 at Janovského 438/2, 170 00 Praha 7-Holešovice.

How to reach us?

Hop on Galileo-enabled trams: 6,8,12,17,25,1 and get off at Strosmayerovo Namesti or take a ride down the metro line C and stop at Vltavska. 

Read the Czech version here: Od 4. do 6. listopadu všechny cesty vedou do Agentury EUSPA! 

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

EUSPA is introducing itself to general public in Prague and the newly created EU Space Programme with an Open Space open-air, flashy exhibition full of colour.

Our daily lives are influenced by what happens in space, much more than we realise. Satellites in orbit allow millions of people to communicate and navigate using new technologies, to travel by land, sea and air, and to develop ways with which we can improve the health of our planet and grow our economy. Every year around November, the Agency used to throw its doors open, to familiarize citizens with its space-related activities through various interactive means. Τhis year, under a new name, with a broadened scope of activities, and while observing the current hygiene rules, the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) invites you to its first open-air exhibition called "EUSPA Open Space".

"EUSPA Open Space" is a three-day, walk-through, open-air experience which will introduce visitors to the newly established EU Space Programme as well the agency’s new mission. An immersive experience full of colors invites you to discover the latest applications and services enabled by space. A particular focus will be placed on the contribution of EU space to environmental protection and digital innovation. 

"EUSPA’s new mission is multifaceted, complex and fascinating. We deliver the space-based services  of Galileo and EGNOS to a growing group of users; We make sure that EU companies are taking advantage of the whole EU Space programme. We ensure the systems’ operations both in space and on the ground while we also stand next to innovators and entrepreneurs looking for space solutions" says EUSPA Executive director, Rodrigo da Costa. "With the EUSPA Open Space, we want to communicate our work to the general public but also highlight the importance of the Union’s investment in space," da Costa concludes.

The exhibition will be open to the public around the clock from 4 to 6 November 2021 at Janovského 438/2, 170 00 Praha 7-Holešovice.

Find out more about the exhibition at the EUSPA Open Space event page.

How to reach us?

Hop on Galileo-enabled trams: 6,8,12,17,25,1 and get off at Strosmayerovo Namesti or take a ride down the metro line C and stop at Vltavska. 

Read the Czech version here: Od 4. do 6. listopadu všechny cesty vedou do Agentury EUSPA! 

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

EUSPA is introducing itself to general public in Prague and the newly created EU Space Programme with an Open Space open-air, flashy exhibition full of colour.

Our daily lives are influenced by what happens in space, much more than we realise. Satellites in orbit allow millions of people to communicate and navigate using new technologies, to travel by land, sea and air, and to develop ways with which we can improve the health of our planet and grow our economy. Every year around November, the Agency used to throw its doors open, to familiarize citizens with its space-related activities through various interactive means. Τhis year, under a new name, with a broadened scope of activities, and while observing the current hygiene rules, the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) invites you to its first open-air exhibition called "EUSPA Open Space".

"EUSPA Open Space" is a three-day, walk-through, open-air experience which will introduce visitors to the newly established EU Space Programme as well the agency’s new mission. An immersive experience full of colors invites you to discover the latest applications and services enabled by space. A particular focus will be placed on the contribution of EU space to environmental protection and digital innovation. 

"EUSPA’s new mission is multifaceted, complex and fascinating. We deliver the space-based services of Galileo and EGNOS to a growing group of users; We make sure that EU companies are taking advantage of the whole EU Space programme. We ensure the systems’ operations both in space and on the ground while we also stand next to innovators and entrepreneurs looking for space solutions" says EUSPA Executive director, Rodrigo da Costa. "With the EUSPA Open Space, we want to communicate our work to the general public but also highlight the importance of the Union’s investment in space," da Costa concludes.

The exhibition will be open to the public from 4 to 6 November 2021 at Janovského 438/2, 170 00 Praha 7-Holešovice.

Find out more about the exhibition at the EUSPA Open Space event page.

How to reach us?

Hop on Galileo-enabled trams: 6,8,12,17,25,1 and get off at Strosmayerovo Namesti or take a ride down the metro line C and stop at Vltavska. 

Read the Czech version here: Od 4. do 6. listopadu všechny cesty vedou do Agentury EUSPA! 

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

EUSPA is introducing itself to general public in Prague and the newly created EU Space Programme with an Open Space open-air, flashy exhibition full of colour.

Our daily lives are influenced by what happens in space, much more than we realise. Satellites in orbit allow millions of people to communicate and navigate using new technologies, to travel by land, sea and air, and to develop ways with which we can improve the health of our planet and grow our economy. Every year around November, the Agency used to throw its doors open, to familiarize citizens with its space-related activities through various interactive means. Τhis year, under a new name, with a broadened scope of activities, and while observing the current hygiene rules, the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) invites you to its first open-air exhibition called "EUSPA Open Space".

"EUSPA Open Space" is a three-day, 24 hours open, walk-through, open-air experience which will introduce visitors to the newly established EU Space Programme as well the agency’s new mission. An immersive experience full of colors invites you to discover the latest applications and services enabled by space. A particular focus will be placed on the contribution of EU space to environmental protection and digital innovation. 

"EUSPA’s new mission is multifaceted, complex and fascinating. We deliver the space-based services  of Galileo and EGNOS to a growing group of users; We make sure that EU companies are taking advantage of the whole EU Space programme. We ensure the systems’ operations both in space and on the ground while we also stand next to innovators and entrepreneurs looking for space solutions" says EUSPA Executive director, Rodrigo da Costa. "With the EUSPA Open Space, we want to communicate our work to the general public but also highlight the importance of the Union’s investment in space," da Costa concludes.

The exhibition will be open to the public around the clock from 4 to 6 November 2021 at Janovského 438/2, 170 00 Praha 7-Holešovice.

Find out more about the exhibition at the EUSPA Open Space event page.

How to reach us?

Hop on Galileo-enabled trams: 6,8,12,17,25,1 and get off at Strosmayerovo Namesti or take a ride down the metro line C and stop at Vltavska. 

Read the Czech version here: Od 4. do 6. listopadu všechny cesty vedou do Agentury EUSPA! 

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

With less than a month left for the submission deadline of EUSPA’s latest innovation competition it’s time for a short recap the ‘’Map My World’’ and ‘’Move Me Smart’’ challenges. 

According to UN projections, urbanization combined with the overall growth of the world’s population could add another 2.5 billion people to urban areas by 2050. These trends are pushing the boundaries for resource exploitation and are creating a huge demand for civil infrastructures such as buildings, subways, and train lines, bridges, dams, highways, and airports. Both the construction sector and urban planning are directly benefitting from the EU Space Programme namely from the additional accuracy of Galileo and EGNOS which allows surveyors to accurately pinpoint structures and reference points. Copernicus offers high-resolution images to assess the state of civil infrastructure including dams, or pipelines and track water loss.

EUSPA market report, finds that by 2025, 83% of GNSS geomatics equipment will be used for cadastral surveying and construction applications. As of today, more than 80% of newly manufactured geomatics equipment and instruments use Galileo.

The "Μap Μy World’" challenge of #myEUspace aims at promoting the use of EU satellite programmes Galileo, EGNOS, and/or Copernicus among students, young professionals, entrepreneurs, and small and mid-sized businesses (SMEs), that look to create cutting-edge geomatics applications and solutions. 

Such applications could integrate the use of additional technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, augmented and virtual reality, as well as supplementary remote sensing data sources like drones. Solutions animated through mobile phone applications or other easy-to-use platforms are also welcome.

The challenge is supported by the Council of European Geodetic Surveyors (CLGE). 

Watch this:  Want to know more about EGNSS for geomatics?

"Move Me Smart’" challenge is opening a door for new solutions for smart mobility and smart cities 

Smart mobility is currently under the spotlight as the Union is investing more in its EU Space Programme for the definition of its green and digital policies. The "Move me smart’’ challenge taps on this asking innovators to conceive smart mobility solutions across all transportation modes to improve efficiency and sustainability and increase safety. The proposed solutions should be focusing on:

• reduction of emissions
• more sustainable transport means and new concepts of mobility
• more affordable, accessible, healthier, and cleaner alternatives  

The COVID-19 lockdown measures led to the reduction of emissions in cities, which raised their interest in identifying more suitable mobility schemes when activity returns to normal. In this context, some cities have decided to take the opportunity to build a better, more sustainable, and efficient transport system to support the recovery phase, and look for solutions in space. For example, more efficient cycling routes and their integration in the cities or more applications on shared mobility can reduce the use of personal vehicles in the city and improve the air condition for inhabitants. 

New mobility schemes, such as unmanned vehicles are being developed to meet the emerging needs of transport of people and goods. In fact, parcel delivery promises to reduce emissions in cities and demands EGNSS differentiators to fly safely beyond the line of sight to complete its mission. Moreover, drones and unmanned vehicles now navigate more accurately thanks to Galileo's robust performance. Drone-based solutions like Thunderfly, one of the myGalileoDrone winners, is able to perform atmosphere analyses, leveraging services and data from Galileo and Copernicus. 

On the other hand, Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) rely on positioning data, which has now become much more precise thanks to Galileo services. With the help of Galileo and EGNOS, the implementation of ITS is now becoming a reality for transport and mobility companies. The city of Madrid together with Prague was among the first to integrate Galileo’s enhanced positioning services into its Transport System to improve public transport services in the Spanish and Czech capital. 

On the other hand, sustainable and resilient infrastructures are key to supporting smart mobility systems. Copernicus, the EU’s Earth Observation Programme offers a broad range of products and services based on satellite optical data. Lidar images, can, for instance, help urban planning authorities to identify changes in the terrain such as land subsidence or vegetation that could encroach rail tracks. The combination of imagery from Copernicus with the very accurate positioning provided by Galileo allows for the monitoring and planning of critical infrastructures tunnels, motorways, bridges or contributes to more sufficient management of parking lots.

The opportunities offered by the EU Space Programme are unlimited! The clock is ticking, so roll up your sleeves!

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

With less than a month left for the submission deadline of EUSPA’s latest innovation competition it’s time for a short recap the ‘’Map My World’’ and ‘’Move Me Smart’’ challenges. 

According to UN projections, urbanization combined with the overall growth of the world’s population could add another 2.5 billion people to urban areas by 2050. These trends are pushing the boundaries for resource exploitation and are creating a huge demand for civil infrastructures such as buildings, subways, and train lines, bridges, dams, highways, and airports. Both the construction sector and urban planning are directly benefitting from the EU Space Programme namely from the additional accuracy of Galileo and EGNOS which allows surveyors to accurately pinpoint structures and reference points. Copernicus offers high-resolution images to assess the state of civil infrastructure including dams, or pipelines and track water loss.

EUSPA market report, finds that by 2025, 83% of GNSS geomatics equipment will be used for cadastral surveying and construction applications. As of today, more than 80% of newly manufactured geomatics equipment and instruments use Galileo.

The "Μap Μy World’" challenge of #myEUspace aims at promoting the use of EU satellite programmes Galileo, EGNOS, and/or Copernicus among students, young professionals, entrepreneurs, and small and mid-sized businesses (SMEs), that look to create cutting-edge geomatics applications and solutions. 

Such applications could integrate the use of additional technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, augmented and virtual reality, as well as supplementary remote sensing data sources like drones. Solutions animated through mobile phone applications or other easy-to-use platforms are also welcome.

The challenge is supported by the Council of European Geodetic Surveyors (CLGE). 

Watch this:  Want to know more about EGNSS for geomatics?

"Move Me Smart’" challenge is opening a door for new solutions for smart mobility and smart cities 

Smart mobility is currently under the spotlight as the Union is investing more in its EU Space Programme for the definition of its green and digital policies. The "Move me smart’’ challenge taps on this asking innovators to conceive smart mobility solutions across all transportation modes to improve efficiency and sustainability and increase safety. The proposed solutions should be focusing on:

• reduction of emissions
• more sustainable transport means and new concepts of mobility
• more affordable, accessible, healthier, and cleaner alternatives  

The COVID-19 lockdown measures led to the reduction of emissions in cities, which raised their interest in identifying more suitable mobility schemes when activity returns to normal. In this context, some cities have decided to take the opportunity to build a better, more sustainable, and efficient transport system to support the recovery phase, and look for solutions in space. For example, more efficient cycling routes and their integration in the cities or more applications on shared mobility can reduce the use of personal vehicles in the city and improve the air condition for inhabitants. 

New mobility schemes, such as unmanned vehicles are being developed to meet the emerging needs of transport of people and goods. In fact, parcel delivery promises to reduce emissions in cities and demands EGNSS differentiators to fly safely beyond the line of sight to complete its mission. Moreover, drones and unmanned vehicles now navigate more accurately thanks to Galileo's robust performance. Drone-based solutions like Thunderfly, one of the myGalileoDrone winners, is able to perform atmosphere analyses, leveraging services and data from Galileo and Copernicus. 

On the other hand, Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) rely on positioning data, which has now become much more precise thanks to Galileo services. With the help of Galileo and EGNOS, the implementation of ITS is now becoming a reality for transport and mobility companies. The city of Madrid together with Prague was among the first to integrate Galileo’s enhanced positioning services into its Transport System to improve public transport services in the Spanish and Czech capital. 

On the other hand, sustainable and resilient infrastructures are key to supporting smart mobility systems. Copernicus, the EU’s Earth Observation Programme offers a broad range of products and services based on satellite optical data. Lidar images, can, for instance, help urban planning authorities to identify changes in the terrain such as land subsidence or vegetation that could encroach rail tracks. The combination of imagery from Copernicus with the very accurate positioning provided by Galileo allows for the monitoring and planning of critical infrastructures tunnels, motorways, bridges or contributes to more sufficient management of parking lots.

The opportunities offered by the EU Space Programme are unlimited! The clock is ticking, so roll up your sleeves!

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

On October 21, 2011 Europe took a major step in its space history by launching the first two operational Galileo satellites at 12h30 CET from Kourou, French Guiana. That day the EU came one step closer to having its own Global Navigation Satellite System.

Galileo is the European Union navigation and positioning system, and currently, the world’s most precise global navigation satellite system (GNSS), serving more than 2.3 billion users globally. To date, the constellation consists of 26 satellites orbiting the Earth at an altitude of around 23,000 km, is 100% financed by the EU and is supported by a range of terrestrial centers and sensors across the globe. Since the launch of the services in December 2016, the system has been going from strength to strength to become the backbone of a series of value-adding services that ensure the wellbeing of EU citizens and guarantee the Union’s autonomy and sovereignty. 

Galileo is impacting the European economy as 11% of the EU GDP is enabled by satellite navigation according to experts. Thanks to the EU satellite navigation system, the Union has been able to boost its digitization strategy, support the EU Green Deal, and drive economic growth. For instance, the use of Galileo in vehicles can reduce journey times by more than 10% and thus contribute to reducing emissions of harmful and polluting substances. Throughout the years, the European Union saw a set of technological breakthroughs from the eCall implementation in newly produced cars to the Galileo Return Link (RLS), a unique feature of the Galileo Search and Rescue service. 

One step closer to Full Operational Capability (FOC)

On December 1st, 2021, two new satellites are expected to lift off from Kourou French Guyana on a Soyuz rocket at 00:35 (GMT). The launch of these satellites will bring the programme one step closer to its Full Operational Capability (FOC). This launch takes place few months after the new Space Regulation entered into force. The Regulation brings an improved governance between the European space actors and provides the necessary budget certainty for the next seven years.

Galileo is continuing to evolve. New services, currently under testing, will soon be available to users opening new market opportunities across various industries. 

With the Galileo High Accuracy Service (HAS), Galileo will pioneer a worldwide, free high-accuracy positioning service aimed at applications that require higher performance such as drones and autonomous cars.

The Open Service Navigation Message Authentication (OSNMA) is set to contribute to the detection of GNSS attacks. This forthcoming service is an authentication mechanism that allows GNSS receivers to verify the authenticity of GNSS information, making sure that the data received are indeed from Galileo and have not been modified in any way. 

Galileo grows strong thanks to a robust 3D collaboration

With the European Commission at the helm, Galileo is the result of unprecedented cooperation between, legislators, space industry actors and above all EU Member States. The European Space Agency has been a trusted partner in terms of designing the system architecture while the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) as exploitation manager, guarantees the provision of safe, secure, state-of-the-art services around the clock to EU citizens but also to a growing group of users around the world. 

"At EUSPA, we are committed to taking the EU Space to the next level. Collaboration between EUSPA, European Commission and ESA is the basis for it. Each partner has unique and complementary functions and competencies," says Rodrigo da Costa, EUSPA Executive Director. 

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

Space based services will help reduce 15% of railway maintenance costs, 25% of maintenance unscheduled events and 15% of derailments associated with the rail-wheel interface. To tackle this challenge, the SIA consortium brings together multidisciplinary and cross sector partners (EGNSS technology providers, research centres, IT companies and railway stakeholders) that will co-design EGNSS solutions truly adapted to the needs of the rail sector.

Railway infrastructure and vehicle maintenance are estimated to cost over 25 billion Euros per year in Europe, and this figure is rising1 . The distribution of maintenance expenses varies in different countries and organizations. However, in relation to the railway infrastructure, track expenses represent between 40%-70% of the operational expenses, where the defects associated with the rails and catenary are the most significant (30% and 50% respectively). Other major maintenance costs relate to vehicle equipment such as the wheelset and pantograph (typically between 30%-50% and 5%-10% of the overall vehicle’s maintenance cost respectively). These figures are similar for all the infrastructure managers (IMs) and train operating companies (TOCs), which in total accounts for 330 organizations in the EU and 1500 organisations worldwide, therefore incurring over 8 billion Euros in recurrent expenses in the EU.

SIA project (System for vehicle-infrastructure Interaction Assets health status monitoring) has been funded by EUSPA since 2018 with the objective of developing four ready-to-use new services, to provide prognostic information about the health status of railways’ most demanding assets in terms of maintenance costs, at the points of the interaction between the vehicle and the infrastructure (wheelset, pantograph, rail, and catenary).

iCatMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors. The service provides information about the status of the overhead line (e.g. geometry of the Overhead Contact Wire - OCW).

iPantMon is intended for TOCs, providing information about the status of the pantograph during its interaction with the OCW (e.g. contact dynamics).

iWheelMon is also intended for TOCs, this service provides information about the health status of the wheelset (e.g. wheel diameter, out-of-roundness).

iRailMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors, the service provides information about defects on the rails (e.g. short-wave irregularities).

To enable these services, a modular system with all of the required components from vehicle sensor networks to KPI visualization for the end user has been developed. The value proposition of SIA is to develop these components in the most cost-effective way, i.e. with the use of cost-effective sensors and systems. 

The SIA components include a sub-system for the recording of axle-box acceleration (ABA) data that can be related to defects in the track and wheelset. Another sub-system includes sensors that provide signals to characterize the interaction between the pantograph and catenary. EGNSS- based localization is performed, with real time processing of GNSS signals in multiple frequency bands including Galileo and map-supported refinement using Kalman filter methods in the back-office. A central datahub provides the onboard data management and communicates with the back-office part of SIA, for instance, to send events or detections in the monitoring data. The axle-box acceleration and pantograph data enriched with position information are further processed using component degradation models and analysis algorithms in the back-office. Finally, relevant asset key performance indicators (KPI) are displayed to the user in the visualization platform, with a rich functionality to illustrate the asset status and its evolution using different capabilities. 

To validate the results, pilot tests have been carried out since October 2020 in three different scenarios: one of them coordinated by OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen), the Austrian operator, using both inspection vehicles and regular in-service trains throughout Austrian rail network; another scenario coordinated by VIAS, a Spanish maintenance subcontractor, using for the installation of the system a maintenance vehicle circulating over Madrid-Córdoba high-speed line; and the third scenario was coordinated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Spanish regional TOC, using regular in-service trains throughout its whole network.

The results obtained so far are very promising. The aim is to validate the use of low-cost on-board systems to assess the health status of infrastructure and vehicle assets using the four developed services. Part of this success is due to the use of digital twins and AI technologies to extract health related KPIs. Some of the activities within the project contributed to the creation of a tech startup (MainRail Solutions), dedicated to the management of railway infrastructure. This start-up, created by Ceit and Inycom (linked third party of INGECONTROL) in 2020, has initiated its activities by deploying its first commercial references, e.g. tranvía Zaragoza (Spain)  and SFM (Mallorca Railways, Spain) and PoC (Proof of Concept) pilots with other TOCs and IMs in Spain.

The implementation of the SIA system in regular service trains will enable a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance, while keeping the required levels of safety and service availability. The low-cost nature of the on-board equipment and the capabilities brought by the new services can potentially lead to reductions of 10% in the cost of the maintenance associated to the infrastructure’s assets, thanks to a reduction of unscheduled actions and MTTR (Mean Time To React).

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

• 1. Using analytics to get European rail maintenance on track, McKinsey & Company, 2020

Space based services will help reduce 15% of railway maintenance costs, 25% of maintenance unscheduled events and 15% of derailments associated with the rail-wheel interface. To tackle this challenge, the SIA consortium brings together multidisciplinary and cross sector partners (EGNSS technology providers, research centres, IT companies and railway stakeholders) that will co-design EGNSS solutions truly adapted to the needs of the rail sector.

Railway infrastructure and vehicle maintenance are estimated to cost over 25 billion Euros per year in Europe, and this figure is rising1 . The distribution of maintenance expenses varies in different countries and organizations. However, in relation to the railway infrastructure, track expenses represent between 40%-70% of the operational expenses, where the defects associated with the rails and catenary are the most significant (30% and 50% respectively). Other major maintenance costs relate to vehicle equipment such as the wheelset and pantograph (typically between 30%-50% and 5%-10% of the overall vehicle’s maintenance cost respectively). These figures are similar for all the infrastructure managers (IMs) and train operating companies (TOCs), which in total accounts for 330 organizations in the EU and 1500 organisations worldwide, therefore incurring over 8 billion Euros in recurrent expenses in the EU.

SIA project (System for vehicle-infrastructure Interaction Assets health status monitoring) has been funded by EUSPA since 2018 with the objective of developing four ready-to-use new services, to provide prognostic information about the health status of railways’ most demanding assets in terms of maintenance costs, at the points of the interaction between the vehicle and the infrastructure (wheelset, pantograph, rail, and catenary).

iCatMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors. The service provides information about the status of the overhead line (e.g. geometry of the Overhead Contact Wire - OCW).

iPantMon is intended for TOCs, providing information about the status of the pantograph during its interaction with the OCW (e.g. contact dynamics).

iWheelMon is also intended for TOCs, this service provides information about the health status of the wheelset (e.g. wheel diameter, out-of-roundness).

iRailMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors, the service provides information about defects on the rails (e.g. short-wave irregularities).

To enable these services, a modular system with all of the required components from vehicle sensor networks to KPI visualization for the end user has been developed. The value proposition of SIA is to develop these components in the most cost-effective way, i.e. with the use of cost-effective sensors and systems. 

The SIA components include a sub-system for the recording of axle-box acceleration (ABA) data that can be related to defects in the track and wheelset. Another sub-system includes sensors that provide signals to characterize the interaction between the pantograph and catenary. EGNSS- based localization is performed, with real time processing of GNSS signals in multiple frequency bands including Galileo and map-supported refinement using Kalman filter methods in the back-office. A central datahub provides the onboard data management and communicates with the back-office part of SIA, for instance, to send events or detections in the monitoring data. The axle-box acceleration and pantograph data enriched with position information are further processed using component degradation models and analysis algorithms in the back-office. Finally, relevant asset key performance indicators (KPI) are displayed to the user in the visualization platform, with a rich functionality to illustrate the asset status and its evolution using different capabilities. 

To validate the results, pilot tests have been carried out since October 2020 in three different scenarios: one of them coordinated by OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen), the Austrian operator, using both inspection vehicles and regular in-service trains throughout Austrian rail network; another scenario coordinated by VIAS, a Spanish maintenance subcontractor, using for the installation of the system a maintenance vehicle circulating over Madrid-Córdoba high-speed line; and the third scenario was coordinated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Spanish regional TOC, using regular in-service trains throughout its whole network.

The results obtained so far are very promising. The aim is to validate the use of low-cost on-board systems to assess the health status of infrastructure and vehicle assets using the four developed services. Part of this success is due to the use of digital twins and AI technologies to extract health related KPIs. Some of the activities within the project contributed to the creation of a tech startup (MainRail Solutions), dedicated to the management of railway infrastructure. This start-up, created by Ceit and Inycom (linked third party of INGECONTROL) in 2020, has initiated its activities by deploying its first commercial references, e.g. tranvía Zaragoza (Spain)  and SFM (Mallorca Railways, Spain) and PoC (Proof of Concept) pilots with other TOCs and IMs in Spain.

The implementation of the SIA system in regular service trains will enable a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance, while keeping the required levels of safety and service availability. The low-cost nature of the on-board equipment and the capabilities brought by the new services can potentially lead to reductions of 10% in the cost of the maintenance associated to the infrastructure’s assets, thanks to a reduction of unscheduled actions and MTTR (Mean Time To React).

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

• 1. Using analytics to get European rail maintenance on track, McKinsey & Company, 2020

Space based services will help reduce 15% of railway maintenance costs, 25% of maintenance unscheduled events and 15% of derailments associated with the rail-wheel interface. To tackle this challenge, the SIA consortium brings together multidisciplinary and cross sector partners (EGNSS technology providers, research centres, IT companies and railway stakeholders) that will co-design EGNSS solutions truly adapted to the needs of the rail sector.

Railway infrastructure and vehicle maintenance are estimated to cost over 25 billion Euros per year in Europe, and this figure is rising1 . The distribution of maintenance expenses varies in different countries and organizations. However, in relation to the railway infrastructure, track expenses represent between 40%-70% of the operational expenses, where the defects associated with the rails and catenary are the most significant (30% and 50% respectively). Other major maintenance costs relate to vehicle equipment such as the wheelset and pantograph (typically between 30%-50% and 5%-10% of the overall vehicle’s maintenance cost respectively). These figures are similar for all the infrastructure managers (IMs) and train operating companies (TOCs), which in total accounts for 330 organizations in the EU and 1500 organisations worldwide, therefore incurring over 8 billion Euros in recurrent expenses in the EU.

SIA project (System for vehicle-infrastructure Interaction Assets health status monitoring) has been funded by EUSPA since 2018 with the objective of developing four ready-to-use new services, to provide prognostic information about the health status of railways’ most demanding assets in terms of maintenance costs, at the points of the interaction between the vehicle and the infrastructure (wheelset, pantograph, rail, and catenary).

iCatMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors. The service provides information about the status of the overhead line (e.g. geometry of the Overhead Contact Wire - OCW).

iPantMon is intended for TOCs, providing information about the status of the pantograph during its interaction with the OCW (e.g. contact dynamics).

iWheelMon is also intended for TOCs, this service provides information about the health status of the wheelset (e.g. wheel diameter, out-of-roundness).

iRailMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors, the service provides information about defects on the rails (e.g. short-wave irregularities).

To enable these services, a modular system with all of the required components from vehicle sensor networks to KPI visualization for the end user has been developed. The value proposition of SIA is to develop these components in the most cost-effective way, i.e. with the use of cost-effective sensors and systems. 

The SIA components include a sub-system for the recording of axle-box acceleration (ABA) data that can be related to defects in the track and wheelset. Another sub-system includes sensors that provide signals to characterize the interaction between the pantograph and catenary. EGNSS- based localization is performed, with real time processing of GNSS signals in multiple frequency bands including Galileo and map-supported refinement using Kalman filter methods in the back-office. A central datahub provides the onboard data management and communicates with the back-office part of SIA, for instance, to send events or detections in the monitoring data. The axle-box acceleration and pantograph data enriched with position information are further processed using component degradation models and analysis algorithms in the back-office. Finally, relevant asset key performance indicators (KPI) are displayed to the user in the visualization platform, with a rich functionality to illustrate the asset status and its evolution using different capabilities. 

To validate the results, pilot tests have been carried out since October 2020 in three different scenarios: one of them coordinated by OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen), the Austrian operator, using both inspection vehicles and regular in-service trains throughout Austrian rail network; another scenario coordinated by VIAS, a Spanish maintenance subcontractor, using for the installation of the system a maintenance vehicle circulating over Madrid-Córdoba high-speed line; and the third scenario was coordinated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Spanish regional TOC, using regular in-service trains throughout its whole network.

The results obtained so far are very promising. The aim is to validate the use of low-cost on-board systems to assess the health status of infrastructure and vehicle assets using the four developed services. Part of this success is due to the use of digital twins and AI technologies to extract health related KPIs. Some of the activities within the project contributed to the creation of a tech startup (MainRail Solutions), dedicated to the management of railway infrastructure. This start-up, created by Ceit and Inycom (linked third party of INGECONTROL) in 2020, has initiated its activities by deploying its first commercial references, e.g. tranvía Zaragoza (Spain)  and SFM (Mallorca Railways, Spain) and PoC (Proof of Concept) pilots with other TOCs and IMs in Spain.

The implementation of the SIA system in regular service trains will enable a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance, while keeping the required levels of safety and service availability. The low-cost nature of the on-board equipment and the capabilities brought by the new services can potentially lead to reductions of 10% in the cost of the maintenance associated to the infrastructure’s assets, thanks to a reduction of unscheduled actions and MTTR (Mean Time To React).

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

• 1. Using analytics to get European rail maintenance on track, McKinsey & Company, 2020

Space based services will help reduce 15% of railway maintenance costs, 25% of maintenance unscheduled events and 15% of derailments associated with the rail-wheel interface. To tackle this challenge, the SIA consortium brings together multidisciplinary and cross sector partners (EGNSS technology providers, research centres, IT companies and railway stakeholders) that will co-design EGNSS solutions truly adapted to the needs of the rail sector.

Railway infrastructure and vehicle maintenance are estimated to cost over 25 billion Euros per year in Europe, and this figure is rising1 . The distribution of maintenance expenses varies in different countries and organizations. However, in relation to the railway infrastructure, track expenses represent between 40%-70% of the operational expenses, where the defects associated with the rails and catenary are the most significant (30% and 50% respectively). Other major maintenance costs relate to vehicle equipment such as the wheelset and pantograph (typically between 30%-50% and 5%-10% of the overall vehicle’s maintenance cost respectively). These figures are similar for all the infrastructure managers (IMs) and train operating companies (TOCs), which in total accounts for 330 organizations in the EU and 1500 organisations worldwide, therefore incurring over 8 billion Euros in recurrent expenses in the EU.

SIA project (System for vehicle-infrastructure Interaction Assets health status monitoring) has been funded by EUSPA since 2018 with the objective of developing four ready-to-use new services, to provide prognostic information about the health status of railways’ most demanding assets in terms of maintenance costs, at the points of the interaction between the vehicle and the infrastructure (wheelset, pantograph, rail, and catenary).

iCatMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors. The service provides information about the status of the overhead line (e.g. geometry of the Overhead Contact Wire - OCW).

iPantMon is intended for TOCs, providing information about the status of the pantograph during its interaction with the OCW (e.g. contact dynamics).

iWheelMon is also intended for TOCs, this service provides information about the health status of the wheelset (e.g. wheel diameter, out-of-roundness).

iRailMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors, the service provides information about defects on the rails (e.g. short-wave irregularities).

To enable these services, a modular system with all of the required components from vehicle sensor networks to KPI visualization for the end user has been developed. The value proposition of SIA is to develop these components in the most cost-effective way, i.e. with the use of cost-effective sensors and systems. 

The SIA components include a sub-system for the recording of axle-box acceleration (ABA) data that can be related to defects in the track and wheelset. Another sub-system includes sensors that provide signals to characterize the interaction between the pantograph and catenary. EGNSS- based localization is performed, with real time processing of GNSS signals in multiple frequency bands including Galileo and map-supported refinement using Kalman filter methods in the back-office. A central datahub provides the onboard data management and communicates with the back-office part of SIA, for instance, to send events or detections in the monitoring data. The axle-box acceleration and pantograph data enriched with position information are further processed using component degradation models and analysis algorithms in the back-office. Finally, relevant asset key performance indicators (KPI) are displayed to the user in the visualization platform, with a rich functionality to illustrate the asset status and its evolution using different capabilities. 

To validate the results, pilot tests have been carried out since October 2020 in three different scenarios: one of them coordinated by OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen), the Austrian operator, using both inspection vehicles and regular in-service trains throughout Austrian rail network; another scenario coordinated by VIAS, a Spanish maintenance subcontractor, using for the installation of the system a maintenance vehicle circulating over Madrid-Córdoba high-speed line; and the third scenario was coordinated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Spanish regional TOC, using regular in-service trains throughout its whole network.

The results obtained so far are very promising. The aim is to validate the use of low-cost on-board systems to assess the health status of infrastructure and vehicle assets using the four developed services. Part of this success is due to the use of digital twins and AI technologies to extract health related KPIs. Some of the activities within the project contributed to the creation of a tech startup (MainRail Solutions), dedicated to the management of railway infrastructure. This start-up, created by Ceit and Inycom (linked third party of INGECONTROL) in 2020, has initiated its activities by deploying its first commercial references, e.g. tranvía Zaragoza (Spain)  and SFM (Mallorca Railways, Spain) and PoC (Proof of Concept) pilots with other TOCs and IMs in Spain.

The implementation of the SIA system in regular service trains will enable a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance, while keeping the required levels of safety and service availability. The low-cost nature of the on-board equipment and the capabilities brought by the new services can potentially lead to reductions of 10% in the cost of the maintenance associated to the infrastructure’s assets, thanks to a reduction of unscheduled actions and MTTR (Mean Time To React).

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

• 1. Using analytics to get European rail maintenance on track, McKinsey & Company, 2020

Space based services will help reduce 15% of railway maintenance costs, 25% of maintenance unscheduled events and 15% of derailments associated with the rail-wheel interface. To tackle this challenge, the SIA consortium brings together multidisciplinary and cross sector partners (EGNSS technology providers, research centres, IT companies and railway stakeholders) that will co-design EGNSS solutions truly adapted to the needs of the rail sector.

Railway infrastructure and vehicle maintenance are estimated to cost over 25 billion Euros per year in Europe, and this figure is rising1 . The distribution of maintenance expenses varies in different countries and organizations. However, in relation to the railway infrastructure, track expenses represent between 40%-70% of the operational expenses, where the defects associated with the rails and catenary are the most significant (30% and 50% respectively). Other major maintenance costs relate to vehicle equipment such as the wheelset and pantograph (typically between 30%-50% and 5%-10% of the overall vehicle’s maintenance cost respectively). These figures are similar for all the infrastructure managers (IMs) and train operating companies (TOCs), which in total accounts for 330 organizations in the EU and 1500 organisations worldwide, therefore incurring over 8 billion Euros in recurrent expenses in the EU.

SIA project (System for vehicle-infrastructure Interaction Assets health status monitoring) has been funded by EUSPA since 2018 with the objective of developing four ready-to-use new services, to provide prognostic information about the health status of railways’ most demanding assets in terms of maintenance costs, at the points of the interaction between the vehicle and the infrastructure (wheelset, pantograph, rail, and catenary).

iCatMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors. The service provides information about the status of the overhead line (e.g. geometry of the Overhead Contact Wire - OCW).

iPantMon is intended for TOCs, providing information about the status of the pantograph during its interaction with the OCW (e.g. contact dynamics).

iWheelMon is also intended for TOCs, this service provides information about the health status of the wheelset (e.g. wheel diameter, out-of-roundness).

iRailMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors, the service provides information about defects on the rails (e.g. short-wave irregularities).

To enable these services, a modular system with all of the required components from vehicle sensor networks to KPI visualization for the end user has been developed. The value proposition of SIA is to develop these components in the most cost-effective way, i.e. with the use of cost-effective sensors and systems. 

The SIA components include a sub-system for the recording of axle-box acceleration (ABA) data that can be related to defects in the track and wheelset. Another sub-system includes sensors that provide signals to characterize the interaction between the pantograph and catenary. EGNSS- based localization is performed, with real time processing of GNSS signals in multiple frequency bands including Galileo and map-supported refinement using Kalman filter methods in the back-office. A central datahub provides the onboard data management and communicates with the back-office part of SIA, for instance, to send events or detections in the monitoring data. The axle-box acceleration and pantograph data enriched with position information are further processed using component degradation models and analysis algorithms in the back-office. Finally, relevant asset key performance indicators (KPI) are displayed to the user in the visualization platform, with a rich functionality to illustrate the asset status and its evolution using different capabilities. 

To validate the results, pilot tests have been carried out since October 2020 in three different scenarios: one of them coordinated by OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen), the Austrian operator, using both inspection vehicles and regular in-service trains throughout Austrian rail network; another scenario coordinated by VIAS, a Spanish maintenance subcontractor, using for the installation of the system a maintenance vehicle circulating over Madrid-Córdoba high-speed line; and the third scenario was coordinated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Spanish regional TOC, using regular in-service trains throughout its whole network.

The results obtained so far are very promising. The aim is to validate the use of low-cost on-board systems to assess the health status of infrastructure and vehicle assets using the four developed services. Part of this success is due to the use of digital twins and AI technologies to extract health related KPIs. Some of the activities within the project contributed to the creation of a tech startup (MainRail Solutions), dedicated to the management of railway infrastructure. This start-up, created by Ceit and Inycom (linked third party of INGECONTROL) in 2020, has initiated its activities by deploying its first commercial references, e.g. tranvía Zaragoza (Spain)  and SFM (Mallorca Railways, Spain) and PoC (Proof of Concept) pilots with other TOCs and IMs in Spain.

The implementation of the SIA system in regular service trains will enable a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance, while keeping the required levels of safety and service availability. The low-cost nature of the on-board equipment and the capabilities brought by the new services can potentially lead to reductions of 10% in the cost of the maintenance associated to the infrastructure’s assets, thanks to a reduction of unscheduled actions and MTTR (Mean Time To React).

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

• 1. Using analytics to get European rail maintenance on track, McKinsey & Company, 2020

Space based services will help reduce 15% of railway maintenance costs, 25% of maintenance unscheduled events and 15% of derailments associated with the rail-wheel interface. To tackle this challenge, the SIA consortium brings together multidisciplinary and cross sector partners (EGNSS technology providers, research centres, IT companies and railway stakeholders) that will co-design EGNSS solutions truly adapted to the needs of the rail sector.

Railway infrastructure and vehicle maintenance are estimated to cost over 25 billion Euros per year in Europe, and this figure is rising1 . The distribution of maintenance expenses varies in different countries and organizations. However, in relation to the railway infrastructure, track expenses represent between 40%-70% of the operational expenses, where the defects associated with the rails and catenary are the most significant (30% and 50% respectively). Other major maintenance costs relate to vehicle equipment such as the wheelset and pantograph (typically between 30%-50% and 5%-10% of the overall vehicle’s maintenance cost respectively). These figures are similar for all the infrastructure managers (IMs) and train operating companies (TOCs), which in total accounts for 330 organizations in the EU and 1500 organisations worldwide, therefore incurring over 8 billion Euros in recurrent expenses in the EU.

SIA project (System for vehicle-infrastructure Interaction Assets health status monitoring) has been funded by EUSPA since 2018 with the objective of developing four ready-to-use new services, to provide prognostic information about the health status of railways’ most demanding assets in terms of maintenance costs, at the points of the interaction between the vehicle and the infrastructure (wheelset, pantograph, rail, and catenary).

iCatMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors. The service provides information about the status of the overhead line (e.g. geometry of the Overhead Contact Wire - OCW).

iPantMon is intended for TOCs, providing information about the status of the pantograph during its interaction with the OCW (e.g. contact dynamics).

iWheelMon is also intended for TOCs, this service provides information about the health status of the wheelset (e.g. wheel diameter, out-of-roundness).

iRailMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors, the service provides information about defects on the rails (e.g. short-wave irregularities).

To enable these services, a modular system with all of the required components from vehicle sensor networks to KPI visualization for the end user has been developed. The value proposition of SIA is to develop these components in the most cost-effective way, i.e. with the use of cost-effective sensors and systems. 

The SIA components include a sub-system for the recording of axle-box acceleration (ABA) data that can be related to defects in the track and wheelset. Another sub-system includes sensors that provide signals to characterize the interaction between the pantograph and catenary. EGNSS- based localization is performed, with real time processing of GNSS signals in multiple frequency bands including Galileo and map-supported refinement using Kalman filter methods in the back-office. A central datahub provides the onboard data management and communicates with the back-office part of SIA, for instance, to send events or detections in the monitoring data. The axle-box acceleration and pantograph data enriched with position information are further processed using component degradation models and analysis algorithms in the back-office. Finally, relevant asset key performance indicators (KPI) are displayed to the user in the visualization platform, with a rich functionality to illustrate the asset status and its evolution using different capabilities. 

To validate the results, pilot tests have been carried out since October 2020 in three different scenarios: one of them coordinated by OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen), the Austrian operator, using both inspection vehicles and regular in-service trains throughout Austrian rail network; another scenario coordinated by VIAS, a Spanish maintenance subcontractor, using for the installation of the system a maintenance vehicle circulating over Madrid-Córdoba high-speed line; and the third scenario was coordinated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Spanish regional TOC, using regular in-service trains throughout its whole network.

The results obtained so far are very promising. The aim is to validate the use of low-cost on-board systems to assess the health status of infrastructure and vehicle assets using the four developed services. Part of this success is due to the use of digital twins and AI technologies to extract health related KPIs. Some of the activities within the project contributed to the creation of a tech startup (MainRail Solutions), dedicated to the management of railway infrastructure. This start-up, created by Ceit and Inycom (linked third party of INGECONTROL) in 2020, has initiated its activities by deploying its first commercial references, e.g. tranvía Zaragoza (Spain)  and SFM (Mallorca Railways, Spain) and PoC (Proof of Concept) pilots with other TOCs and IMs in Spain.

The implementation of the SIA system in regular service trains will enable a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance, while keeping the required levels of safety and service availability. The low-cost nature of the on-board equipment and the capabilities brought by the new services can potentially lead to reductions of 10% in the cost of the maintenance associated to the infrastructure’s assets, thanks to a reduction of unscheduled actions and MTTR (Mean Time To React).

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

• 1. Using analytics to get European rail maintenance on track, McKinsey & Company, 2020

Space based services will help reduce 15% of railway maintenance costs, 25% of maintenance unscheduled events and 15% of derailments associated with the rail-wheel interface. To tackle this challenge, the SIA consortium brings together multidisciplinary and cross sector partners (EGNSS technology providers, research centres, IT companies and railway stakeholders) that will co-design EGNSS solutions truly adapted to the needs of the rail sector.

Railway infrastructure and vehicle maintenance are estimated to cost over 25 billion Euros per year in Europe, and this figure is rising1 . The distribution of maintenance expenses varies in different countries and organizations. However, in relation to the railway infrastructure, track expenses represent between 40%-70% of the operational expenses, where the defects associated with the rails and catenary are the most significant (30% and 50% respectively). Other major maintenance costs relate to vehicle equipment such as the wheelset and pantograph (typically between 30%-50% and 5%-10% of the overall vehicle’s maintenance cost respectively). These figures are similar for all the infrastructure managers (IMs) and train operating companies (TOCs), which in total accounts for 330 organizations in the EU and 1500 organisations worldwide, therefore incurring over 8 billion Euros in recurrent expenses in the EU.

SIA project (System for vehicle-infrastructure Interaction Assets health status monitoring) has been funded by EUSPA since 2018 with the objective of developing four ready-to-use new services, to provide prognostic information about the health status of railways’ most demanding assets in terms of maintenance costs, at the points of the interaction between the vehicle and the infrastructure (wheelset, pantograph, rail, and catenary).

iCatMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors. The service provides information about the status of the overhead line (e.g. geometry of the Overhead Contact Wire - OCW).

iPantMon is intended for TOCs, providing information about the status of the pantograph during its interaction with the OCW (e.g. contact dynamics).

iWheelMon is also intended for TOCs, this service provides information about the health status of the wheelset (e.g. wheel diameter, out-of-roundness).

iRailMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors, the service provides information about defects on the rails (e.g. short-wave irregularities).

To enable these services, a modular system with all of the required components from vehicle sensor networks to KPI visualization for the end user has been developed. The value proposition of SIA is to develop these components in the most cost-effective way, i.e. with the use of cost-effective sensors and systems. 

The SIA components include a sub-system for the recording of axle-box acceleration (ABA) data that can be related to defects in the track and wheelset. Another sub-system includes sensors that provide signals to characterize the interaction between the pantograph and catenary. EGNSS- based localization is performed, with real time processing of GNSS signals in multiple frequency bands including Galileo and map-supported refinement using Kalman filter methods in the back-office. A central datahub provides the onboard data management and communicates with the back-office part of SIA, for instance, to send events or detections in the monitoring data. The axle-box acceleration and pantograph data enriched with position information are further processed using component degradation models and analysis algorithms in the back-office. Finally, relevant asset key performance indicators (KPI) are displayed to the user in the visualization platform, with a rich functionality to illustrate the asset status and its evolution using different capabilities. 

To validate the results, pilot tests have been carried out since October 2020 in three different scenarios: one of them coordinated by OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen), the Austrian operator, using both inspection vehicles and regular in-service trains throughout Austrian rail network; another scenario coordinated by VIAS, a Spanish maintenance subcontractor, using for the installation of the system a maintenance vehicle circulating over Madrid-Córdoba high-speed line; and the third scenario was coordinated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Spanish regional TOC, using regular in-service trains throughout its whole network.

The results obtained so far are very promising. The aim is to validate the use of low-cost on-board systems to assess the health status of infrastructure and vehicle assets using the four developed services. Part of this success is due to the use of digital twins and AI technologies to extract health related KPIs. Some of the activities within the project contributed to the creation of a tech startup (MainRail Solutions), dedicated to the management of railway infrastructure. This start-up, created by Ceit and Inycom (linked third party of INGECONTROL) in 2020, has initiated its activities by deploying its first commercial references, e.g. tranvía Zaragoza (Spain)  and SFM (Mallorca Railways, Spain) and PoC (Proof of Concept) pilots with other TOCs and IMs in Spain.

The implementation of the SIA system in regular service trains will enable a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance, while keeping the required levels of safety and service availability. The low-cost nature of the on-board equipment and the capabilities brought by the new services can potentially lead to reductions of 10% in the cost of the maintenance associated to the infrastructure’s assets, thanks to a reduction of unscheduled actions and MTTR (Mean Time To React).

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

• 1. Using analytics to get European rail maintenance on track, McKinsey & Company, 2020

Space based services will help reduce 15% of railway maintenance costs, 25% of maintenance unscheduled events and 15% of derailments associated with the rail-wheel interface. To tackle this challenge, the SIA consortium brings together multidisciplinary and cross sector partners (EGNSS technology providers, research centres, IT companies and railway stakeholders) that will co-design EGNSS solutions truly adapted to the needs of the rail sector.

Railway infrastructure and vehicle maintenance are estimated to cost over 25 billion Euros per year in Europe, and this figure is rising1 . The distribution of maintenance expenses varies in different countries and organizations. However, in relation to the railway infrastructure, track expenses represent between 40%-70% of the operational expenses, where the defects associated with the rails and catenary are the most significant (30% and 50% respectively). Other major maintenance costs relate to vehicle equipment such as the wheelset and pantograph (typically between 30%-50% and 5%-10% of the overall vehicle’s maintenance cost respectively). These figures are similar for all the infrastructure managers (IMs) and train operating companies (TOCs), which in total accounts for 330 organizations in the EU and 1500 organisations worldwide, therefore incurring over 8 billion Euros in recurrent expenses in the EU.

SIA project (System for vehicle-infrastructure Interaction Assets health status monitoring) has been funded by EUSPA since 2018 with the objective of developing four ready-to-use new services, to provide prognostic information about the health status of railways’ most demanding assets in terms of maintenance costs, at the points of the interaction between the vehicle and the infrastructure (wheelset, pantograph, rail, and catenary).

iCatMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors. The service provides information about the status of the overhead line (e.g. geometry of the Overhead Contact Wire - OCW).

iPantMon is intended for TOCs, providing information about the status of the pantograph during its interaction with the OCW (e.g. contact dynamics).

iWheelMon is also intended for TOCs, this service provides information about the health status of the wheelset (e.g. wheel diameter, out-of-roundness).

iRailMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors, the service provides information about defects on the rails (e.g. short-wave irregularities).

To enable these services, a modular system with all of the required components from vehicle sensor networks to KPI visualization for the end user has been developed. The value proposition of SIA is to develop these components in the most cost-effective way, i.e. with the use of cost-effective sensors and systems. 

The SIA components include a sub-system for the recording of axle-box acceleration (ABA) data that can be related to defects in the track and wheelset. Another sub-system includes sensors that provide signals to characterize the interaction between the pantograph and catenary. EGNSS- based localization is performed, with real time processing of GNSS signals in multiple frequency bands including Galileo and map-supported refinement using Kalman filter methods in the back-office. A central datahub provides the onboard data management and communicates with the back-office part of SIA, for instance, to send events or detections in the monitoring data. The axle-box acceleration and pantograph data enriched with position information are further processed using component degradation models and analysis algorithms in the back-office. Finally, relevant asset key performance indicators (KPI) are displayed to the user in the visualization platform, with a rich functionality to illustrate the asset status and its evolution using different capabilities. 

To validate the results, pilot tests have been carried out since October 2020 in three different scenarios: one of them coordinated by OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen), the Austrian operator, using both inspection vehicles and regular in-service trains throughout Austrian rail network; another scenario coordinated by VIAS, a Spanish maintenance subcontractor, using for the installation of the system a maintenance vehicle circulating over Madrid-Córdoba high-speed line; and the third scenario was coordinated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Spanish regional TOC, using regular in-service trains throughout its whole network.

The results obtained so far are very promising. The aim is to validate the use of low-cost on-board systems to assess the health status of infrastructure and vehicle assets using the four developed services. Part of this success is due to the use of digital twins and AI technologies to extract health related KPIs. Some of the activities within the project contributed to the creation of a tech startup (MainRail Solutions), dedicated to the management of railway infrastructure. This start-up, created by Ceit and Inycom (linked third party of INGECONTROL) in 2020, has initiated its activities by deploying its first commercial references, e.g. tranvía Zaragoza (Spain)  and SFM (Mallorca Railways, Spain) and PoC (Proof of Concept) pilots with other TOCs and IMs in Spain.

The implementation of the SIA system in regular service trains will enable a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance, while keeping the required levels of safety and service availability. The low-cost nature of the on-board equipment and the capabilities brought by the new services can potentially lead to reductions of 10% in the cost of the maintenance associated to the infrastructure’s assets, thanks to a reduction of unscheduled actions and MTTR (Mean Time To React).

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

• 1. Using analytics to get European rail maintenance on track, McKinsey & Company, 2020

Space based services will help reduce 15% of railway maintenance costs, 25% of maintenance unscheduled events and 15% of derailments associated with the rail-wheel interface. To tackle this challenge, the SIA consortium brings together multidisciplinary and cross sector partners (EGNSS technology providers, research centres, IT companies and railway stakeholders) that will co-design EGNSS solutions truly adapted to the needs of the rail sector.

Railway infrastructure and vehicle maintenance are estimated to cost over 25 billion Euros per year in Europe, and this figure is rising1 . The distribution of maintenance expenses varies in different countries and organizations. However, in relation to the railway infrastructure, track expenses represent between 40%-70% of the operational expenses, where the defects associated with the rails and catenary are the most significant (30% and 50% respectively). Other major maintenance costs relate to vehicle equipment such as the wheelset and pantograph (typically between 30%-50% and 5%-10% of the overall vehicle’s maintenance cost respectively). These figures are similar for all the infrastructure managers (IMs) and train operating companies (TOCs), which in total accounts for 330 organizations in the EU and 1500 organisations worldwide, therefore incurring over 8 billion Euros in recurrent expenses in the EU.

SIA project (System for vehicle-infrastructure Interaction Assets health status monitoring) has been funded by EUSPA since 2018 with the objective of developing four ready-to-use new services, to provide prognostic information about the health status of railways’ most demanding assets in terms of maintenance costs, at the points of the interaction between the vehicle and the infrastructure (wheelset, pantograph, rail, and catenary).

iCatMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors. The service provides information about the status of the overhead line (e.g. geometry of the Overhead Contact Wire - OCW).

iPantMon is intended for TOCs, providing information about the status of the pantograph during its interaction with the OCW (e.g. contact dynamics).

iWheelMon is also intended for TOCs, this service provides information about the health status of the wheelset (e.g. wheel diameter, out-of-roundness).

iRailMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors, the service provides information about defects on the rails (e.g. short-wave irregularities).

To enable these services, a modular system with all of the required components from vehicle sensor networks to KPI visualization for the end user has been developed. The value proposition of SIA is to develop these components in the most cost-effective way, i.e. with the use of cost-effective sensors and systems. 

The SIA components include a sub-system for the recording of axle-box acceleration (ABA) data that can be related to defects in the track and wheelset. Another sub-system includes sensors that provide signals to characterize the interaction between the pantograph and catenary. EGNSS- based localization is performed, with real time processing of GNSS signals in multiple frequency bands including Galileo and map-supported refinement using Kalman filter methods in the back-office. A central datahub provides the onboard data management and communicates with the back-office part of SIA, for instance, to send events or detections in the monitoring data. The axle-box acceleration and pantograph data enriched with position information are further processed using component degradation models and analysis algorithms in the back-office. Finally, relevant asset key performance indicators (KPI) are displayed to the user in the visualization platform, with a rich functionality to illustrate the asset status and its evolution using different capabilities. 

To validate the results, pilot tests have been carried out since October 2020 in three different scenarios: one of them coordinated by OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen), the Austrian operator, using both inspection vehicles and regular in-service trains throughout Austrian rail network; another scenario coordinated by VIAS, a Spanish maintenance subcontractor, using for the installation of the system a maintenance vehicle circulating over Madrid-Córdoba high-speed line; and the third scenario was coordinated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Spanish regional TOC, using regular in-service trains throughout its whole network.

The results obtained so far are very promising. The aim is to validate the use of low-cost on-board systems to assess the health status of infrastructure and vehicle assets using the four developed services. Part of this success is due to the use of digital twins and AI technologies to extract health related KPIs. Some of the activities within the project contributed to the creation of a tech startup (MainRail Solutions), dedicated to the management of railway infrastructure. This start-up, created by Ceit and Inycom (linked third party of INGECONTROL) in 2020, has initiated its activities by deploying its first commercial references, e.g. tranvía Zaragoza (Spain)  and SFM (Mallorca Railways, Spain) and PoC (Proof of Concept) pilots with other TOCs and IMs in Spain.

The implementation of the SIA system in regular service trains will enable a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance, while keeping the required levels of safety and service availability. The low-cost nature of the on-board equipment and the capabilities brought by the new services can potentially lead to reductions of 10% in the cost of the maintenance associated to the infrastructure’s assets, thanks to a reduction of unscheduled actions and MTTR (Mean Time To React).

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

• 1. Using analytics to get European rail maintenance on track, McKinsey & Company, 2020

Space based services will help reduce 15% of railway maintenance costs, 25% of maintenance unscheduled events and 15% of derailments associated with the rail-wheel interface. To tackle this challenge, the SIA consortium brings together multidisciplinary and cross sector partners (EGNSS technology providers, research centres, IT companies and railway stakeholders) that will co-design EGNSS solutions truly adapted to the needs of the rail sector.

Railway infrastructure and vehicle maintenance are estimated to cost over 25 billion Euros per year in Europe, and this figure is rising1 . The distribution of maintenance expenses varies in different countries and organizations. However, in relation to the railway infrastructure, track expenses represent between 40%-70% of the operational expenses, where the defects associated with the rails and catenary are the most significant (30% and 50% respectively). Other major maintenance costs relate to vehicle equipment such as the wheelset and pantograph (typically between 30%-50% and 5%-10% of the overall vehicle’s maintenance cost respectively). These figures are similar for all the infrastructure managers (IMs) and train operating companies (TOCs), which in total accounts for 330 organizations in the EU and 1500 organisations worldwide, therefore incurring over 8 billion Euros in recurrent expenses in the EU.

SIA project (System for vehicle-infrastructure Interaction Assets health status monitoring) has been funded by EUSPA since 2018 with the objective of developing four ready-to-use new services, to provide prognostic information about the health status of railways’ most demanding assets in terms of maintenance costs, at the points of the interaction between the vehicle and the infrastructure (wheelset, pantograph, rail, and catenary).

iCatMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors. The service provides information about the status of the overhead line (e.g. geometry of the Overhead Contact Wire - OCW).

iPantMon is intended for TOCs, providing information about the status of the pantograph during its interaction with the OCW (e.g. contact dynamics).

iWheelMon is also intended for TOCs, this service provides information about the health status of the wheelset (e.g. wheel diameter, out-of-roundness).

iRailMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors, the service provides information about defects on the rails (e.g. short-wave irregularities).

To enable these services, a modular system with all of the required components from vehicle sensor networks to KPI visualization for the end user has been developed. The value proposition of SIA is to develop these components in the most cost-effective way, i.e. with the use of cost-effective sensors and systems. 

The SIA components include a sub-system for the recording of axle-box acceleration (ABA) data that can be related to defects in the track and wheelset. Another sub-system includes sensors that provide signals to characterize the interaction between the pantograph and catenary. EGNSS- based localization is performed, with real time processing of GNSS signals in multiple frequency bands including Galileo and map-supported refinement using Kalman filter methods in the back-office. A central datahub provides the onboard data management and communicates with the back-office part of SIA, for instance, to send events or detections in the monitoring data. The axle-box acceleration and pantograph data enriched with position information are further processed using component degradation models and analysis algorithms in the back-office. Finally, relevant asset key performance indicators (KPI) are displayed to the user in the visualization platform, with a rich functionality to illustrate the asset status and its evolution using different capabilities. 

To validate the results, pilot tests have been carried out since October 2020 in three different scenarios: one of them coordinated by OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen), the Austrian operator, using both inspection vehicles and regular in-service trains throughout Austrian rail network; another scenario coordinated by VIAS, a Spanish maintenance subcontractor, using for the installation of the system a maintenance vehicle circulating over Madrid-Córdoba high-speed line; and the third scenario was coordinated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Spanish regional TOC, using regular in-service trains throughout its whole network.

The results obtained so far are very promising. The aim is to validate the use of low-cost on-board systems to assess the health status of infrastructure and vehicle assets using the four developed services. Part of this success is due to the use of digital twins and AI technologies to extract health related KPIs. Some of the activities within the project contributed to the creation of a tech startup (MainRail Solutions), dedicated to the management of railway infrastructure. This start-up, created by Ceit and Inycom (linked third party of INGECONTROL) in 2020, has initiated its activities by deploying its first commercial references, e.g. tranvía Zaragoza (Spain)  and SFM (Mallorca Railways, Spain) and PoC (Proof of Concept) pilots with other TOCs and IMs in Spain.

The implementation of the SIA system in regular service trains will enable a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance, while keeping the required levels of safety and service availability. The low-cost nature of the on-board equipment and the capabilities brought by the new services can potentially lead to reductions of 10% in the cost of the maintenance associated to the infrastructure’s assets, thanks to a reduction of unscheduled actions and MTTR (Mean Time To React).

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

• 1. Using analytics to get European rail maintenance on track, McKinsey & Company, 2020

Space based services will help reduce 15% of railway maintenance costs, 25% of maintenance unscheduled events and 15% of derailments associated with the rail-wheel interface. To tackle this challenge, the SIA consortium brings together multidisciplinary and cross sector partners (EGNSS technology providers, research centres, IT companies and railway stakeholders) that will co-design EGNSS solutions truly adapted to the needs of the rail sector.

Railway infrastructure and vehicle maintenance are estimated to cost over 25 billion Euros per year in Europe, and this figure is rising1 . The distribution of maintenance expenses varies in different countries and organizations. However, in relation to the railway infrastructure, track expenses represent between 40%-70% of the operational expenses, where the defects associated with the rails and catenary are the most significant (30% and 50% respectively). Other major maintenance costs relate to vehicle equipment such as the wheelset and pantograph (typically between 30%-50% and 5%-10% of the overall vehicle’s maintenance cost respectively). These figures are similar for all the infrastructure managers (IMs) and train operating companies (TOCs), which in total accounts for 330 organizations in the EU and 1500 organisations worldwide, therefore incurring over 8 billion Euros in recurrent expenses in the EU.

SIA project (System for vehicle-infrastructure Interaction Assets health status monitoring) has been funded by EUSPA since 2018 with the objective of developing four ready-to-use new services, to provide prognostic information about the health status of railways’ most demanding assets in terms of maintenance costs, at the points of the interaction between the vehicle and the infrastructure (wheelset, pantograph, rail, and catenary).

iCatMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors. The service provides information about the status of the overhead line (e.g. geometry of the Overhead Contact Wire - OCW).

iPantMon is intended for TOCs, providing information about the status of the pantograph during its interaction with the OCW (e.g. contact dynamics).

iWheelMon is also intended for TOCs, this service provides information about the health status of the wheelset (e.g. wheel diameter, out-of-roundness).

iRailMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors, the service provides information about defects on the rails (e.g. short-wave irregularities).

To enable these services, a modular system with all of the required components from vehicle sensor networks to KPI visualization for the end user has been developed. The value proposition of SIA is to develop these components in the most cost-effective way, i.e. with the use of cost-effective sensors and systems. 

The SIA components include a sub-system for the recording of axle-box acceleration (ABA) data that can be related to defects in the track and wheelset. Another sub-system includes sensors that provide signals to characterize the interaction between the pantograph and catenary. EGNSS- based localization is performed, with real time processing of GNSS signals in multiple frequency bands including Galileo and map-supported refinement using Kalman filter methods in the back-office. A central datahub provides the onboard data management and communicates with the back-office part of SIA, for instance, to send events or detections in the monitoring data. The axle-box acceleration and pantograph data enriched with position information are further processed using component degradation models and analysis algorithms in the back-office. Finally, relevant asset key performance indicators (KPI) are displayed to the user in the visualization platform, with a rich functionality to illustrate the asset status and its evolution using different capabilities. 

To validate the results, pilot tests have been carried out since October 2020 in three different scenarios: one of them coordinated by OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen), the Austrian operator, using both inspection vehicles and regular in-service trains throughout Austrian rail network; another scenario coordinated by VIAS, a Spanish maintenance subcontractor, using for the installation of the system a maintenance vehicle circulating over Madrid-Córdoba high-speed line; and the third scenario was coordinated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Spanish regional TOC, using regular in-service trains throughout its whole network.

The results obtained so far are very promising. The aim is to validate the use of low-cost on-board systems to assess the health status of infrastructure and vehicle assets using the four developed services. Part of this success is due to the use of digital twins and AI technologies to extract health related KPIs. Some of the activities within the project contributed to the creation of a tech startup (MainRail Solutions), dedicated to the management of railway infrastructure. This start-up, created by Ceit and Inycom (linked third party of INGECONTROL) in 2020, has initiated its activities by deploying its first commercial references, e.g. tranvía Zaragoza (Spain)  and SFM (Mallorca Railways, Spain) and PoC (Proof of Concept) pilots with other TOCs and IMs in Spain.

The implementation of the SIA system in regular service trains will enable a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance, while keeping the required levels of safety and service availability. The low-cost nature of the on-board equipment and the capabilities brought by the new services can potentially lead to reductions of 10% in the cost of the maintenance associated to the infrastructure’s assets, thanks to a reduction of unscheduled actions and MTTR (Mean Time To React).

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

• 1. Using analytics to get European rail maintenance on track, McKinsey & Company, 2020

Space based services will help reduce 15% of railway maintenance costs, 25% of maintenance unscheduled events and 15% of derailments associated with the rail-wheel interface. To tackle this challenge, the SIA consortium brings together multidisciplinary and cross sector partners (EGNSS technology providers, research centres, IT companies and railway stakeholders) that will co-design EGNSS solutions truly adapted to the needs of the rail sector.

Railway infrastructure and vehicle maintenance are estimated to cost over 25 billion Euros per year in Europe, and this figure is rising1 . The distribution of maintenance expenses varies in different countries and organizations. However, in relation to the railway infrastructure, track expenses represent between 40%-70% of the operational expenses, where the defects associated with the rails and catenary are the most significant (30% and 50% respectively). Other major maintenance costs relate to vehicle equipment such as the wheelset and pantograph (typically between 30%-50% and 5%-10% of the overall vehicle’s maintenance cost respectively). These figures are similar for all the infrastructure managers (IMs) and train operating companies (TOCs), which in total accounts for 330 organizations in the EU and 1500 organisations worldwide, therefore incurring over 8 billion Euros in recurrent expenses in the EU.

SIA project (System for vehicle-infrastructure Interaction Assets health status monitoring) has been funded by EUSPA since 2018 with the objective of developing four ready-to-use new services, to provide prognostic information about the health status of railways’ most demanding assets in terms of maintenance costs, at the points of the interaction between the vehicle and the infrastructure (wheelset, pantograph, rail, and catenary).

iCatMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors. The service provides information about the status of the overhead line (e.g. geometry of the Overhead Contact Wire - OCW).

iPantMon is intended for TOCs, providing information about the status of the pantograph during its interaction with the OCW (e.g. contact dynamics).

iWheelMon is also intended for TOCs, this service provides information about the health status of the wheelset (e.g. wheel diameter, out-of-roundness).

iRailMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors, the service provides information about defects on the rails (e.g. short-wave irregularities).

To enable these services, a modular system with all of the required components from vehicle sensor networks to KPI visualization for the end user has been developed. The value proposition of SIA is to develop these components in the most cost-effective way, i.e. with the use of cost-effective sensors and systems. 

The SIA components include a sub-system for the recording of axle-box acceleration (ABA) data that can be related to defects in the track and wheelset. Another sub-system includes sensors that provide signals to characterize the interaction between the pantograph and catenary. EGNSS- based localization is performed, with real time processing of GNSS signals in multiple frequency bands including Galileo and map-supported refinement using Kalman filter methods in the back-office. A central datahub provides the onboard data management and communicates with the back-office part of SIA, for instance, to send events or detections in the monitoring data. The axle-box acceleration and pantograph data enriched with position information are further processed using component degradation models and analysis algorithms in the back-office. Finally, relevant asset key performance indicators (KPI) are displayed to the user in the visualization platform, with a rich functionality to illustrate the asset status and its evolution using different capabilities. 

To validate the results, pilot tests have been carried out since October 2020 in three different scenarios: one of them coordinated by OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen), the Austrian operator, using both inspection vehicles and regular in-service trains throughout Austrian rail network; another scenario coordinated by VIAS, a Spanish maintenance subcontractor, using for the installation of the system a maintenance vehicle circulating over Madrid-Córdoba high-speed line; and the third scenario was coordinated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Spanish regional TOC, using regular in-service trains throughout its whole network.

The results obtained so far are very promising. The aim is to validate the use of low-cost on-board systems to assess the health status of infrastructure and vehicle assets using the four developed services. Part of this success is due to the use of digital twins and AI technologies to extract health related KPIs. Some of the activities within the project contributed to the creation of a tech startup (MainRail Solutions), dedicated to the management of railway infrastructure. This start-up, created by Ceit and Inycom (linked third party of INGECONTROL) in 2020, has initiated its activities by deploying its first commercial references, e.g. tranvía Zaragoza (Spain)  and SFM (Mallorca Railways, Spain) and PoC (Proof of Concept) pilots with other TOCs and IMs in Spain.

The implementation of the SIA system in regular service trains will enable a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance, while keeping the required levels of safety and service availability. The low-cost nature of the on-board equipment and the capabilities brought by the new services can potentially lead to reductions of 10% in the cost of the maintenance associated to the infrastructure’s assets, thanks to a reduction of unscheduled actions and MTTR (Mean Time To React).

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

• 1. Using analytics to get European rail maintenance on track, McKinsey & Company, 2020

Space based services will help reduce 15% of railway maintenance costs, 25% of maintenance unscheduled events and 15% of derailments associated with the rail-wheel interface. To tackle this challenge, the SIA consortium brings together multidisciplinary and cross sector partners (EGNSS technology providers, research centres, IT companies and railway stakeholders) that will co-design EGNSS solutions truly adapted to the needs of the rail sector.

Railway infrastructure and vehicle maintenance are estimated to cost over 25 billion Euros per year in Europe, and this figure is rising1 . The distribution of maintenance expenses varies in different countries and organizations. However, in relation to the railway infrastructure, track expenses represent between 40%-70% of the operational expenses, where the defects associated with the rails and catenary are the most significant (30% and 50% respectively). Other major maintenance costs relate to vehicle equipment such as the wheelset and pantograph (typically between 30%-50% and 5%-10% of the overall vehicle’s maintenance cost respectively). These figures are similar for all the infrastructure managers (IMs) and train operating companies (TOCs), which in total accounts for 330 organizations in the EU and 1500 organisations worldwide, therefore incurring over 8 billion Euros in recurrent expenses in the EU.

SIA project (System for vehicle-infrastructure Interaction Assets health status monitoring) has been funded by EUSPA since 2018 with the objective of developing four ready-to-use new services, to provide prognostic information about the health status of railways’ most demanding assets in terms of maintenance costs, at the points of the interaction between the vehicle and the infrastructure (wheelset, pantograph, rail, and catenary).

iCatMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors. The service provides information about the status of the overhead line (e.g. geometry of the Overhead Contact Wire - OCW).

iPantMon is intended for TOCs, providing information about the status of the pantograph during its interaction with the OCW (e.g. contact dynamics).

iWheelMon is also intended for TOCs, this service provides information about the health status of the wheelset (e.g. wheel diameter, out-of-roundness).

iRailMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors, the service provides information about defects on the rails (e.g. short-wave irregularities).

To enable these services, a modular system with all of the required components from vehicle sensor networks to KPI visualization for the end user has been developed. The value proposition of SIA is to develop these components in the most cost-effective way, i.e. with the use of cost-effective sensors and systems. 

The SIA components include a sub-system for the recording of axle-box acceleration (ABA) data that can be related to defects in the track and wheelset. Another sub-system includes sensors that provide signals to characterize the interaction between the pantograph and catenary. EGNSS- based localization is performed, with real time processing of GNSS signals in multiple frequency bands including Galileo and map-supported refinement using Kalman filter methods in the back-office. A central datahub provides the onboard data management and communicates with the back-office part of SIA, for instance, to send events or detections in the monitoring data. The axle-box acceleration and pantograph data enriched with position information are further processed using component degradation models and analysis algorithms in the back-office. Finally, relevant asset key performance indicators (KPI) are displayed to the user in the visualization platform, with a rich functionality to illustrate the asset status and its evolution using different capabilities. 

To validate the results, pilot tests have been carried out since October 2020 in three different scenarios: one of them coordinated by OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen), the Austrian operator, using both inspection vehicles and regular in-service trains throughout Austrian rail network; another scenario coordinated by VIAS, a Spanish maintenance subcontractor, using for the installation of the system a maintenance vehicle circulating over Madrid-Córdoba high-speed line; and the third scenario was coordinated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Spanish regional TOC, using regular in-service trains throughout its whole network.

The results obtained so far are very promising. The aim is to validate the use of low-cost on-board systems to assess the health status of infrastructure and vehicle assets using the four developed services. Part of this success is due to the use of digital twins and AI technologies to extract health related KPIs. Some of the activities within the project contributed to the creation of a tech startup (MainRail Solutions), dedicated to the management of railway infrastructure. This start-up, created by Ceit and Inycom (linked third party of INGECONTROL) in 2020, has initiated its activities by deploying its first commercial references, e.g. tranvía Zaragoza (Spain)  and SFM (Mallorca Railways, Spain) and PoC (Proof of Concept) pilots with other TOCs and IMs in Spain.

The implementation of the SIA system in regular service trains will enable a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance, while keeping the required levels of safety and service availability. The low-cost nature of the on-board equipment and the capabilities brought by the new services can potentially lead to reductions of 10% in the cost of the maintenance associated to the infrastructure’s assets, thanks to a reduction of unscheduled actions and MTTR (Mean Time To React).

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

• 1. Using analytics to get European rail maintenance on track, McKinsey & Company, 2020

Space based services will help reduce 15% of railway maintenance costs, 25% of maintenance unscheduled events and 15% of derailments associated with the rail-wheel interface. To tackle this challenge, the SIA consortium brings together multidisciplinary and cross sector partners (EGNSS technology providers, research centres, IT companies and railway stakeholders) that will co-design EGNSS solutions truly adapted to the needs of the rail sector.

Railway infrastructure and vehicle maintenance are estimated to cost over 25 billion Euros per year in Europe, and this figure is rising1 . The distribution of maintenance expenses varies in different countries and organizations. However, in relation to the railway infrastructure, track expenses represent between 40%-70% of the operational expenses, where the defects associated with the rails and catenary are the most significant (30% and 50% respectively). Other major maintenance costs relate to vehicle equipment such as the wheelset and pantograph (typically between 30%-50% and 5%-10% of the overall vehicle’s maintenance cost respectively). These figures are similar for all the infrastructure managers (IMs) and train operating companies (TOCs), which in total accounts for 330 organizations in the EU and 1500 organisations worldwide, therefore incurring over 8 billion Euros in recurrent expenses in the EU.

SIA project (System for vehicle-infrastructure Interaction Assets health status monitoring) has been funded by EUSPA since 2018 with the objective of developing four ready-to-use new services, to provide prognostic information about the health status of railways’ most demanding assets in terms of maintenance costs, at the points of the interaction between the vehicle and the infrastructure (wheelset, pantograph, rail, and catenary).

iCatMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors. The service provides information about the status of the overhead line (e.g. geometry of the Overhead Contact Wire - OCW).

iPantMon is intended for TOCs, providing information about the status of the pantograph during its interaction with the OCW (e.g. contact dynamics).

iWheelMon is also intended for TOCs, this service provides information about the health status of the wheelset (e.g. wheel diameter, out-of-roundness).

iRailMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors, the service provides information about defects on the rails (e.g. short-wave irregularities).

To enable these services, a modular system with all of the required components from vehicle sensor networks to KPI visualization for the end user has been developed. The value proposition of SIA is to develop these components in the most cost-effective way, i.e. with the use of cost-effective sensors and systems. 

The SIA components include a sub-system for the recording of axle-box acceleration (ABA) data that can be related to defects in the track and wheelset. Another sub-system includes sensors that provide signals to characterize the interaction between the pantograph and catenary. EGNSS- based localization is performed, with real time processing of GNSS signals in multiple frequency bands including Galileo and map-supported refinement using Kalman filter methods in the back-office. A central datahub provides the onboard data management and communicates with the back-office part of SIA, for instance, to send events or detections in the monitoring data. The axle-box acceleration and pantograph data enriched with position information are further processed using component degradation models and analysis algorithms in the back-office. Finally, relevant asset key performance indicators (KPI) are displayed to the user in the visualization platform, with a rich functionality to illustrate the asset status and its evolution using different capabilities. 

To validate the results, pilot tests have been carried out since October 2020 in three different scenarios: one of them coordinated by OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen), the Austrian operator, using both inspection vehicles and regular in-service trains throughout Austrian rail network; another scenario coordinated by VIAS, a Spanish maintenance subcontractor, using for the installation of the system a maintenance vehicle circulating over Madrid-Córdoba high-speed line; and the third scenario was coordinated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Spanish regional TOC, using regular in-service trains throughout its whole network.

The results obtained so far are very promising. The aim is to validate the use of low-cost on-board systems to assess the health status of infrastructure and vehicle assets using the four developed services. Part of this success is due to the use of digital twins and AI technologies to extract health related KPIs. Some of the activities within the project contributed to the creation of a tech startup (MainRail Solutions), dedicated to the management of railway infrastructure. This start-up, created by Ceit and Inycom (linked third party of INGECONTROL) in 2020, has initiated its activities by deploying its first commercial references, e.g. tranvía Zaragoza (Spain)  and SFM (Mallorca Railways, Spain) and PoC (Proof of Concept) pilots with other TOCs and IMs in Spain.

The implementation of the SIA system in regular service trains will enable a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance, while keeping the required levels of safety and service availability. The low-cost nature of the on-board equipment and the capabilities brought by the new services can potentially lead to reductions of 10% in the cost of the maintenance associated to the infrastructure’s assets, thanks to a reduction of unscheduled actions and MTTR (Mean Time To React).

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

• 1. Using analytics to get European rail maintenance on track, McKinsey & Company, 2020

Space based services will help reduce 15% of railway maintenance costs, 25% of maintenance unscheduled events and 15% of derailments associated with the rail-wheel interface. To tackle this challenge, the SIA consortium brings together multidisciplinary and cross sector partners (EGNSS technology providers, research centres, IT companies and railway stakeholders) that will co-design EGNSS solutions truly adapted to the needs of the rail sector.

Railway infrastructure and vehicle maintenance are estimated to cost over 25 billion Euros per year in Europe, and this figure is rising1 . The distribution of maintenance expenses varies in different countries and organizations. However, in relation to the railway infrastructure, track expenses represent between 40%-70% of the operational expenses, where the defects associated with the rails and catenary are the most significant (30% and 50% respectively). Other major maintenance costs relate to vehicle equipment such as the wheelset and pantograph (typically between 30%-50% and 5%-10% of the overall vehicle’s maintenance cost respectively). These figures are similar for all the infrastructure managers (IMs) and train operating companies (TOCs), which in total accounts for 330 organizations in the EU and 1500 organisations worldwide, therefore incurring over 8 billion Euros in recurrent expenses in the EU.

SIA project (System for vehicle-infrastructure Interaction Assets health status monitoring) has been funded by EUSPA since 2018 with the objective of developing four ready-to-use new services, to provide prognostic information about the health status of railways’ most demanding assets in terms of maintenance costs, at the points of the interaction between the vehicle and the infrastructure (wheelset, pantograph, rail, and catenary).

iCatMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors. The service provides information about the status of the overhead line (e.g. geometry of the Overhead Contact Wire - OCW).

iPantMon is intended for TOCs, providing information about the status of the pantograph during its interaction with the OCW (e.g. contact dynamics).

iWheelMon is also intended for TOCs, this service provides information about the health status of the wheelset (e.g. wheel diameter, out-of-roundness).

iRailMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors, the service provides information about defects on the rails (e.g. short-wave irregularities).

To enable these services, a modular system with all of the required components from vehicle sensor networks to KPI visualization for the end user has been developed. The value proposition of SIA is to develop these components in the most cost-effective way, i.e. with the use of cost-effective sensors and systems. 

The SIA components include a sub-system for the recording of axle-box acceleration (ABA) data that can be related to defects in the track and wheelset. Another sub-system includes sensors that provide signals to characterize the interaction between the pantograph and catenary. EGNSS- based localization is performed, with real time processing of GNSS signals in multiple frequency bands including Galileo and map-supported refinement using Kalman filter methods in the back-office. A central datahub provides the onboard data management and communicates with the back-office part of SIA, for instance, to send events or detections in the monitoring data. The axle-box acceleration and pantograph data enriched with position information are further processed using component degradation models and analysis algorithms in the back-office. Finally, relevant asset key performance indicators (KPI) are displayed to the user in the visualization platform, with a rich functionality to illustrate the asset status and its evolution using different capabilities. 

To validate the results, pilot tests have been carried out since October 2020 in three different scenarios: one of them coordinated by OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen), the Austrian operator, using both inspection vehicles and regular in-service trains throughout Austrian rail network; another scenario coordinated by VIAS, a Spanish maintenance subcontractor, using for the installation of the system a maintenance vehicle circulating over Madrid-Córdoba high-speed line; and the third scenario was coordinated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Spanish regional TOC, using regular in-service trains throughout its whole network.

The results obtained so far are very promising. The aim is to validate the use of low-cost on-board systems to assess the health status of infrastructure and vehicle assets using the four developed services. Part of this success is due to the use of digital twins and AI technologies to extract health related KPIs. Some of the activities within the project contributed to the creation of a tech startup (MainRail Solutions), dedicated to the management of railway infrastructure. This start-up, created by Ceit and Inycom (linked third party of INGECONTROL) in 2020, has initiated its activities by deploying its first commercial references, e.g. tranvía Zaragoza (Spain)  and SFM (Mallorca Railways, Spain) and PoC (Proof of Concept) pilots with other TOCs and IMs in Spain.

The implementation of the SIA system in regular service trains will enable a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance, while keeping the required levels of safety and service availability. The low-cost nature of the on-board equipment and the capabilities brought by the new services can potentially lead to reductions of 10% in the cost of the maintenance associated to the infrastructure’s assets, thanks to a reduction of unscheduled actions and MTTR (Mean Time To React).

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

• 1. Using analytics to get European rail maintenance on track, McKinsey & Company, 2020

Space based services will help reduce 15% of railway maintenance costs, 25% of maintenance unscheduled events and 15% of derailments associated with the rail-wheel interface. To tackle this challenge, the SIA consortium brings together multidisciplinary and cross sector partners (EGNSS technology providers, research centres, IT companies and railway stakeholders) that will co-design EGNSS solutions truly adapted to the needs of the rail sector.

Railway infrastructure and vehicle maintenance are estimated to cost over 25 billion Euros per year in Europe, and this figure is rising1 . The distribution of maintenance expenses varies in different countries and organizations. However, in relation to the railway infrastructure, track expenses represent between 40%-70% of the operational expenses, where the defects associated with the rails and catenary are the most significant (30% and 50% respectively). Other major maintenance costs relate to vehicle equipment such as the wheelset and pantograph (typically between 30%-50% and 5%-10% of the overall vehicle’s maintenance cost respectively). These figures are similar for all the infrastructure managers (IMs) and train operating companies (TOCs), which in total accounts for 330 organizations in the EU and 1500 organisations worldwide, therefore incurring over 8 billion Euros in recurrent expenses in the EU.

SIA project (System for vehicle-infrastructure Interaction Assets health status monitoring) has been funded by EUSPA since 2018 with the objective of developing four ready-to-use new services, to provide prognostic information about the health status of railways’ most demanding assets in terms of maintenance costs, at the points of the interaction between the vehicle and the infrastructure (wheelset, pantograph, rail, and catenary).

iCatMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors. The service provides information about the status of the overhead line (e.g. geometry of the Overhead Contact Wire - OCW).

iPantMon is intended for TOCs, providing information about the status of the pantograph during its interaction with the OCW (e.g. contact dynamics).

iWheelMon is also intended for TOCs, this service provides information about the health status of the wheelset (e.g. wheel diameter, out-of-roundness).

iRailMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors, the service provides information about defects on the rails (e.g. short-wave irregularities).

To enable these services, a modular system with all of the required components from vehicle sensor networks to KPI visualization for the end user has been developed. The value proposition of SIA is to develop these components in the most cost-effective way, i.e. with the use of cost-effective sensors and systems. 

The SIA components include a sub-system for the recording of axle-box acceleration (ABA) data that can be related to defects in the track and wheelset. Another sub-system includes sensors that provide signals to characterize the interaction between the pantograph and catenary. EGNSS- based localization is performed, with real time processing of GNSS signals in multiple frequency bands including Galileo and map-supported refinement using Kalman filter methods in the back-office. A central datahub provides the onboard data management and communicates with the back-office part of SIA, for instance, to send events or detections in the monitoring data. The axle-box acceleration and pantograph data enriched with position information are further processed using component degradation models and analysis algorithms in the back-office. Finally, relevant asset key performance indicators (KPI) are displayed to the user in the visualization platform, with a rich functionality to illustrate the asset status and its evolution using different capabilities. 

To validate the results, pilot tests have been carried out since October 2020 in three different scenarios: one of them coordinated by OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen), the Austrian operator, using both inspection vehicles and regular in-service trains throughout Austrian rail network; another scenario coordinated by VIAS, a Spanish maintenance subcontractor, using for the installation of the system a maintenance vehicle circulating over Madrid-Córdoba high-speed line; and the third scenario was coordinated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Spanish regional TOC, using regular in-service trains throughout its whole network.

The results obtained so far are very promising. The aim is to validate the use of low-cost on-board systems to assess the health status of infrastructure and vehicle assets using the four developed services. Part of this success is due to the use of digital twins and AI technologies to extract health related KPIs. Some of the activities within the project contributed to the creation of a tech startup (MainRail Solutions), dedicated to the management of railway infrastructure. This start-up, created by Ceit and Inycom (linked third party of INGECONTROL) in 2020, has initiated its activities by deploying its first commercial references, e.g. tranvía Zaragoza (Spain)  and SFM (Mallorca Railways, Spain) and PoC (Proof of Concept) pilots with other TOCs and IMs in Spain.

The implementation of the SIA system in regular service trains will enable a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance, while keeping the required levels of safety and service availability. The low-cost nature of the on-board equipment and the capabilities brought by the new services can potentially lead to reductions of 10% in the cost of the maintenance associated to the infrastructure’s assets, thanks to a reduction of unscheduled actions and MTTR (Mean Time To React).

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

• 1. Using analytics to get European rail maintenance on track, McKinsey & Company, 2020

Space based services will help reduce 15% of railway maintenance costs, 25% of maintenance unscheduled events and 15% of derailments associated with the rail-wheel interface. To tackle this challenge, the SIA consortium brings together multidisciplinary and cross sector partners (EGNSS technology providers, research centres, IT companies and railway stakeholders) that will co-design EGNSS solutions truly adapted to the needs of the rail sector.

Railway infrastructure and vehicle maintenance are estimated to cost over 25 billion Euros per year in Europe, and this figure is rising1 . The distribution of maintenance expenses varies in different countries and organizations. However, in relation to the railway infrastructure, track expenses represent between 40%-70% of the operational expenses, where the defects associated with the rails and catenary are the most significant (30% and 50% respectively). Other major maintenance costs relate to vehicle equipment such as the wheelset and pantograph (typically between 30%-50% and 5%-10% of the overall vehicle’s maintenance cost respectively). These figures are similar for all the infrastructure managers (IMs) and train operating companies (TOCs), which in total accounts for 330 organizations in the EU and 1500 organisations worldwide, therefore incurring over 8 billion Euros in recurrent expenses in the EU.

SIA project (System for vehicle-infrastructure Interaction Assets health status monitoring) has been funded by EUSPA since 2018 with the objective of developing four ready-to-use new services, to provide prognostic information about the health status of railways’ most demanding assets in terms of maintenance costs, at the points of the interaction between the vehicle and the infrastructure (wheelset, pantograph, rail, and catenary).

iCatMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors. The service provides information about the status of the overhead line (e.g. geometry of the Overhead Contact Wire - OCW).

iPantMon is intended for TOCs, providing information about the status of the pantograph during its interaction with the OCW (e.g. contact dynamics).

iWheelMon is also intended for TOCs, this service provides information about the health status of the wheelset (e.g. wheel diameter, out-of-roundness).

iRailMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors, the service provides information about defects on the rails (e.g. short-wave irregularities).

To enable these services, a modular system with all of the required components from vehicle sensor networks to KPI visualization for the end user has been developed. The value proposition of SIA is to develop these components in the most cost-effective way, i.e. with the use of cost-effective sensors and systems. 

The SIA components include a sub-system for the recording of axle-box acceleration (ABA) data that can be related to defects in the track and wheelset. Another sub-system includes sensors that provide signals to characterize the interaction between the pantograph and catenary. EGNSS- based localization is performed, with real time processing of GNSS signals in multiple frequency bands including Galileo and map-supported refinement using Kalman filter methods in the back-office. A central datahub provides the onboard data management and communicates with the back-office part of SIA, for instance, to send events or detections in the monitoring data. The axle-box acceleration and pantograph data enriched with position information are further processed using component degradation models and analysis algorithms in the back-office. Finally, relevant asset key performance indicators (KPI) are displayed to the user in the visualization platform, with a rich functionality to illustrate the asset status and its evolution using different capabilities. 

To validate the results, pilot tests have been carried out since October 2020 in three different scenarios: one of them coordinated by OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen), the Austrian operator, using both inspection vehicles and regular in-service trains throughout Austrian rail network; another scenario coordinated by VIAS, a Spanish maintenance subcontractor, using for the installation of the system a maintenance vehicle circulating over Madrid-Córdoba high-speed line; and the third scenario was coordinated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Spanish regional TOC, using regular in-service trains throughout its whole network.

The results obtained so far are very promising. The aim is to validate the use of low-cost on-board systems to assess the health status of infrastructure and vehicle assets using the four developed services. Part of this success is due to the use of digital twins and AI technologies to extract health related KPIs. Some of the activities within the project contributed to the creation of a tech startup (MainRail Solutions), dedicated to the management of railway infrastructure. This start-up, created by Ceit and Inycom (linked third party of INGECONTROL) in 2020, has initiated its activities by deploying its first commercial references, e.g. tranvía Zaragoza (Spain)  and SFM (Mallorca Railways, Spain) and PoC (Proof of Concept) pilots with other TOCs and IMs in Spain.

The implementation of the SIA system in regular service trains will enable a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance, while keeping the required levels of safety and service availability. The low-cost nature of the on-board equipment and the capabilities brought by the new services can potentially lead to reductions of 10% in the cost of the maintenance associated to the infrastructure’s assets, thanks to a reduction of unscheduled actions and MTTR (Mean Time To React).

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

• 1. Using analytics to get European rail maintenance on track, McKinsey & Company, 2020

Space based services will help reduce 15% of railway maintenance costs, 25% of maintenance unscheduled events and 15% of derailments associated with the rail-wheel interface. To tackle this challenge, the SIA consortium brings together multidisciplinary and cross sector partners (EGNSS technology providers, research centres, IT companies and railway stakeholders) that will co-design EGNSS solutions truly adapted to the needs of the rail sector.

Railway infrastructure and vehicle maintenance are estimated to cost over 25 billion Euros per year in Europe, and this figure is rising1 . The distribution of maintenance expenses varies in different countries and organizations. However, in relation to the railway infrastructure, track expenses represent between 40%-70% of the operational expenses, where the defects associated with the rails and catenary are the most significant (30% and 50% respectively). Other major maintenance costs relate to vehicle equipment such as the wheelset and pantograph (typically between 30%-50% and 5%-10% of the overall vehicle’s maintenance cost respectively). These figures are similar for all the infrastructure managers (IMs) and train operating companies (TOCs), which in total accounts for 330 organizations in the EU and 1500 organisations worldwide, therefore incurring over 8 billion Euros in recurrent expenses in the EU.

SIA project (System for vehicle-infrastructure Interaction Assets health status monitoring) has been funded by EUSPA since 2018 with the objective of developing four ready-to-use new services, to provide prognostic information about the health status of railways’ most demanding assets in terms of maintenance costs, at the points of the interaction between the vehicle and the infrastructure (wheelset, pantograph, rail, and catenary).

iCatMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors. The service provides information about the status of the overhead line (e.g. geometry of the Overhead Contact Wire - OCW).

iPantMon is intended for TOCs, providing information about the status of the pantograph during its interaction with the OCW (e.g. contact dynamics).

iWheelMon is also intended for TOCs, this service provides information about the health status of the wheelset (e.g. wheel diameter, out-of-roundness).

iRailMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors, the service provides information about defects on the rails (e.g. short-wave irregularities).

To enable these services, a modular system with all of the required components from vehicle sensor networks to KPI visualization for the end user has been developed. The value proposition of SIA is to develop these components in the most cost-effective way, i.e. with the use of cost-effective sensors and systems. 

The SIA components include a sub-system for the recording of axle-box acceleration (ABA) data that can be related to defects in the track and wheelset. Another sub-system includes sensors that provide signals to characterize the interaction between the pantograph and catenary. EGNSS- based localization is performed, with real time processing of GNSS signals in multiple frequency bands including Galileo and map-supported refinement using Kalman filter methods in the back-office. A central datahub provides the onboard data management and communicates with the back-office part of SIA, for instance, to send events or detections in the monitoring data. The axle-box acceleration and pantograph data enriched with position information are further processed using component degradation models and analysis algorithms in the back-office. Finally, relevant asset key performance indicators (KPI) are displayed to the user in the visualization platform, with a rich functionality to illustrate the asset status and its evolution using different capabilities. 

To validate the results, pilot tests have been carried out since October 2020 in three different scenarios: one of them coordinated by OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen), the Austrian operator, using both inspection vehicles and regular in-service trains throughout Austrian rail network; another scenario coordinated by VIAS, a Spanish maintenance subcontractor, using for the installation of the system a maintenance vehicle circulating over Madrid-Córdoba high-speed line; and the third scenario was coordinated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Spanish regional TOC, using regular in-service trains throughout its whole network.

The results obtained so far are very promising. The aim is to validate the use of low-cost on-board systems to assess the health status of infrastructure and vehicle assets using the four developed services. Part of this success is due to the use of digital twins and AI technologies to extract health related KPIs. Some of the activities within the project contributed to the creation of a tech startup (MainRail Solutions), dedicated to the management of railway infrastructure. This start-up, created by Ceit and Inycom (linked third party of INGECONTROL) in 2020, has initiated its activities by deploying its first commercial references, e.g. tranvía Zaragoza (Spain)  and SFM (Mallorca Railways, Spain) and PoC (Proof of Concept) pilots with other TOCs and IMs in Spain.

The implementation of the SIA system in regular service trains will enable a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance, while keeping the required levels of safety and service availability. The low-cost nature of the on-board equipment and the capabilities brought by the new services can potentially lead to reductions of 10% in the cost of the maintenance associated to the infrastructure’s assets, thanks to a reduction of unscheduled actions and MTTR (Mean Time To React).

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

• 1. Using analytics to get European rail maintenance on track, McKinsey & Company, 2020

Space based services will help reduce 15% of railway maintenance costs, 25% of maintenance unscheduled events and 15% of derailments associated with the rail-wheel interface. To tackle this challenge, the SIA consortium brings together multidisciplinary and cross sector partners (EGNSS technology providers, research centres, IT companies and railway stakeholders) that will co-design EGNSS solutions truly adapted to the needs of the rail sector.

Railway infrastructure and vehicle maintenance are estimated to cost over 25 billion Euros per year in Europe, and this figure is rising1 . The distribution of maintenance expenses varies in different countries and organizations. However, in relation to the railway infrastructure, track expenses represent between 40%-70% of the operational expenses, where the defects associated with the rails and catenary are the most significant (30% and 50% respectively). Other major maintenance costs relate to vehicle equipment such as the wheelset and pantograph (typically between 30%-50% and 5%-10% of the overall vehicle’s maintenance cost respectively). These figures are similar for all the infrastructure managers (IMs) and train operating companies (TOCs), which in total accounts for 330 organizations in the EU and 1500 organisations worldwide, therefore incurring over 8 billion Euros in recurrent expenses in the EU.

SIA project (System for vehicle-infrastructure Interaction Assets health status monitoring) has been funded by EUSPA since 2018 with the objective of developing four ready-to-use new services, to provide prognostic information about the health status of railways’ most demanding assets in terms of maintenance costs, at the points of the interaction between the vehicle and the infrastructure (wheelset, pantograph, rail, and catenary).

iCatMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors. The service provides information about the status of the overhead line (e.g. geometry of the Overhead Contact Wire - OCW).

iPantMon is intended for TOCs, providing information about the status of the pantograph during its interaction with the OCW (e.g. contact dynamics).

iWheelMon is also intended for TOCs, this service provides information about the health status of the wheelset (e.g. wheel diameter, out-of-roundness).

iRailMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors, the service provides information about defects on the rails (e.g. short-wave irregularities).

To enable these services, a modular system with all of the required components from vehicle sensor networks to KPI visualization for the end user has been developed. The value proposition of SIA is to develop these components in the most cost-effective way, i.e. with the use of cost-effective sensors and systems. 

The SIA components include a sub-system for the recording of axle-box acceleration (ABA) data that can be related to defects in the track and wheelset. Another sub-system includes sensors that provide signals to characterize the interaction between the pantograph and catenary. EGNSS- based localization is performed, with real time processing of GNSS signals in multiple frequency bands including Galileo and map-supported refinement using Kalman filter methods in the back-office. A central datahub provides the onboard data management and communicates with the back-office part of SIA, for instance, to send events or detections in the monitoring data. The axle-box acceleration and pantograph data enriched with position information are further processed using component degradation models and analysis algorithms in the back-office. Finally, relevant asset key performance indicators (KPI) are displayed to the user in the visualization platform, with a rich functionality to illustrate the asset status and its evolution using different capabilities. 

To validate the results, pilot tests have been carried out since October 2020 in three different scenarios: one of them coordinated by OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen), the Austrian operator, using both inspection vehicles and regular in-service trains throughout Austrian rail network; another scenario coordinated by VIAS, a Spanish maintenance subcontractor, using for the installation of the system a maintenance vehicle circulating over Madrid-Córdoba high-speed line; and the third scenario was coordinated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Spanish regional TOC, using regular in-service trains throughout its whole network.

The results obtained so far are very promising. The aim is to validate the use of low-cost on-board systems to assess the health status of infrastructure and vehicle assets using the four developed services. Part of this success is due to the use of digital twins and AI technologies to extract health related KPIs. Some of the activities within the project contributed to the creation of a tech startup (MainRail Solutions), dedicated to the management of railway infrastructure. This start-up, created by Ceit and Inycom (linked third party of INGECONTROL) in 2020, has initiated its activities by deploying its first commercial references, e.g. tranvía Zaragoza (Spain)  and SFM (Mallorca Railways, Spain) and PoC (Proof of Concept) pilots with other TOCs and IMs in Spain.

The implementation of the SIA system in regular service trains will enable a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance, while keeping the required levels of safety and service availability. The low-cost nature of the on-board equipment and the capabilities brought by the new services can potentially lead to reductions of 10% in the cost of the maintenance associated to the infrastructure’s assets, thanks to a reduction of unscheduled actions and MTTR (Mean Time To React).

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

• 1. Using analytics to get European rail maintenance on track, McKinsey & Company, 2020

Space based services will help reduce 15% of railway maintenance costs, 25% of maintenance unscheduled events and 15% of derailments associated with the rail-wheel interface. To tackle this challenge, the SIA consortium brings together multidisciplinary and cross sector partners (EGNSS technology providers, research centres, IT companies and railway stakeholders) that will co-design EGNSS solutions truly adapted to the needs of the rail sector.

Railway infrastructure and vehicle maintenance are estimated to cost over 25 billion Euros per year in Europe, and this figure is rising1 . The distribution of maintenance expenses varies in different countries and organizations. However, in relation to the railway infrastructure, track expenses represent between 40%-70% of the operational expenses, where the defects associated with the rails and catenary are the most significant (30% and 50% respectively). Other major maintenance costs relate to vehicle equipment such as the wheelset and pantograph (typically between 30%-50% and 5%-10% of the overall vehicle’s maintenance cost respectively). These figures are similar for all the infrastructure managers (IMs) and train operating companies (TOCs), which in total accounts for 330 organizations in the EU and 1500 organisations worldwide, therefore incurring over 8 billion Euros in recurrent expenses in the EU.

SIA project (System for vehicle-infrastructure Interaction Assets health status monitoring) has been funded by EUSPA since 2018 with the objective of developing four ready-to-use new services, to provide prognostic information about the health status of railways’ most demanding assets in terms of maintenance costs, at the points of the interaction between the vehicle and the infrastructure (wheelset, pantograph, rail, and catenary).

iCatMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors. The service provides information about the status of the overhead line (e.g. geometry of the Overhead Contact Wire - OCW).

iPantMon is intended for TOCs, providing information about the status of the pantograph during its interaction with the OCW (e.g. contact dynamics).

iWheelMon is also intended for TOCs, this service provides information about the health status of the wheelset (e.g. wheel diameter, out-of-roundness).

iRailMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors, the service provides information about defects on the rails (e.g. short-wave irregularities).

To enable these services, a modular system with all of the required components from vehicle sensor networks to KPI visualization for the end user has been developed. The value proposition of SIA is to develop these components in the most cost-effective way, i.e. with the use of cost-effective sensors and systems. 

The SIA components include a sub-system for the recording of axle-box acceleration (ABA) data that can be related to defects in the track and wheelset. Another sub-system includes sensors that provide signals to characterize the interaction between the pantograph and catenary. EGNSS- based localization is performed, with real time processing of GNSS signals in multiple frequency bands including Galileo and map-supported refinement using Kalman filter methods in the back-office. A central datahub provides the onboard data management and communicates with the back-office part of SIA, for instance, to send events or detections in the monitoring data. The axle-box acceleration and pantograph data enriched with position information are further processed using component degradation models and analysis algorithms in the back-office. Finally, relevant asset key performance indicators (KPI) are displayed to the user in the visualization platform, with a rich functionality to illustrate the asset status and its evolution using different capabilities. 

To validate the results, pilot tests have been carried out since October 2020 in three different scenarios: one of them coordinated by OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen), the Austrian operator, using both inspection vehicles and regular in-service trains throughout Austrian rail network; another scenario coordinated by VIAS, a Spanish maintenance subcontractor, using for the installation of the system a maintenance vehicle circulating over Madrid-Córdoba high-speed line; and the third scenario was coordinated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Spanish regional TOC, using regular in-service trains throughout its whole network.

The results obtained so far are very promising. The aim is to validate the use of low-cost on-board systems to assess the health status of infrastructure and vehicle assets using the four developed services. Part of this success is due to the use of digital twins and AI technologies to extract health related KPIs. Some of the activities within the project contributed to the creation of a tech startup (MainRail Solutions), dedicated to the management of railway infrastructure. This start-up, created by Ceit and Inycom (linked third party of INGECONTROL) in 2020, has initiated its activities by deploying its first commercial references, e.g. tranvía Zaragoza (Spain)  and SFM (Mallorca Railways, Spain) and PoC (Proof of Concept) pilots with other TOCs and IMs in Spain.

The implementation of the SIA system in regular service trains will enable a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance, while keeping the required levels of safety and service availability. The low-cost nature of the on-board equipment and the capabilities brought by the new services can potentially lead to reductions of 10% in the cost of the maintenance associated to the infrastructure’s assets, thanks to a reduction of unscheduled actions and MTTR (Mean Time To React).

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

• 1. Using analytics to get European rail maintenance on track, McKinsey & Company, 2020

Space based services will help reduce 15% of railway maintenance costs, 25% of maintenance unscheduled events and 15% of derailments associated with the rail-wheel interface. To tackle this challenge, the SIA consortium brings together multidisciplinary and cross sector partners (EGNSS technology providers, research centres, IT companies and railway stakeholders) that will co-design EGNSS solutions truly adapted to the needs of the rail sector.

Railway infrastructure and vehicle maintenance are estimated to cost over 25 billion Euros per year in Europe, and this figure is rising1 . The distribution of maintenance expenses varies in different countries and organizations. However, in relation to the railway infrastructure, track expenses represent between 40%-70% of the operational expenses, where the defects associated with the rails and catenary are the most significant (30% and 50% respectively). Other major maintenance costs relate to vehicle equipment such as the wheelset and pantograph (typically between 30%-50% and 5%-10% of the overall vehicle’s maintenance cost respectively). These figures are similar for all the infrastructure managers (IMs) and train operating companies (TOCs), which in total accounts for 330 organizations in the EU and 1500 organisations worldwide, therefore incurring over 8 billion Euros in recurrent expenses in the EU.

SIA project (System for vehicle-infrastructure Interaction Assets health status monitoring) has been funded by EUSPA since 2018 with the objective of developing four ready-to-use new services, to provide prognostic information about the health status of railways’ most demanding assets in terms of maintenance costs, at the points of the interaction between the vehicle and the infrastructure (wheelset, pantograph, rail, and catenary).

iCatMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors. The service provides information about the status of the overhead line (e.g. geometry of the Overhead Contact Wire - OCW).

iPantMon is intended for TOCs, providing information about the status of the pantograph during its interaction with the OCW (e.g. contact dynamics).

iWheelMon is also intended for TOCs, this service provides information about the health status of the wheelset (e.g. wheel diameter, out-of-roundness).

iRailMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors, the service provides information about defects on the rails (e.g. short-wave irregularities).

To enable these services, a modular system with all of the required components from vehicle sensor networks to KPI visualization for the end user has been developed. The value proposition of SIA is to develop these components in the most cost-effective way, i.e. with the use of cost-effective sensors and systems. 

The SIA components include a sub-system for the recording of axle-box acceleration (ABA) data that can be related to defects in the track and wheelset. Another sub-system includes sensors that provide signals to characterize the interaction between the pantograph and catenary. EGNSS- based localization is performed, with real time processing of GNSS signals in multiple frequency bands including Galileo and map-supported refinement using Kalman filter methods in the back-office. A central datahub provides the onboard data management and communicates with the back-office part of SIA, for instance, to send events or detections in the monitoring data. The axle-box acceleration and pantograph data enriched with position information are further processed using component degradation models and analysis algorithms in the back-office. Finally, relevant asset key performance indicators (KPI) are displayed to the user in the visualization platform, with a rich functionality to illustrate the asset status and its evolution using different capabilities. 

To validate the results, pilot tests have been carried out since October 2020 in three different scenarios: one of them coordinated by OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen), the Austrian operator, using both inspection vehicles and regular in-service trains throughout Austrian rail network; another scenario coordinated by VIAS, a Spanish maintenance subcontractor, using for the installation of the system a maintenance vehicle circulating over Madrid-Córdoba high-speed line; and the third scenario was coordinated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Spanish regional TOC, using regular in-service trains throughout its whole network.

The results obtained so far are very promising. The aim is to validate the use of low-cost on-board systems to assess the health status of infrastructure and vehicle assets using the four developed services. Part of this success is due to the use of digital twins and AI technologies to extract health related KPIs. Some of the activities within the project contributed to the creation of a tech startup (MainRail Solutions), dedicated to the management of railway infrastructure. This start-up, created by Ceit and Inycom (linked third party of INGECONTROL) in 2020, has initiated its activities by deploying its first commercial references, e.g. tranvía Zaragoza (Spain)  and SFM (Mallorca Railways, Spain) and PoC (Proof of Concept) pilots with other TOCs and IMs in Spain.

The implementation of the SIA system in regular service trains will enable a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance, while keeping the required levels of safety and service availability. The low-cost nature of the on-board equipment and the capabilities brought by the new services can potentially lead to reductions of 10% in the cost of the maintenance associated to the infrastructure’s assets, thanks to a reduction of unscheduled actions and MTTR (Mean Time To React).

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

• 1. Using analytics to get European rail maintenance on track, McKinsey & Company, 2020

Space based services will help reduce 15% of railway maintenance costs, 25% of maintenance unscheduled events and 15% of derailments associated with the rail-wheel interface. To tackle this challenge, the SIA consortium brings together multidisciplinary and cross sector partners (EGNSS technology providers, research centres, IT companies and railway stakeholders) that will co-design EGNSS solutions truly adapted to the needs of the rail sector.

Railway infrastructure and vehicle maintenance are estimated to cost over 25 billion Euros per year in Europe, and this figure is rising1 . The distribution of maintenance expenses varies in different countries and organizations. However, in relation to the railway infrastructure, track expenses represent between 40%-70% of the operational expenses, where the defects associated with the rails and catenary are the most significant (30% and 50% respectively). Other major maintenance costs relate to vehicle equipment such as the wheelset and pantograph (typically between 30%-50% and 5%-10% of the overall vehicle’s maintenance cost respectively). These figures are similar for all the infrastructure managers (IMs) and train operating companies (TOCs), which in total accounts for 330 organizations in the EU and 1500 organisations worldwide, therefore incurring over 8 billion Euros in recurrent expenses in the EU.

SIA project (System for vehicle-infrastructure Interaction Assets health status monitoring) has been funded by EUSPA since 2018 with the objective of developing four ready-to-use new services, to provide prognostic information about the health status of railways’ most demanding assets in terms of maintenance costs, at the points of the interaction between the vehicle and the infrastructure (wheelset, pantograph, rail, and catenary).

iCatMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors. The service provides information about the status of the overhead line (e.g. geometry of the Overhead Contact Wire - OCW).

iPantMon is intended for TOCs, providing information about the status of the pantograph during its interaction with the OCW (e.g. contact dynamics).

iWheelMon is also intended for TOCs, this service provides information about the health status of the wheelset (e.g. wheel diameter, out-of-roundness).

iRailMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors, the service provides information about defects on the rails (e.g. short-wave irregularities).

To enable these services, a modular system with all of the required components from vehicle sensor networks to KPI visualization for the end user has been developed. The value proposition of SIA is to develop these components in the most cost-effective way, i.e. with the use of cost-effective sensors and systems. 

The SIA components include a sub-system for the recording of axle-box acceleration (ABA) data that can be related to defects in the track and wheelset. Another sub-system includes sensors that provide signals to characterize the interaction between the pantograph and catenary. EGNSS- based localization is performed, with real time processing of GNSS signals in multiple frequency bands including Galileo and map-supported refinement using Kalman filter methods in the back-office. A central datahub provides the onboard data management and communicates with the back-office part of SIA, for instance, to send events or detections in the monitoring data. The axle-box acceleration and pantograph data enriched with position information are further processed using component degradation models and analysis algorithms in the back-office. Finally, relevant asset key performance indicators (KPI) are displayed to the user in the visualization platform, with a rich functionality to illustrate the asset status and its evolution using different capabilities. 

To validate the results, pilot tests have been carried out since October 2020 in three different scenarios: one of them coordinated by OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen), the Austrian operator, using both inspection vehicles and regular in-service trains throughout Austrian rail network; another scenario coordinated by VIAS, a Spanish maintenance subcontractor, using for the installation of the system a maintenance vehicle circulating over Madrid-Córdoba high-speed line; and the third scenario was coordinated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Spanish regional TOC, using regular in-service trains throughout its whole network.

The results obtained so far are very promising. The aim is to validate the use of low-cost on-board systems to assess the health status of infrastructure and vehicle assets using the four developed services. Part of this success is due to the use of digital twins and AI technologies to extract health related KPIs. Some of the activities within the project contributed to the creation of a tech startup (MainRail Solutions), dedicated to the management of railway infrastructure. This start-up, created by Ceit and Inycom (linked third party of INGECONTROL) in 2020, has initiated its activities by deploying its first commercial references, e.g. tranvía Zaragoza (Spain)  and SFM (Mallorca Railways, Spain) and PoC (Proof of Concept) pilots with other TOCs and IMs in Spain.

The implementation of the SIA system in regular service trains will enable a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance, while keeping the required levels of safety and service availability. The low-cost nature of the on-board equipment and the capabilities brought by the new services can potentially lead to reductions of 10% in the cost of the maintenance associated to the infrastructure’s assets, thanks to a reduction of unscheduled actions and MTTR (Mean Time To React).

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

• 1. Using analytics to get European rail maintenance on track, McKinsey & Company, 2020

Space based services will help reduce 15% of railway maintenance costs, 25% of maintenance unscheduled events and 15% of derailments associated with the rail-wheel interface. To tackle this challenge, the SIA consortium brings together multidisciplinary and cross sector partners (EGNSS technology providers, research centres, IT companies and railway stakeholders) that will co-design EGNSS solutions truly adapted to the needs of the rail sector.

Railway infrastructure and vehicle maintenance are estimated to cost over 25 billion Euros per year in Europe, and this figure is rising1 . The distribution of maintenance expenses varies in different countries and organizations. However, in relation to the railway infrastructure, track expenses represent between 40%-70% of the operational expenses, where the defects associated with the rails and catenary are the most significant (30% and 50% respectively). Other major maintenance costs relate to vehicle equipment such as the wheelset and pantograph (typically between 30%-50% and 5%-10% of the overall vehicle’s maintenance cost respectively). These figures are similar for all the infrastructure managers (IMs) and train operating companies (TOCs), which in total accounts for 330 organizations in the EU and 1500 organisations worldwide, therefore incurring over 8 billion Euros in recurrent expenses in the EU.

SIA project (System for vehicle-infrastructure Interaction Assets health status monitoring) has been funded by EUSPA since 2018 with the objective of developing four ready-to-use new services, to provide prognostic information about the health status of railways’ most demanding assets in terms of maintenance costs, at the points of the interaction between the vehicle and the infrastructure (wheelset, pantograph, rail, and catenary).

iCatMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors. The service provides information about the status of the overhead line (e.g. geometry of the Overhead Contact Wire - OCW).

iPantMon is intended for TOCs, providing information about the status of the pantograph during its interaction with the OCW (e.g. contact dynamics).

iWheelMon is also intended for TOCs, this service provides information about the health status of the wheelset (e.g. wheel diameter, out-of-roundness).

iRailMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors, the service provides information about defects on the rails (e.g. short-wave irregularities).

To enable these services, a modular system with all of the required components from vehicle sensor networks to KPI visualization for the end user has been developed. The value proposition of SIA is to develop these components in the most cost-effective way, i.e. with the use of cost-effective sensors and systems. 

The SIA components include a sub-system for the recording of axle-box acceleration (ABA) data that can be related to defects in the track and wheelset. Another sub-system includes sensors that provide signals to characterize the interaction between the pantograph and catenary. EGNSS- based localization is performed, with real time processing of GNSS signals in multiple frequency bands including Galileo and map-supported refinement using Kalman filter methods in the back-office. A central datahub provides the onboard data management and communicates with the back-office part of SIA, for instance, to send events or detections in the monitoring data. The axle-box acceleration and pantograph data enriched with position information are further processed using component degradation models and analysis algorithms in the back-office. Finally, relevant asset key performance indicators (KPI) are displayed to the user in the visualization platform, with a rich functionality to illustrate the asset status and its evolution using different capabilities. 

To validate the results, pilot tests have been carried out since October 2020 in three different scenarios: one of them coordinated by OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen), the Austrian operator, using both inspection vehicles and regular in-service trains throughout Austrian rail network; another scenario coordinated by VIAS, a Spanish maintenance subcontractor, using for the installation of the system a maintenance vehicle circulating over Madrid-Córdoba high-speed line; and the third scenario was coordinated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Spanish regional TOC, using regular in-service trains throughout its whole network.

The results obtained so far are very promising. The aim is to validate the use of low-cost on-board systems to assess the health status of infrastructure and vehicle assets using the four developed services. Part of this success is due to the use of digital twins and AI technologies to extract health related KPIs. Some of the activities within the project contributed to the creation of a tech startup (MainRail Solutions), dedicated to the management of railway infrastructure. This start-up, created by Ceit and Inycom (linked third party of INGECONTROL) in 2020, has initiated its activities by deploying its first commercial references, e.g. tranvía Zaragoza (Spain)  and SFM (Mallorca Railways, Spain) and PoC (Proof of Concept) pilots with other TOCs and IMs in Spain.

The implementation of the SIA system in regular service trains will enable a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance, while keeping the required levels of safety and service availability. The low-cost nature of the on-board equipment and the capabilities brought by the new services can potentially lead to reductions of 10% in the cost of the maintenance associated to the infrastructure’s assets, thanks to a reduction of unscheduled actions and MTTR (Mean Time To React).

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

• 1. Using analytics to get European rail maintenance on track, McKinsey & Company, 2020

Space based services will help reduce 15% of railway maintenance costs, 25% of maintenance unscheduled events and 15% of derailments associated with the rail-wheel interface. To tackle this challenge, the SIA consortium brings together multidisciplinary and cross sector partners (EGNSS technology providers, research centres, IT companies and railway stakeholders) that will co-design EGNSS solutions truly adapted to the needs of the rail sector.

Railway infrastructure and vehicle maintenance are estimated to cost over 25 billion Euros per year in Europe, and this figure is rising1 . The distribution of maintenance expenses varies in different countries and organizations. However, in relation to the railway infrastructure, track expenses represent between 40%-70% of the operational expenses, where the defects associated with the rails and catenary are the most significant (30% and 50% respectively). Other major maintenance costs relate to vehicle equipment such as the wheelset and pantograph (typically between 30%-50% and 5%-10% of the overall vehicle’s maintenance cost respectively). These figures are similar for all the infrastructure managers (IMs) and train operating companies (TOCs), which in total accounts for 330 organizations in the EU and 1500 organisations worldwide, therefore incurring over 8 billion Euros in recurrent expenses in the EU.

SIA project (System for vehicle-infrastructure Interaction Assets health status monitoring) has been funded by EUSPA since 2018 with the objective of developing four ready-to-use new services, to provide prognostic information about the health status of railways’ most demanding assets in terms of maintenance costs, at the points of the interaction between the vehicle and the infrastructure (wheelset, pantograph, rail, and catenary).

iCatMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors. The service provides information about the status of the overhead line (e.g. geometry of the Overhead Contact Wire - OCW).

iPantMon is intended for TOCs, providing information about the status of the pantograph during its interaction with the OCW (e.g. contact dynamics).

iWheelMon is also intended for TOCs, this service provides information about the health status of the wheelset (e.g. wheel diameter, out-of-roundness).

iRailMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors, the service provides information about defects on the rails (e.g. short-wave irregularities).

To enable these services, a modular system with all of the required components from vehicle sensor networks to KPI visualization for the end user has been developed. The value proposition of SIA is to develop these components in the most cost-effective way, i.e. with the use of cost-effective sensors and systems. 

The SIA components include a sub-system for the recording of axle-box acceleration (ABA) data that can be related to defects in the track and wheelset. Another sub-system includes sensors that provide signals to characterize the interaction between the pantograph and catenary. EGNSS- based localization is performed, with real time processing of GNSS signals in multiple frequency bands including Galileo and map-supported refinement using Kalman filter methods in the back-office. A central datahub provides the onboard data management and communicates with the back-office part of SIA, for instance, to send events or detections in the monitoring data. The axle-box acceleration and pantograph data enriched with position information are further processed using component degradation models and analysis algorithms in the back-office. Finally, relevant asset key performance indicators (KPI) are displayed to the user in the visualization platform, with a rich functionality to illustrate the asset status and its evolution using different capabilities. 

To validate the results, pilot tests have been carried out since October 2020 in three different scenarios: one of them coordinated by OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen), the Austrian operator, using both inspection vehicles and regular in-service trains throughout Austrian rail network; another scenario coordinated by VIAS, a Spanish maintenance subcontractor, using for the installation of the system a maintenance vehicle circulating over Madrid-Córdoba high-speed line; and the third scenario was coordinated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Spanish regional TOC, using regular in-service trains throughout its whole network.

The results obtained so far are very promising. The aim is to validate the use of low-cost on-board systems to assess the health status of infrastructure and vehicle assets using the four developed services. Part of this success is due to the use of digital twins and AI technologies to extract health related KPIs. Some of the activities within the project contributed to the creation of a tech startup (MainRail Solutions), dedicated to the management of railway infrastructure. This start-up, created by Ceit and Inycom (linked third party of INGECONTROL) in 2020, has initiated its activities by deploying its first commercial references, e.g. tranvía Zaragoza (Spain)  and SFM (Mallorca Railways, Spain) and PoC (Proof of Concept) pilots with other TOCs and IMs in Spain.

The implementation of the SIA system in regular service trains will enable a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance, while keeping the required levels of safety and service availability. The low-cost nature of the on-board equipment and the capabilities brought by the new services can potentially lead to reductions of 10% in the cost of the maintenance associated to the infrastructure’s assets, thanks to a reduction of unscheduled actions and MTTR (Mean Time To React).

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

• 1. Using analytics to get European rail maintenance on track, McKinsey & Company, 2020

Space based services will help reduce 15% of railway maintenance costs, 25% of maintenance unscheduled events and 15% of derailments associated with the rail-wheel interface. To tackle this challenge, the SIA consortium brings together multidisciplinary and cross sector partners (EGNSS technology providers, research centres, IT companies and railway stakeholders) that will co-design EGNSS solutions truly adapted to the needs of the rail sector.

Railway infrastructure and vehicle maintenance are estimated to cost over 25 billion Euros per year in Europe, and this figure is rising1 . The distribution of maintenance expenses varies in different countries and organizations. However, in relation to the railway infrastructure, track expenses represent between 40%-70% of the operational expenses, where the defects associated with the rails and catenary are the most significant (30% and 50% respectively). Other major maintenance costs relate to vehicle equipment such as the wheelset and pantograph (typically between 30%-50% and 5%-10% of the overall vehicle’s maintenance cost respectively). These figures are similar for all the infrastructure managers (IMs) and train operating companies (TOCs), which in total accounts for 330 organizations in the EU and 1500 organisations worldwide, therefore incurring over 8 billion Euros in recurrent expenses in the EU.

SIA project (System for vehicle-infrastructure Interaction Assets health status monitoring) has been funded by EUSPA since 2018 with the objective of developing four ready-to-use new services, to provide prognostic information about the health status of railways’ most demanding assets in terms of maintenance costs, at the points of the interaction between the vehicle and the infrastructure (wheelset, pantograph, rail, and catenary).

iCatMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors. The service provides information about the status of the overhead line (e.g. geometry of the Overhead Contact Wire - OCW).

iPantMon is intended for TOCs, providing information about the status of the pantograph during its interaction with the OCW (e.g. contact dynamics).

iWheelMon is also intended for TOCs, this service provides information about the health status of the wheelset (e.g. wheel diameter, out-of-roundness).

iRailMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors, the service provides information about defects on the rails (e.g. short-wave irregularities).

To enable these services, a modular system with all of the required components from vehicle sensor networks to KPI visualization for the end user has been developed. The value proposition of SIA is to develop these components in the most cost-effective way, i.e. with the use of cost-effective sensors and systems. 

The SIA components include a sub-system for the recording of axle-box acceleration (ABA) data that can be related to defects in the track and wheelset. Another sub-system includes sensors that provide signals to characterize the interaction between the pantograph and catenary. EGNSS- based localization is performed, with real time processing of GNSS signals in multiple frequency bands including Galileo and map-supported refinement using Kalman filter methods in the back-office. A central datahub provides the onboard data management and communicates with the back-office part of SIA, for instance, to send events or detections in the monitoring data. The axle-box acceleration and pantograph data enriched with position information are further processed using component degradation models and analysis algorithms in the back-office. Finally, relevant asset key performance indicators (KPI) are displayed to the user in the visualization platform, with a rich functionality to illustrate the asset status and its evolution using different capabilities. 

To validate the results, pilot tests have been carried out since October 2020 in three different scenarios: one of them coordinated by OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen), the Austrian operator, using both inspection vehicles and regular in-service trains throughout Austrian rail network; another scenario coordinated by VIAS, a Spanish maintenance subcontractor, using for the installation of the system a maintenance vehicle circulating over Madrid-Córdoba high-speed line; and the third scenario was coordinated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Spanish regional TOC, using regular in-service trains throughout its whole network.

The results obtained so far are very promising. The aim is to validate the use of low-cost on-board systems to assess the health status of infrastructure and vehicle assets using the four developed services. Part of this success is due to the use of digital twins and AI technologies to extract health related KPIs. Some of the activities within the project contributed to the creation of a tech startup (MainRail Solutions), dedicated to the management of railway infrastructure. This start-up, created by Ceit and Inycom (linked third party of INGECONTROL) in 2020, has initiated its activities by deploying its first commercial references, e.g. tranvía Zaragoza (Spain)  and SFM (Mallorca Railways, Spain) and PoC (Proof of Concept) pilots with other TOCs and IMs in Spain.

The implementation of the SIA system in regular service trains will enable a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance, while keeping the required levels of safety and service availability. The low-cost nature of the on-board equipment and the capabilities brought by the new services can potentially lead to reductions of 10% in the cost of the maintenance associated to the infrastructure’s assets, thanks to a reduction of unscheduled actions and MTTR (Mean Time To React).

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

• 1. Using analytics to get European rail maintenance on track, McKinsey & Company, 2020

Space based services will help reduce 15% of railway maintenance costs, 25% of maintenance unscheduled events and 15% of derailments associated with the rail-wheel interface. To tackle this challenge, the SIA consortium brings together multidisciplinary and cross sector partners (EGNSS technology providers, research centres, IT companies and railway stakeholders) that will co-design EGNSS solutions truly adapted to the needs of the rail sector.

Railway infrastructure and vehicle maintenance are estimated to cost over 25 billion Euros per year in Europe, and this figure is rising1 . The distribution of maintenance expenses varies in different countries and organizations. However, in relation to the railway infrastructure, track expenses represent between 40%-70% of the operational expenses, where the defects associated with the rails and catenary are the most significant (30% and 50% respectively). Other major maintenance costs relate to vehicle equipment such as the wheelset and pantograph (typically between 30%-50% and 5%-10% of the overall vehicle’s maintenance cost respectively). These figures are similar for all the infrastructure managers (IMs) and train operating companies (TOCs), which in total accounts for 330 organizations in the EU and 1500 organisations worldwide, therefore incurring over 8 billion Euros in recurrent expenses in the EU.

SIA project (System for vehicle-infrastructure Interaction Assets health status monitoring) has been funded by EUSPA since 2018 with the objective of developing four ready-to-use new services, to provide prognostic information about the health status of railways’ most demanding assets in terms of maintenance costs, at the points of the interaction between the vehicle and the infrastructure (wheelset, pantograph, rail, and catenary).

iCatMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors. The service provides information about the status of the overhead line (e.g. geometry of the Overhead Contact Wire - OCW).

iPantMon is intended for TOCs, providing information about the status of the pantograph during its interaction with the OCW (e.g. contact dynamics).

iWheelMon is also intended for TOCs, this service provides information about the health status of the wheelset (e.g. wheel diameter, out-of-roundness).

iRailMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors, the service provides information about defects on the rails (e.g. short-wave irregularities).

To enable these services, a modular system with all of the required components from vehicle sensor networks to KPI visualization for the end user has been developed. The value proposition of SIA is to develop these components in the most cost-effective way, i.e. with the use of cost-effective sensors and systems. 

The SIA components include a sub-system for the recording of axle-box acceleration (ABA) data that can be related to defects in the track and wheelset. Another sub-system includes sensors that provide signals to characterize the interaction between the pantograph and catenary. EGNSS- based localization is performed, with real time processing of GNSS signals in multiple frequency bands including Galileo and map-supported refinement using Kalman filter methods in the back-office. A central datahub provides the onboard data management and communicates with the back-office part of SIA, for instance, to send events or detections in the monitoring data. The axle-box acceleration and pantograph data enriched with position information are further processed using component degradation models and analysis algorithms in the back-office. Finally, relevant asset key performance indicators (KPI) are displayed to the user in the visualization platform, with a rich functionality to illustrate the asset status and its evolution using different capabilities. 

To validate the results, pilot tests have been carried out since October 2020 in three different scenarios: one of them coordinated by OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen), the Austrian operator, using both inspection vehicles and regular in-service trains throughout Austrian rail network; another scenario coordinated by VIAS, a Spanish maintenance subcontractor, using for the installation of the system a maintenance vehicle circulating over Madrid-Córdoba high-speed line; and the third scenario was coordinated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Spanish regional TOC, using regular in-service trains throughout its whole network.

The results obtained so far are very promising. The aim is to validate the use of low-cost on-board systems to assess the health status of infrastructure and vehicle assets using the four developed services. Part of this success is due to the use of digital twins and AI technologies to extract health related KPIs. Some of the activities within the project contributed to the creation of a tech startup (MainRail Solutions), dedicated to the management of railway infrastructure. This start-up, created by Ceit and Inycom (linked third party of INGECONTROL) in 2020, has initiated its activities by deploying its first commercial references, e.g. tranvía Zaragoza (Spain)  and SFM (Mallorca Railways, Spain) and PoC (Proof of Concept) pilots with other TOCs and IMs in Spain.

The implementation of the SIA system in regular service trains will enable a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance, while keeping the required levels of safety and service availability. The low-cost nature of the on-board equipment and the capabilities brought by the new services can potentially lead to reductions of 10% in the cost of the maintenance associated to the infrastructure’s assets, thanks to a reduction of unscheduled actions and MTTR (Mean Time To React).

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

• 1. Using analytics to get European rail maintenance on track, McKinsey & Company, 2020

Space based services will help reduce 15% of railway maintenance costs, 25% of maintenance unscheduled events and 15% of derailments associated with the rail-wheel interface. To tackle this challenge, the SIA consortium brings together multidisciplinary and cross sector partners (EGNSS technology providers, research centres, IT companies and railway stakeholders) that will co-design EGNSS solutions truly adapted to the needs of the rail sector.

Railway infrastructure and vehicle maintenance are estimated to cost over 25 billion Euros per year in Europe, and this figure is rising1 . The distribution of maintenance expenses varies in different countries and organizations. However, in relation to the railway infrastructure, track expenses represent between 40%-70% of the operational expenses, where the defects associated with the rails and catenary are the most significant (30% and 50% respectively). Other major maintenance costs relate to vehicle equipment such as the wheelset and pantograph (typically between 30%-50% and 5%-10% of the overall vehicle’s maintenance cost respectively). These figures are similar for all the infrastructure managers (IMs) and train operating companies (TOCs), which in total accounts for 330 organizations in the EU and 1500 organisations worldwide, therefore incurring over 8 billion Euros in recurrent expenses in the EU.

SIA project (System for vehicle-infrastructure Interaction Assets health status monitoring) has been funded by EUSPA since 2018 with the objective of developing four ready-to-use new services, to provide prognostic information about the health status of railways’ most demanding assets in terms of maintenance costs, at the points of the interaction between the vehicle and the infrastructure (wheelset, pantograph, rail, and catenary).

iCatMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors. The service provides information about the status of the overhead line (e.g. geometry of the Overhead Contact Wire - OCW).

iPantMon is intended for TOCs, providing information about the status of the pantograph during its interaction with the OCW (e.g. contact dynamics).

iWheelMon is also intended for TOCs, this service provides information about the health status of the wheelset (e.g. wheel diameter, out-of-roundness).

iRailMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors, the service provides information about defects on the rails (e.g. short-wave irregularities).

To enable these services, a modular system with all of the required components from vehicle sensor networks to KPI visualization for the end user has been developed. The value proposition of SIA is to develop these components in the most cost-effective way, i.e. with the use of cost-effective sensors and systems. 

The SIA components include a sub-system for the recording of axle-box acceleration (ABA) data that can be related to defects in the track and wheelset. Another sub-system includes sensors that provide signals to characterize the interaction between the pantograph and catenary. EGNSS- based localization is performed, with real time processing of GNSS signals in multiple frequency bands including Galileo and map-supported refinement using Kalman filter methods in the back-office. A central datahub provides the onboard data management and communicates with the back-office part of SIA, for instance, to send events or detections in the monitoring data. The axle-box acceleration and pantograph data enriched with position information are further processed using component degradation models and analysis algorithms in the back-office. Finally, relevant asset key performance indicators (KPI) are displayed to the user in the visualization platform, with a rich functionality to illustrate the asset status and its evolution using different capabilities. 

To validate the results, pilot tests have been carried out since October 2020 in three different scenarios: one of them coordinated by OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen), the Austrian operator, using both inspection vehicles and regular in-service trains throughout Austrian rail network; another scenario coordinated by VIAS, a Spanish maintenance subcontractor, using for the installation of the system a maintenance vehicle circulating over Madrid-Córdoba high-speed line; and the third scenario was coordinated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Spanish regional TOC, using regular in-service trains throughout its whole network.

The results obtained so far are very promising. The aim is to validate the use of low-cost on-board systems to assess the health status of infrastructure and vehicle assets using the four developed services. Part of this success is due to the use of digital twins and AI technologies to extract health related KPIs. Some of the activities within the project contributed to the creation of a tech startup (MainRail Solutions), dedicated to the management of railway infrastructure. This start-up, created by Ceit and Inycom (linked third party of INGECONTROL) in 2020, has initiated its activities by deploying its first commercial references, e.g. tranvía Zaragoza (Spain)  and SFM (Mallorca Railways, Spain) and PoC (Proof of Concept) pilots with other TOCs and IMs in Spain.

The implementation of the SIA system in regular service trains will enable a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance, while keeping the required levels of safety and service availability. The low-cost nature of the on-board equipment and the capabilities brought by the new services can potentially lead to reductions of 10% in the cost of the maintenance associated to the infrastructure’s assets, thanks to a reduction of unscheduled actions and MTTR (Mean Time To React).

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

• 1. Using analytics to get European rail maintenance on track, McKinsey & Company, 2020

Space based services will help reduce 15% of railway maintenance costs, 25% of maintenance unscheduled events and 15% of derailments associated with the rail-wheel interface. To tackle this challenge, the SIA consortium brings together multidisciplinary and cross sector partners (EGNSS technology providers, research centres, IT companies and railway stakeholders) that will co-design EGNSS solutions truly adapted to the needs of the rail sector.

Railway infrastructure and vehicle maintenance are estimated to cost over 25 billion Euros per year in Europe, and this figure is rising1 . The distribution of maintenance expenses varies in different countries and organizations. However, in relation to the railway infrastructure, track expenses represent between 40%-70% of the operational expenses, where the defects associated with the rails and catenary are the most significant (30% and 50% respectively). Other major maintenance costs relate to vehicle equipment such as the wheelset and pantograph (typically between 30%-50% and 5%-10% of the overall vehicle’s maintenance cost respectively). These figures are similar for all the infrastructure managers (IMs) and train operating companies (TOCs), which in total accounts for 330 organizations in the EU and 1500 organisations worldwide, therefore incurring over 8 billion Euros in recurrent expenses in the EU.

SIA project (System for vehicle-infrastructure Interaction Assets health status monitoring) has been funded by EUSPA since 2018 with the objective of developing four ready-to-use new services, to provide prognostic information about the health status of railways’ most demanding assets in terms of maintenance costs, at the points of the interaction between the vehicle and the infrastructure (wheelset, pantograph, rail, and catenary).

iCatMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors. The service provides information about the status of the overhead line (e.g. geometry of the Overhead Contact Wire - OCW).

iPantMon is intended for TOCs, providing information about the status of the pantograph during its interaction with the OCW (e.g. contact dynamics).

iWheelMon is also intended for TOCs, this service provides information about the health status of the wheelset (e.g. wheel diameter, out-of-roundness).

iRailMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors, the service provides information about defects on the rails (e.g. short-wave irregularities).

To enable these services, a modular system with all of the required components from vehicle sensor networks to KPI visualization for the end user has been developed. The value proposition of SIA is to develop these components in the most cost-effective way, i.e. with the use of cost-effective sensors and systems. 

The SIA components include a sub-system for the recording of axle-box acceleration (ABA) data that can be related to defects in the track and wheelset. Another sub-system includes sensors that provide signals to characterize the interaction between the pantograph and catenary. EGNSS- based localization is performed, with real time processing of GNSS signals in multiple frequency bands including Galileo and map-supported refinement using Kalman filter methods in the back-office. A central datahub provides the onboard data management and communicates with the back-office part of SIA, for instance, to send events or detections in the monitoring data. The axle-box acceleration and pantograph data enriched with position information are further processed using component degradation models and analysis algorithms in the back-office. Finally, relevant asset key performance indicators (KPI) are displayed to the user in the visualization platform, with a rich functionality to illustrate the asset status and its evolution using different capabilities. 

To validate the results, pilot tests have been carried out since October 2020 in three different scenarios: one of them coordinated by OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen), the Austrian operator, using both inspection vehicles and regular in-service trains throughout Austrian rail network; another scenario coordinated by VIAS, a Spanish maintenance subcontractor, using for the installation of the system a maintenance vehicle circulating over Madrid-Córdoba high-speed line; and the third scenario was coordinated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Spanish regional TOC, using regular in-service trains throughout its whole network.

The results obtained so far are very promising. The aim is to validate the use of low-cost on-board systems to assess the health status of infrastructure and vehicle assets using the four developed services. Part of this success is due to the use of digital twins and AI technologies to extract health related KPIs. Some of the activities within the project contributed to the creation of a tech startup (MainRail Solutions), dedicated to the management of railway infrastructure. This start-up, created by Ceit and Inycom (linked third party of INGECONTROL) in 2020, has initiated its activities by deploying its first commercial references, e.g. tranvía Zaragoza (Spain)  and SFM (Mallorca Railways, Spain) and PoC (Proof of Concept) pilots with other TOCs and IMs in Spain.

The implementation of the SIA system in regular service trains will enable a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance, while keeping the required levels of safety and service availability. The low-cost nature of the on-board equipment and the capabilities brought by the new services can potentially lead to reductions of 10% in the cost of the maintenance associated to the infrastructure’s assets, thanks to a reduction of unscheduled actions and MTTR (Mean Time To React).

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

• 1. Using analytics to get European rail maintenance on track, McKinsey & Company, 2020

Space based services will help reduce 15% of railway maintenance costs, 25% of maintenance unscheduled events and 15% of derailments associated with the rail-wheel interface. To tackle this challenge, the SIA consortium brings together multidisciplinary and cross sector partners (EGNSS technology providers, research centres, IT companies and railway stakeholders) that will co-design EGNSS solutions truly adapted to the needs of the rail sector.

Railway infrastructure and vehicle maintenance are estimated to cost over 25 billion Euros per year in Europe, and this figure is rising1 . The distribution of maintenance expenses varies in different countries and organizations. However, in relation to the railway infrastructure, track expenses represent between 40%-70% of the operational expenses, where the defects associated with the rails and catenary are the most significant (30% and 50% respectively). Other major maintenance costs relate to vehicle equipment such as the wheelset and pantograph (typically between 30%-50% and 5%-10% of the overall vehicle’s maintenance cost respectively). These figures are similar for all the infrastructure managers (IMs) and train operating companies (TOCs), which in total accounts for 330 organizations in the EU and 1500 organisations worldwide, therefore incurring over 8 billion Euros in recurrent expenses in the EU.

SIA project (System for vehicle-infrastructure Interaction Assets health status monitoring) has been funded by EUSPA since 2018 with the objective of developing four ready-to-use new services, to provide prognostic information about the health status of railways’ most demanding assets in terms of maintenance costs, at the points of the interaction between the vehicle and the infrastructure (wheelset, pantograph, rail, and catenary).

iCatMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors. The service provides information about the status of the overhead line (e.g. geometry of the Overhead Contact Wire - OCW).

iPantMon is intended for TOCs, providing information about the status of the pantograph during its interaction with the OCW (e.g. contact dynamics).

iWheelMon is also intended for TOCs, this service provides information about the health status of the wheelset (e.g. wheel diameter, out-of-roundness).

iRailMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors, the service provides information about defects on the rails (e.g. short-wave irregularities).

To enable these services, a modular system with all of the required components from vehicle sensor networks to KPI visualization for the end user has been developed. The value proposition of SIA is to develop these components in the most cost-effective way, i.e. with the use of cost-effective sensors and systems. 

The SIA components include a sub-system for the recording of axle-box acceleration (ABA) data that can be related to defects in the track and wheelset. Another sub-system includes sensors that provide signals to characterize the interaction between the pantograph and catenary. EGNSS- based localization is performed, with real time processing of GNSS signals in multiple frequency bands including Galileo and map-supported refinement using Kalman filter methods in the back-office. A central datahub provides the onboard data management and communicates with the back-office part of SIA, for instance, to send events or detections in the monitoring data. The axle-box acceleration and pantograph data enriched with position information are further processed using component degradation models and analysis algorithms in the back-office. Finally, relevant asset key performance indicators (KPI) are displayed to the user in the visualization platform, with a rich functionality to illustrate the asset status and its evolution using different capabilities. 

To validate the results, pilot tests have been carried out since October 2020 in three different scenarios: one of them coordinated by OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen), the Austrian operator, using both inspection vehicles and regular in-service trains throughout Austrian rail network; another scenario coordinated by VIAS, a Spanish maintenance subcontractor, using for the installation of the system a maintenance vehicle circulating over Madrid-Córdoba high-speed line; and the third scenario was coordinated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Spanish regional TOC, using regular in-service trains throughout its whole network.

The results obtained so far are very promising. The aim is to validate the use of low-cost on-board systems to assess the health status of infrastructure and vehicle assets using the four developed services. Part of this success is due to the use of digital twins and AI technologies to extract health related KPIs. Some of the activities within the project contributed to the creation of a tech startup (MainRail Solutions), dedicated to the management of railway infrastructure. This start-up, created by Ceit and Inycom (linked third party of INGECONTROL) in 2020, has initiated its activities by deploying its first commercial references, e.g. tranvía Zaragoza (Spain)  and SFM (Mallorca Railways, Spain) and PoC (Proof of Concept) pilots with other TOCs and IMs in Spain.

The implementation of the SIA system in regular service trains will enable a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance, while keeping the required levels of safety and service availability. The low-cost nature of the on-board equipment and the capabilities brought by the new services can potentially lead to reductions of 10% in the cost of the maintenance associated to the infrastructure’s assets, thanks to a reduction of unscheduled actions and MTTR (Mean Time To React).

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

• 1. Using analytics to get European rail maintenance on track, McKinsey & Company, 2020

Space based services will help reduce 15% of railway maintenance costs, 25% of maintenance unscheduled events and 15% of derailments associated with the rail-wheel interface. To tackle this challenge, the SIA consortium brings together multidisciplinary and cross sector partners (EGNSS technology providers, research centres, IT companies and railway stakeholders) that will co-design EGNSS solutions truly adapted to the needs of the rail sector.

Railway infrastructure and vehicle maintenance are estimated to cost over 25 billion Euros per year in Europe, and this figure is rising1 . The distribution of maintenance expenses varies in different countries and organizations. However, in relation to the railway infrastructure, track expenses represent between 40%-70% of the operational expenses, where the defects associated with the rails and catenary are the most significant (30% and 50% respectively). Other major maintenance costs relate to vehicle equipment such as the wheelset and pantograph (typically between 30%-50% and 5%-10% of the overall vehicle’s maintenance cost respectively). These figures are similar for all the infrastructure managers (IMs) and train operating companies (TOCs), which in total accounts for 330 organizations in the EU and 1500 organisations worldwide, therefore incurring over 8 billion Euros in recurrent expenses in the EU.

SIA project (System for vehicle-infrastructure Interaction Assets health status monitoring) has been funded by EUSPA since 2018 with the objective of developing four ready-to-use new services, to provide prognostic information about the health status of railways’ most demanding assets in terms of maintenance costs, at the points of the interaction between the vehicle and the infrastructure (wheelset, pantograph, rail, and catenary).

iCatMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors. The service provides information about the status of the overhead line (e.g. geometry of the Overhead Contact Wire - OCW).

iPantMon is intended for TOCs, providing information about the status of the pantograph during its interaction with the OCW (e.g. contact dynamics).

iWheelMon is also intended for TOCs, this service provides information about the health status of the wheelset (e.g. wheel diameter, out-of-roundness).

iRailMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors, the service provides information about defects on the rails (e.g. short-wave irregularities).

To enable these services, a modular system with all of the required components from vehicle sensor networks to KPI visualization for the end user has been developed. The value proposition of SIA is to develop these components in the most cost-effective way, i.e. with the use of cost-effective sensors and systems. 

The SIA components include a sub-system for the recording of axle-box acceleration (ABA) data that can be related to defects in the track and wheelset. Another sub-system includes sensors that provide signals to characterize the interaction between the pantograph and catenary. EGNSS- based localization is performed, with real time processing of GNSS signals in multiple frequency bands including Galileo and map-supported refinement using Kalman filter methods in the back-office. A central datahub provides the onboard data management and communicates with the back-office part of SIA, for instance, to send events or detections in the monitoring data. The axle-box acceleration and pantograph data enriched with position information are further processed using component degradation models and analysis algorithms in the back-office. Finally, relevant asset key performance indicators (KPI) are displayed to the user in the visualization platform, with a rich functionality to illustrate the asset status and its evolution using different capabilities. 

To validate the results, pilot tests have been carried out since October 2020 in three different scenarios: one of them coordinated by OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen), the Austrian operator, using both inspection vehicles and regular in-service trains throughout Austrian rail network; another scenario coordinated by VIAS, a Spanish maintenance subcontractor, using for the installation of the system a maintenance vehicle circulating over Madrid-Córdoba high-speed line; and the third scenario was coordinated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Spanish regional TOC, using regular in-service trains throughout its whole network.

The results obtained so far are very promising. The aim is to validate the use of low-cost on-board systems to assess the health status of infrastructure and vehicle assets using the four developed services. Part of this success is due to the use of digital twins and AI technologies to extract health related KPIs. Some of the activities within the project contributed to the creation of a tech startup (MainRail Solutions), dedicated to the management of railway infrastructure. This start-up, created by Ceit and Inycom (linked third party of INGECONTROL) in 2020, has initiated its activities by deploying its first commercial references, e.g. tranvía Zaragoza (Spain)  and SFM (Mallorca Railways, Spain) and PoC (Proof of Concept) pilots with other TOCs and IMs in Spain.

The implementation of the SIA system in regular service trains will enable a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance, while keeping the required levels of safety and service availability. The low-cost nature of the on-board equipment and the capabilities brought by the new services can potentially lead to reductions of 10% in the cost of the maintenance associated to the infrastructure’s assets, thanks to a reduction of unscheduled actions and MTTR (Mean Time To React).

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

• 1. Using analytics to get European rail maintenance on track, McKinsey & Company, 2020

Space based services will help reduce 15% of railway maintenance costs, 25% of maintenance unscheduled events and 15% of derailments associated with the rail-wheel interface. To tackle this challenge, the SIA consortium brings together multidisciplinary and cross sector partners (EGNSS technology providers, research centres, IT companies and railway stakeholders) that will co-design EGNSS solutions truly adapted to the needs of the rail sector.

Railway infrastructure and vehicle maintenance are estimated to cost over 25 billion Euros per year in Europe, and this figure is rising1 . The distribution of maintenance expenses varies in different countries and organizations. However, in relation to the railway infrastructure, track expenses represent between 40%-70% of the operational expenses, where the defects associated with the rails and catenary are the most significant (30% and 50% respectively). Other major maintenance costs relate to vehicle equipment such as the wheelset and pantograph (typically between 30%-50% and 5%-10% of the overall vehicle’s maintenance cost respectively). These figures are similar for all the infrastructure managers (IMs) and train operating companies (TOCs), which in total accounts for 330 organizations in the EU and 1500 organisations worldwide, therefore incurring over 8 billion Euros in recurrent expenses in the EU.

SIA project (System for vehicle-infrastructure Interaction Assets health status monitoring) has been funded by EUSPA since 2018 with the objective of developing four ready-to-use new services, to provide prognostic information about the health status of railways’ most demanding assets in terms of maintenance costs, at the points of the interaction between the vehicle and the infrastructure (wheelset, pantograph, rail, and catenary).

iCatMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors. The service provides information about the status of the overhead line (e.g. geometry of the Overhead Contact Wire - OCW).

iPantMon is intended for TOCs, providing information about the status of the pantograph during its interaction with the OCW (e.g. contact dynamics).

iWheelMon is also intended for TOCs, this service provides information about the health status of the wheelset (e.g. wheel diameter, out-of-roundness).

iRailMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors, the service provides information about defects on the rails (e.g. short-wave irregularities).

To enable these services, a modular system with all of the required components from vehicle sensor networks to KPI visualization for the end user has been developed. The value proposition of SIA is to develop these components in the most cost-effective way, i.e. with the use of cost-effective sensors and systems. 

The SIA components include a sub-system for the recording of axle-box acceleration (ABA) data that can be related to defects in the track and wheelset. Another sub-system includes sensors that provide signals to characterize the interaction between the pantograph and catenary. EGNSS- based localization is performed, with real time processing of GNSS signals in multiple frequency bands including Galileo and map-supported refinement using Kalman filter methods in the back-office. A central datahub provides the onboard data management and communicates with the back-office part of SIA, for instance, to send events or detections in the monitoring data. The axle-box acceleration and pantograph data enriched with position information are further processed using component degradation models and analysis algorithms in the back-office. Finally, relevant asset key performance indicators (KPI) are displayed to the user in the visualization platform, with a rich functionality to illustrate the asset status and its evolution using different capabilities. 

To validate the results, pilot tests have been carried out since October 2020 in three different scenarios: one of them coordinated by OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen), the Austrian operator, using both inspection vehicles and regular in-service trains throughout Austrian rail network; another scenario coordinated by VIAS, a Spanish maintenance subcontractor, using for the installation of the system a maintenance vehicle circulating over Madrid-Córdoba high-speed line; and the third scenario was coordinated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Spanish regional TOC, using regular in-service trains throughout its whole network.

The results obtained so far are very promising. The aim is to validate the use of low-cost on-board systems to assess the health status of infrastructure and vehicle assets using the four developed services. Part of this success is due to the use of digital twins and AI technologies to extract health related KPIs. Some of the activities within the project contributed to the creation of a tech startup (MainRail Solutions), dedicated to the management of railway infrastructure. This start-up, created by Ceit and Inycom (linked third party of INGECONTROL) in 2020, has initiated its activities by deploying its first commercial references, e.g. tranvía Zaragoza (Spain)  and SFM (Mallorca Railways, Spain) and PoC (Proof of Concept) pilots with other TOCs and IMs in Spain.

The implementation of the SIA system in regular service trains will enable a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance, while keeping the required levels of safety and service availability. The low-cost nature of the on-board equipment and the capabilities brought by the new services can potentially lead to reductions of 10% in the cost of the maintenance associated to the infrastructure’s assets, thanks to a reduction of unscheduled actions and MTTR (Mean Time To React).

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

• 1. Using analytics to get European rail maintenance on track, McKinsey & Company, 2020

Space based services will help reduce 15% of railway maintenance costs, 25% of maintenance unscheduled events and 15% of derailments associated with the rail-wheel interface. To tackle this challenge, the SIA consortium brings together multidisciplinary and cross sector partners (EGNSS technology providers, research centres, IT companies and railway stakeholders) that will co-design EGNSS solutions truly adapted to the needs of the rail sector.

Railway infrastructure and vehicle maintenance are estimated to cost over 25 billion Euros per year in Europe, and this figure is rising1 . The distribution of maintenance expenses varies in different countries and organizations. However, in relation to the railway infrastructure, track expenses represent between 40%-70% of the operational expenses, where the defects associated with the rails and catenary are the most significant (30% and 50% respectively). Other major maintenance costs relate to vehicle equipment such as the wheelset and pantograph (typically between 30%-50% and 5%-10% of the overall vehicle’s maintenance cost respectively). These figures are similar for all the infrastructure managers (IMs) and train operating companies (TOCs), which in total accounts for 330 organizations in the EU and 1500 organisations worldwide, therefore incurring over 8 billion Euros in recurrent expenses in the EU.

SIA project (System for vehicle-infrastructure Interaction Assets health status monitoring) has been funded by EUSPA since 2018 with the objective of developing four ready-to-use new services, to provide prognostic information about the health status of railways’ most demanding assets in terms of maintenance costs, at the points of the interaction between the vehicle and the infrastructure (wheelset, pantograph, rail, and catenary).

iCatMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors. The service provides information about the status of the overhead line (e.g. geometry of the Overhead Contact Wire - OCW).

iPantMon is intended for TOCs, providing information about the status of the pantograph during its interaction with the OCW (e.g. contact dynamics).

iWheelMon is also intended for TOCs, this service provides information about the health status of the wheelset (e.g. wheel diameter, out-of-roundness).

iRailMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors, the service provides information about defects on the rails (e.g. short-wave irregularities).

To enable these services, a modular system with all of the required components from vehicle sensor networks to KPI visualization for the end user has been developed. The value proposition of SIA is to develop these components in the most cost-effective way, i.e. with the use of cost-effective sensors and systems. 

The SIA components include a sub-system for the recording of axle-box acceleration (ABA) data that can be related to defects in the track and wheelset. Another sub-system includes sensors that provide signals to characterize the interaction between the pantograph and catenary. EGNSS- based localization is performed, with real time processing of GNSS signals in multiple frequency bands including Galileo and map-supported refinement using Kalman filter methods in the back-office. A central datahub provides the onboard data management and communicates with the back-office part of SIA, for instance, to send events or detections in the monitoring data. The axle-box acceleration and pantograph data enriched with position information are further processed using component degradation models and analysis algorithms in the back-office. Finally, relevant asset key performance indicators (KPI) are displayed to the user in the visualization platform, with a rich functionality to illustrate the asset status and its evolution using different capabilities. 

To validate the results, pilot tests have been carried out since October 2020 in three different scenarios: one of them coordinated by OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen), the Austrian operator, using both inspection vehicles and regular in-service trains throughout Austrian rail network; another scenario coordinated by VIAS, a Spanish maintenance subcontractor, using for the installation of the system a maintenance vehicle circulating over Madrid-Córdoba high-speed line; and the third scenario was coordinated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Spanish regional TOC, using regular in-service trains throughout its whole network.

The results obtained so far are very promising. The aim is to validate the use of low-cost on-board systems to assess the health status of infrastructure and vehicle assets using the four developed services. Part of this success is due to the use of digital twins and AI technologies to extract health related KPIs. Some of the activities within the project contributed to the creation of a tech startup (MainRail Solutions), dedicated to the management of railway infrastructure. This start-up, created by Ceit and Inycom (linked third party of INGECONTROL) in 2020, has initiated its activities by deploying its first commercial references, e.g. tranvía Zaragoza (Spain)  and SFM (Mallorca Railways, Spain) and PoC (Proof of Concept) pilots with other TOCs and IMs in Spain.

The implementation of the SIA system in regular service trains will enable a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance, while keeping the required levels of safety and service availability. The low-cost nature of the on-board equipment and the capabilities brought by the new services can potentially lead to reductions of 10% in the cost of the maintenance associated to the infrastructure’s assets, thanks to a reduction of unscheduled actions and MTTR (Mean Time To React).

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

• 1. Using analytics to get European rail maintenance on track, McKinsey & Company, 2020

Space based services will help reduce 15% of railway maintenance costs, 25% of maintenance unscheduled events and 15% of derailments associated with the rail-wheel interface. To tackle this challenge, the SIA consortium brings together multidisciplinary and cross sector partners (EGNSS technology providers, research centres, IT companies and railway stakeholders) that will co-design EGNSS solutions truly adapted to the needs of the rail sector.

Railway infrastructure and vehicle maintenance are estimated to cost over 25 billion Euros per year in Europe, and this figure is rising1 . The distribution of maintenance expenses varies in different countries and organizations. However, in relation to the railway infrastructure, track expenses represent between 40%-70% of the operational expenses, where the defects associated with the rails and catenary are the most significant (30% and 50% respectively). Other major maintenance costs relate to vehicle equipment such as the wheelset and pantograph (typically between 30%-50% and 5%-10% of the overall vehicle’s maintenance cost respectively). These figures are similar for all the infrastructure managers (IMs) and train operating companies (TOCs), which in total accounts for 330 organizations in the EU and 1500 organisations worldwide, therefore incurring over 8 billion Euros in recurrent expenses in the EU.

SIA project (System for vehicle-infrastructure Interaction Assets health status monitoring) has been funded by EUSPA since 2018 with the objective of developing four ready-to-use new services, to provide prognostic information about the health status of railways’ most demanding assets in terms of maintenance costs, at the points of the interaction between the vehicle and the infrastructure (wheelset, pantograph, rail, and catenary).

iCatMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors. The service provides information about the status of the overhead line (e.g. geometry of the Overhead Contact Wire - OCW).

iPantMon is intended for TOCs, providing information about the status of the pantograph during its interaction with the OCW (e.g. contact dynamics).

iWheelMon is also intended for TOCs, this service provides information about the health status of the wheelset (e.g. wheel diameter, out-of-roundness).

iRailMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors, the service provides information about defects on the rails (e.g. short-wave irregularities).

To enable these services, a modular system with all of the required components from vehicle sensor networks to KPI visualization for the end user has been developed. The value proposition of SIA is to develop these components in the most cost-effective way, i.e. with the use of cost-effective sensors and systems. 

The SIA components include a sub-system for the recording of axle-box acceleration (ABA) data that can be related to defects in the track and wheelset. Another sub-system includes sensors that provide signals to characterize the interaction between the pantograph and catenary. EGNSS- based localization is performed, with real time processing of GNSS signals in multiple frequency bands including Galileo and map-supported refinement using Kalman filter methods in the back-office. A central datahub provides the onboard data management and communicates with the back-office part of SIA, for instance, to send events or detections in the monitoring data. The axle-box acceleration and pantograph data enriched with position information are further processed using component degradation models and analysis algorithms in the back-office. Finally, relevant asset key performance indicators (KPI) are displayed to the user in the visualization platform, with a rich functionality to illustrate the asset status and its evolution using different capabilities. 

To validate the results, pilot tests have been carried out since October 2020 in three different scenarios: one of them coordinated by OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen), the Austrian operator, using both inspection vehicles and regular in-service trains throughout Austrian rail network; another scenario coordinated by VIAS, a Spanish maintenance subcontractor, using for the installation of the system a maintenance vehicle circulating over Madrid-Córdoba high-speed line; and the third scenario was coordinated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Spanish regional TOC, using regular in-service trains throughout its whole network.

The results obtained so far are very promising. The aim is to validate the use of low-cost on-board systems to assess the health status of infrastructure and vehicle assets using the four developed services. Part of this success is due to the use of digital twins and AI technologies to extract health related KPIs. Some of the activities within the project contributed to the creation of a tech startup (MainRail Solutions), dedicated to the management of railway infrastructure. This start-up, created by Ceit and Inycom (linked third party of INGECONTROL) in 2020, has initiated its activities by deploying its first commercial references, e.g. tranvía Zaragoza (Spain)  and SFM (Mallorca Railways, Spain) and PoC (Proof of Concept) pilots with other TOCs and IMs in Spain.

The implementation of the SIA system in regular service trains will enable a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance, while keeping the required levels of safety and service availability. The low-cost nature of the on-board equipment and the capabilities brought by the new services can potentially lead to reductions of 10% in the cost of the maintenance associated to the infrastructure’s assets, thanks to a reduction of unscheduled actions and MTTR (Mean Time To React).

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

• 1. Using analytics to get European rail maintenance on track, McKinsey & Company, 2020

Space based services will help reduce 15% of railway maintenance costs, 25% of maintenance unscheduled events and 15% of derailments associated with the rail-wheel interface. To tackle this challenge, the SIA consortium brings together multidisciplinary and cross sector partners (EGNSS technology providers, research centres, IT companies and railway stakeholders) that will co-design EGNSS solutions truly adapted to the needs of the rail sector.

Railway infrastructure and vehicle maintenance are estimated to cost over 25 billion Euros per year in Europe, and this figure is rising1 . The distribution of maintenance expenses varies in different countries and organizations. However, in relation to the railway infrastructure, track expenses represent between 40%-70% of the operational expenses, where the defects associated with the rails and catenary are the most significant (30% and 50% respectively). Other major maintenance costs relate to vehicle equipment such as the wheelset and pantograph (typically between 30%-50% and 5%-10% of the overall vehicle’s maintenance cost respectively). These figures are similar for all the infrastructure managers (IMs) and train operating companies (TOCs), which in total accounts for 330 organizations in the EU and 1500 organisations worldwide, therefore incurring over 8 billion Euros in recurrent expenses in the EU.

SIA project (System for vehicle-infrastructure Interaction Assets health status monitoring) has been funded by EUSPA since 2018 with the objective of developing four ready-to-use new services, to provide prognostic information about the health status of railways’ most demanding assets in terms of maintenance costs, at the points of the interaction between the vehicle and the infrastructure (wheelset, pantograph, rail, and catenary).

iCatMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors. The service provides information about the status of the overhead line (e.g. geometry of the Overhead Contact Wire - OCW).

iPantMon is intended for TOCs, providing information about the status of the pantograph during its interaction with the OCW (e.g. contact dynamics).

iWheelMon is also intended for TOCs, this service provides information about the health status of the wheelset (e.g. wheel diameter, out-of-roundness).

iRailMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors, the service provides information about defects on the rails (e.g. short-wave irregularities).

To enable these services, a modular system with all of the required components from vehicle sensor networks to KPI visualization for the end user has been developed. The value proposition of SIA is to develop these components in the most cost-effective way, i.e. with the use of cost-effective sensors and systems. 

The SIA components include a sub-system for the recording of axle-box acceleration (ABA) data that can be related to defects in the track and wheelset. Another sub-system includes sensors that provide signals to characterize the interaction between the pantograph and catenary. EGNSS- based localization is performed, with real time processing of GNSS signals in multiple frequency bands including Galileo and map-supported refinement using Kalman filter methods in the back-office. A central datahub provides the onboard data management and communicates with the back-office part of SIA, for instance, to send events or detections in the monitoring data. The axle-box acceleration and pantograph data enriched with position information are further processed using component degradation models and analysis algorithms in the back-office. Finally, relevant asset key performance indicators (KPI) are displayed to the user in the visualization platform, with a rich functionality to illustrate the asset status and its evolution using different capabilities. 

To validate the results, pilot tests have been carried out since October 2020 in three different scenarios: one of them coordinated by OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen), the Austrian operator, using both inspection vehicles and regular in-service trains throughout Austrian rail network; another scenario coordinated by VIAS, a Spanish maintenance subcontractor, using for the installation of the system a maintenance vehicle circulating over Madrid-Córdoba high-speed line; and the third scenario was coordinated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Spanish regional TOC, using regular in-service trains throughout its whole network.

The results obtained so far are very promising. The aim is to validate the use of low-cost on-board systems to assess the health status of infrastructure and vehicle assets using the four developed services. Part of this success is due to the use of digital twins and AI technologies to extract health related KPIs. Some of the activities within the project contributed to the creation of a tech startup (MainRail Solutions), dedicated to the management of railway infrastructure. This start-up, created by Ceit and Inycom (linked third party of INGECONTROL) in 2020, has initiated its activities by deploying its first commercial references, e.g. tranvía Zaragoza (Spain)  and SFM (Mallorca Railways, Spain) and PoC (Proof of Concept) pilots with other TOCs and IMs in Spain.

The implementation of the SIA system in regular service trains will enable a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance, while keeping the required levels of safety and service availability. The low-cost nature of the on-board equipment and the capabilities brought by the new services can potentially lead to reductions of 10% in the cost of the maintenance associated to the infrastructure’s assets, thanks to a reduction of unscheduled actions and MTTR (Mean Time To React).

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

• 1. Using analytics to get European rail maintenance on track, McKinsey & Company, 2020

Space based services will help reduce 15% of railway maintenance costs, 25% of maintenance unscheduled events and 15% of derailments associated with the rail-wheel interface. To tackle this challenge, the SIA consortium brings together multidisciplinary and cross sector partners (EGNSS technology providers, research centres, IT companies and railway stakeholders) that will co-design EGNSS solutions truly adapted to the needs of the rail sector.

Railway infrastructure and vehicle maintenance are estimated to cost over 25 billion Euros per year in Europe, and this figure is rising1 . The distribution of maintenance expenses varies in different countries and organizations. However, in relation to the railway infrastructure, track expenses represent between 40%-70% of the operational expenses, where the defects associated with the rails and catenary are the most significant (30% and 50% respectively). Other major maintenance costs relate to vehicle equipment such as the wheelset and pantograph (typically between 30%-50% and 5%-10% of the overall vehicle’s maintenance cost respectively). These figures are similar for all the infrastructure managers (IMs) and train operating companies (TOCs), which in total accounts for 330 organizations in the EU and 1500 organisations worldwide, therefore incurring over 8 billion Euros in recurrent expenses in the EU.

SIA project (System for vehicle-infrastructure Interaction Assets health status monitoring) has been funded by EUSPA since 2018 with the objective of developing four ready-to-use new services, to provide prognostic information about the health status of railways’ most demanding assets in terms of maintenance costs, at the points of the interaction between the vehicle and the infrastructure (wheelset, pantograph, rail, and catenary).

iCatMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors. The service provides information about the status of the overhead line (e.g. geometry of the Overhead Contact Wire - OCW).

iPantMon is intended for TOCs, providing information about the status of the pantograph during its interaction with the OCW (e.g. contact dynamics).

iWheelMon is also intended for TOCs, this service provides information about the health status of the wheelset (e.g. wheel diameter, out-of-roundness).

iRailMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors, the service provides information about defects on the rails (e.g. short-wave irregularities).

To enable these services, a modular system with all of the required components from vehicle sensor networks to KPI visualization for the end user has been developed. The value proposition of SIA is to develop these components in the most cost-effective way, i.e. with the use of cost-effective sensors and systems. 

The SIA components include a sub-system for the recording of axle-box acceleration (ABA) data that can be related to defects in the track and wheelset. Another sub-system includes sensors that provide signals to characterize the interaction between the pantograph and catenary. EGNSS- based localization is performed, with real time processing of GNSS signals in multiple frequency bands including Galileo and map-supported refinement using Kalman filter methods in the back-office. A central datahub provides the onboard data management and communicates with the back-office part of SIA, for instance, to send events or detections in the monitoring data. The axle-box acceleration and pantograph data enriched with position information are further processed using component degradation models and analysis algorithms in the back-office. Finally, relevant asset key performance indicators (KPI) are displayed to the user in the visualization platform, with a rich functionality to illustrate the asset status and its evolution using different capabilities. 

To validate the results, pilot tests have been carried out since October 2020 in three different scenarios: one of them coordinated by OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen), the Austrian operator, using both inspection vehicles and regular in-service trains throughout Austrian rail network; another scenario coordinated by VIAS, a Spanish maintenance subcontractor, using for the installation of the system a maintenance vehicle circulating over Madrid-Córdoba high-speed line; and the third scenario was coordinated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Spanish regional TOC, using regular in-service trains throughout its whole network.

The results obtained so far are very promising. The aim is to validate the use of low-cost on-board systems to assess the health status of infrastructure and vehicle assets using the four developed services. Part of this success is due to the use of digital twins and AI technologies to extract health related KPIs. Some of the activities within the project contributed to the creation of a tech startup (MainRail Solutions), dedicated to the management of railway infrastructure. This start-up, created by Ceit and Inycom (linked third party of INGECONTROL) in 2020, has initiated its activities by deploying its first commercial references, e.g. tranvía Zaragoza (Spain)  and SFM (Mallorca Railways, Spain) and PoC (Proof of Concept) pilots with other TOCs and IMs in Spain.

The implementation of the SIA system in regular service trains will enable a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance, while keeping the required levels of safety and service availability. The low-cost nature of the on-board equipment and the capabilities brought by the new services can potentially lead to reductions of 10% in the cost of the maintenance associated to the infrastructure’s assets, thanks to a reduction of unscheduled actions and MTTR (Mean Time To React).

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

• 1. Using analytics to get European rail maintenance on track, McKinsey & Company, 2020

Space based services will help reduce 15% of railway maintenance costs, 25% of maintenance unscheduled events and 15% of derailments associated with the rail-wheel interface. To tackle this challenge, the SIA consortium brings together multidisciplinary and cross sector partners (EGNSS technology providers, research centres, IT companies and railway stakeholders) that will co-design EGNSS solutions truly adapted to the needs of the rail sector.

Railway infrastructure and vehicle maintenance are estimated to cost over 25 billion Euros per year in Europe, and this figure is rising1 . The distribution of maintenance expenses varies in different countries and organizations. However, in relation to the railway infrastructure, track expenses represent between 40%-70% of the operational expenses, where the defects associated with the rails and catenary are the most significant (30% and 50% respectively). Other major maintenance costs relate to vehicle equipment such as the wheelset and pantograph (typically between 30%-50% and 5%-10% of the overall vehicle’s maintenance cost respectively). These figures are similar for all the infrastructure managers (IMs) and train operating companies (TOCs), which in total accounts for 330 organizations in the EU and 1500 organisations worldwide, therefore incurring over 8 billion Euros in recurrent expenses in the EU.

SIA project (System for vehicle-infrastructure Interaction Assets health status monitoring) has been funded by EUSPA since 2018 with the objective of developing four ready-to-use new services, to provide prognostic information about the health status of railways’ most demanding assets in terms of maintenance costs, at the points of the interaction between the vehicle and the infrastructure (wheelset, pantograph, rail, and catenary).

iCatMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors. The service provides information about the status of the overhead line (e.g. geometry of the Overhead Contact Wire - OCW).

iPantMon is intended for TOCs, providing information about the status of the pantograph during its interaction with the OCW (e.g. contact dynamics).

iWheelMon is also intended for TOCs, this service provides information about the health status of the wheelset (e.g. wheel diameter, out-of-roundness).

iRailMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors, the service provides information about defects on the rails (e.g. short-wave irregularities).

To enable these services, a modular system with all of the required components from vehicle sensor networks to KPI visualization for the end user has been developed. The value proposition of SIA is to develop these components in the most cost-effective way, i.e. with the use of cost-effective sensors and systems. 

The SIA components include a sub-system for the recording of axle-box acceleration (ABA) data that can be related to defects in the track and wheelset. Another sub-system includes sensors that provide signals to characterize the interaction between the pantograph and catenary. EGNSS- based localization is performed, with real time processing of GNSS signals in multiple frequency bands including Galileo and map-supported refinement using Kalman filter methods in the back-office. A central datahub provides the onboard data management and communicates with the back-office part of SIA, for instance, to send events or detections in the monitoring data. The axle-box acceleration and pantograph data enriched with position information are further processed using component degradation models and analysis algorithms in the back-office. Finally, relevant asset key performance indicators (KPI) are displayed to the user in the visualization platform, with a rich functionality to illustrate the asset status and its evolution using different capabilities. 

To validate the results, pilot tests have been carried out since October 2020 in three different scenarios: one of them coordinated by OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen), the Austrian operator, using both inspection vehicles and regular in-service trains throughout Austrian rail network; another scenario coordinated by VIAS, a Spanish maintenance subcontractor, using for the installation of the system a maintenance vehicle circulating over Madrid-Córdoba high-speed line; and the third scenario was coordinated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Spanish regional TOC, using regular in-service trains throughout its whole network.

The results obtained so far are very promising. The aim is to validate the use of low-cost on-board systems to assess the health status of infrastructure and vehicle assets using the four developed services. Part of this success is due to the use of digital twins and AI technologies to extract health related KPIs. Some of the activities within the project contributed to the creation of a tech startup (MainRail Solutions), dedicated to the management of railway infrastructure. This start-up, created by Ceit and Inycom (linked third party of INGECONTROL) in 2020, has initiated its activities by deploying its first commercial references, e.g. tranvía Zaragoza (Spain)  and SFM (Mallorca Railways, Spain) and PoC (Proof of Concept) pilots with other TOCs and IMs in Spain.

The implementation of the SIA system in regular service trains will enable a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance, while keeping the required levels of safety and service availability. The low-cost nature of the on-board equipment and the capabilities brought by the new services can potentially lead to reductions of 10% in the cost of the maintenance associated to the infrastructure’s assets, thanks to a reduction of unscheduled actions and MTTR (Mean Time To React).

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

• 1. Using analytics to get European rail maintenance on track, McKinsey & Company, 2020

Space based services will help reduce 15% of railway maintenance costs, 25% of maintenance unscheduled events and 15% of derailments associated with the rail-wheel interface. To tackle this challenge, the SIA consortium brings together multidisciplinary and cross sector partners (EGNSS technology providers, research centres, IT companies and railway stakeholders) that will co-design EGNSS solutions truly adapted to the needs of the rail sector.

Railway infrastructure and vehicle maintenance are estimated to cost over 25 billion Euros per year in Europe, and this figure is rising1 . The distribution of maintenance expenses varies in different countries and organizations. However, in relation to the railway infrastructure, track expenses represent between 40%-70% of the operational expenses, where the defects associated with the rails and catenary are the most significant (30% and 50% respectively). Other major maintenance costs relate to vehicle equipment such as the wheelset and pantograph (typically between 30%-50% and 5%-10% of the overall vehicle’s maintenance cost respectively). These figures are similar for all the infrastructure managers (IMs) and train operating companies (TOCs), which in total accounts for 330 organizations in the EU and 1500 organisations worldwide, therefore incurring over 8 billion Euros in recurrent expenses in the EU.

SIA project (System for vehicle-infrastructure Interaction Assets health status monitoring) has been funded by EUSPA since 2018 with the objective of developing four ready-to-use new services, to provide prognostic information about the health status of railways’ most demanding assets in terms of maintenance costs, at the points of the interaction between the vehicle and the infrastructure (wheelset, pantograph, rail, and catenary).

iCatMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors. The service provides information about the status of the overhead line (e.g. geometry of the Overhead Contact Wire - OCW).

iPantMon is intended for TOCs, providing information about the status of the pantograph during its interaction with the OCW (e.g. contact dynamics).

iWheelMon is also intended for TOCs, this service provides information about the health status of the wheelset (e.g. wheel diameter, out-of-roundness).

iRailMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors, the service provides information about defects on the rails (e.g. short-wave irregularities).

To enable these services, a modular system with all of the required components from vehicle sensor networks to KPI visualization for the end user has been developed. The value proposition of SIA is to develop these components in the most cost-effective way, i.e. with the use of cost-effective sensors and systems. 

The SIA components include a sub-system for the recording of axle-box acceleration (ABA) data that can be related to defects in the track and wheelset. Another sub-system includes sensors that provide signals to characterize the interaction between the pantograph and catenary. EGNSS- based localization is performed, with real time processing of GNSS signals in multiple frequency bands including Galileo and map-supported refinement using Kalman filter methods in the back-office. A central datahub provides the onboard data management and communicates with the back-office part of SIA, for instance, to send events or detections in the monitoring data. The axle-box acceleration and pantograph data enriched with position information are further processed using component degradation models and analysis algorithms in the back-office. Finally, relevant asset key performance indicators (KPI) are displayed to the user in the visualization platform, with a rich functionality to illustrate the asset status and its evolution using different capabilities. 

To validate the results, pilot tests have been carried out since October 2020 in three different scenarios: one of them coordinated by OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen), the Austrian operator, using both inspection vehicles and regular in-service trains throughout Austrian rail network; another scenario coordinated by VIAS, a Spanish maintenance subcontractor, using for the installation of the system a maintenance vehicle circulating over Madrid-Córdoba high-speed line; and the third scenario was coordinated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Spanish regional TOC, using regular in-service trains throughout its whole network.

The results obtained so far are very promising. The aim is to validate the use of low-cost on-board systems to assess the health status of infrastructure and vehicle assets using the four developed services. Part of this success is due to the use of digital twins and AI technologies to extract health related KPIs. Some of the activities within the project contributed to the creation of a tech startup (MainRail Solutions), dedicated to the management of railway infrastructure. This start-up, created by Ceit and Inycom (linked third party of INGECONTROL) in 2020, has initiated its activities by deploying its first commercial references, e.g. tranvía Zaragoza (Spain)  and SFM (Mallorca Railways, Spain) and PoC (Proof of Concept) pilots with other TOCs and IMs in Spain.

The implementation of the SIA system in regular service trains will enable a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance, while keeping the required levels of safety and service availability. The low-cost nature of the on-board equipment and the capabilities brought by the new services can potentially lead to reductions of 10% in the cost of the maintenance associated to the infrastructure’s assets, thanks to a reduction of unscheduled actions and MTTR (Mean Time To React).

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

• 1. Using analytics to get European rail maintenance on track, McKinsey & Company, 2020

Space based services will help reduce 15% of railway maintenance costs, 25% of maintenance unscheduled events and 15% of derailments associated with the rail-wheel interface. To tackle this challenge, the SIA consortium brings together multidisciplinary and cross sector partners (EGNSS technology providers, research centres, IT companies and railway stakeholders) that will co-design EGNSS solutions truly adapted to the needs of the rail sector.

Railway infrastructure and vehicle maintenance are estimated to cost over 25 billion Euros per year in Europe, and this figure is rising1 . The distribution of maintenance expenses varies in different countries and organizations. However, in relation to the railway infrastructure, track expenses represent between 40%-70% of the operational expenses, where the defects associated with the rails and catenary are the most significant (30% and 50% respectively). Other major maintenance costs relate to vehicle equipment such as the wheelset and pantograph (typically between 30%-50% and 5%-10% of the overall vehicle’s maintenance cost respectively). These figures are similar for all the infrastructure managers (IMs) and train operating companies (TOCs), which in total accounts for 330 organizations in the EU and 1500 organisations worldwide, therefore incurring over 8 billion Euros in recurrent expenses in the EU.

SIA project (System for vehicle-infrastructure Interaction Assets health status monitoring) has been funded by EUSPA since 2018 with the objective of developing four ready-to-use new services, to provide prognostic information about the health status of railways’ most demanding assets in terms of maintenance costs, at the points of the interaction between the vehicle and the infrastructure (wheelset, pantograph, rail, and catenary).

iCatMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors. The service provides information about the status of the overhead line (e.g. geometry of the Overhead Contact Wire - OCW).

iPantMon is intended for TOCs, providing information about the status of the pantograph during its interaction with the OCW (e.g. contact dynamics).

iWheelMon is also intended for TOCs, this service provides information about the health status of the wheelset (e.g. wheel diameter, out-of-roundness).

iRailMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors, the service provides information about defects on the rails (e.g. short-wave irregularities).

To enable these services, a modular system with all of the required components from vehicle sensor networks to KPI visualization for the end user has been developed. The value proposition of SIA is to develop these components in the most cost-effective way, i.e. with the use of cost-effective sensors and systems. 

The SIA components include a sub-system for the recording of axle-box acceleration (ABA) data that can be related to defects in the track and wheelset. Another sub-system includes sensors that provide signals to characterize the interaction between the pantograph and catenary. EGNSS- based localization is performed, with real time processing of GNSS signals in multiple frequency bands including Galileo and map-supported refinement using Kalman filter methods in the back-office. A central datahub provides the onboard data management and communicates with the back-office part of SIA, for instance, to send events or detections in the monitoring data. The axle-box acceleration and pantograph data enriched with position information are further processed using component degradation models and analysis algorithms in the back-office. Finally, relevant asset key performance indicators (KPI) are displayed to the user in the visualization platform, with a rich functionality to illustrate the asset status and its evolution using different capabilities. 

To validate the results, pilot tests have been carried out since October 2020 in three different scenarios: one of them coordinated by OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen), the Austrian operator, using both inspection vehicles and regular in-service trains throughout Austrian rail network; another scenario coordinated by VIAS, a Spanish maintenance subcontractor, using for the installation of the system a maintenance vehicle circulating over Madrid-Córdoba high-speed line; and the third scenario was coordinated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Spanish regional TOC, using regular in-service trains throughout its whole network.

The results obtained so far are very promising. The aim is to validate the use of low-cost on-board systems to assess the health status of infrastructure and vehicle assets using the four developed services. Part of this success is due to the use of digital twins and AI technologies to extract health related KPIs. Some of the activities within the project contributed to the creation of a tech startup (MainRail Solutions), dedicated to the management of railway infrastructure. This start-up, created by Ceit and Inycom (linked third party of INGECONTROL) in 2020, has initiated its activities by deploying its first commercial references, e.g. tranvía Zaragoza (Spain)  and SFM (Mallorca Railways, Spain) and PoC (Proof of Concept) pilots with other TOCs and IMs in Spain.

The implementation of the SIA system in regular service trains will enable a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance, while keeping the required levels of safety and service availability. The low-cost nature of the on-board equipment and the capabilities brought by the new services can potentially lead to reductions of 10% in the cost of the maintenance associated to the infrastructure’s assets, thanks to a reduction of unscheduled actions and MTTR (Mean Time To React).

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

• 1. Using analytics to get European rail maintenance on track, McKinsey & Company, 2020

Space based services will help reduce 15% of railway maintenance costs, 25% of maintenance unscheduled events and 15% of derailments associated with the rail-wheel interface. To tackle this challenge, the SIA consortium brings together multidisciplinary and cross sector partners (EGNSS technology providers, research centres, IT companies and railway stakeholders) that will co-design EGNSS solutions truly adapted to the needs of the rail sector.

Railway infrastructure and vehicle maintenance are estimated to cost over 25 billion Euros per year in Europe, and this figure is rising1 . The distribution of maintenance expenses varies in different countries and organizations. However, in relation to the railway infrastructure, track expenses represent between 40%-70% of the operational expenses, where the defects associated with the rails and catenary are the most significant (30% and 50% respectively). Other major maintenance costs relate to vehicle equipment such as the wheelset and pantograph (typically between 30%-50% and 5%-10% of the overall vehicle’s maintenance cost respectively). These figures are similar for all the infrastructure managers (IMs) and train operating companies (TOCs), which in total accounts for 330 organizations in the EU and 1500 organisations worldwide, therefore incurring over 8 billion Euros in recurrent expenses in the EU.

SIA project (System for vehicle-infrastructure Interaction Assets health status monitoring) has been funded by EUSPA since 2018 with the objective of developing four ready-to-use new services, to provide prognostic information about the health status of railways’ most demanding assets in terms of maintenance costs, at the points of the interaction between the vehicle and the infrastructure (wheelset, pantograph, rail, and catenary).

iCatMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors. The service provides information about the status of the overhead line (e.g. geometry of the Overhead Contact Wire - OCW).

iPantMon is intended for TOCs, providing information about the status of the pantograph during its interaction with the OCW (e.g. contact dynamics).

iWheelMon is also intended for TOCs, this service provides information about the health status of the wheelset (e.g. wheel diameter, out-of-roundness).

iRailMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors, the service provides information about defects on the rails (e.g. short-wave irregularities).

To enable these services, a modular system with all of the required components from vehicle sensor networks to KPI visualization for the end user has been developed. The value proposition of SIA is to develop these components in the most cost-effective way, i.e. with the use of cost-effective sensors and systems. 

The SIA components include a sub-system for the recording of axle-box acceleration (ABA) data that can be related to defects in the track and wheelset. Another sub-system includes sensors that provide signals to characterize the interaction between the pantograph and catenary. EGNSS- based localization is performed, with real time processing of GNSS signals in multiple frequency bands including Galileo and map-supported refinement using Kalman filter methods in the back-office. A central datahub provides the onboard data management and communicates with the back-office part of SIA, for instance, to send events or detections in the monitoring data. The axle-box acceleration and pantograph data enriched with position information are further processed using component degradation models and analysis algorithms in the back-office. Finally, relevant asset key performance indicators (KPI) are displayed to the user in the visualization platform, with a rich functionality to illustrate the asset status and its evolution using different capabilities. 

To validate the results, pilot tests have been carried out since October 2020 in three different scenarios: one of them coordinated by OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen), the Austrian operator, using both inspection vehicles and regular in-service trains throughout Austrian rail network; another scenario coordinated by VIAS, a Spanish maintenance subcontractor, using for the installation of the system a maintenance vehicle circulating over Madrid-Córdoba high-speed line; and the third scenario was coordinated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Spanish regional TOC, using regular in-service trains throughout its whole network.

The results obtained so far are very promising. The aim is to validate the use of low-cost on-board systems to assess the health status of infrastructure and vehicle assets using the four developed services. Part of this success is due to the use of digital twins and AI technologies to extract health related KPIs. Some of the activities within the project contributed to the creation of a tech startup (MainRail Solutions), dedicated to the management of railway infrastructure. This start-up, created by Ceit and Inycom (linked third party of INGECONTROL) in 2020, has initiated its activities by deploying its first commercial references, e.g. tranvía Zaragoza (Spain)  and SFM (Mallorca Railways, Spain) and PoC (Proof of Concept) pilots with other TOCs and IMs in Spain.

The implementation of the SIA system in regular service trains will enable a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance, while keeping the required levels of safety and service availability. The low-cost nature of the on-board equipment and the capabilities brought by the new services can potentially lead to reductions of 10% in the cost of the maintenance associated to the infrastructure’s assets, thanks to a reduction of unscheduled actions and MTTR (Mean Time To React).

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

• 1. Using analytics to get European rail maintenance on track, McKinsey & Company, 2020

Space based services will help reduce 15% of railway maintenance costs, 25% of maintenance unscheduled events and 15% of derailments associated with the rail-wheel interface. To tackle this challenge, the SIA consortium brings together multidisciplinary and cross sector partners (EGNSS technology providers, research centres, IT companies and railway stakeholders) that will co-design EGNSS solutions truly adapted to the needs of the rail sector.

Railway infrastructure and vehicle maintenance are estimated to cost over 25 billion Euros per year in Europe, and this figure is rising1 . The distribution of maintenance expenses varies in different countries and organizations. However, in relation to the railway infrastructure, track expenses represent between 40%-70% of the operational expenses, where the defects associated with the rails and catenary are the most significant (30% and 50% respectively). Other major maintenance costs relate to vehicle equipment such as the wheelset and pantograph (typically between 30%-50% and 5%-10% of the overall vehicle’s maintenance cost respectively). These figures are similar for all the infrastructure managers (IMs) and train operating companies (TOCs), which in total accounts for 330 organizations in the EU and 1500 organisations worldwide, therefore incurring over 8 billion Euros in recurrent expenses in the EU.

SIA project (System for vehicle-infrastructure Interaction Assets health status monitoring) has been funded by EUSPA since 2018 with the objective of developing four ready-to-use new services, to provide prognostic information about the health status of railways’ most demanding assets in terms of maintenance costs, at the points of the interaction between the vehicle and the infrastructure (wheelset, pantograph, rail, and catenary).

iCatMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors. The service provides information about the status of the overhead line (e.g. geometry of the Overhead Contact Wire - OCW).

iPantMon is intended for TOCs, providing information about the status of the pantograph during its interaction with the OCW (e.g. contact dynamics).

iWheelMon is also intended for TOCs, this service provides information about the health status of the wheelset (e.g. wheel diameter, out-of-roundness).

iRailMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors, the service provides information about defects on the rails (e.g. short-wave irregularities).

To enable these services, a modular system with all of the required components from vehicle sensor networks to KPI visualization for the end user has been developed. The value proposition of SIA is to develop these components in the most cost-effective way, i.e. with the use of cost-effective sensors and systems. 

The SIA components include a sub-system for the recording of axle-box acceleration (ABA) data that can be related to defects in the track and wheelset. Another sub-system includes sensors that provide signals to characterize the interaction between the pantograph and catenary. EGNSS- based localization is performed, with real time processing of GNSS signals in multiple frequency bands including Galileo and map-supported refinement using Kalman filter methods in the back-office. A central datahub provides the onboard data management and communicates with the back-office part of SIA, for instance, to send events or detections in the monitoring data. The axle-box acceleration and pantograph data enriched with position information are further processed using component degradation models and analysis algorithms in the back-office. Finally, relevant asset key performance indicators (KPI) are displayed to the user in the visualization platform, with a rich functionality to illustrate the asset status and its evolution using different capabilities. 

To validate the results, pilot tests have been carried out since October 2020 in three different scenarios: one of them coordinated by OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen), the Austrian operator, using both inspection vehicles and regular in-service trains throughout Austrian rail network; another scenario coordinated by VIAS, a Spanish maintenance subcontractor, using for the installation of the system a maintenance vehicle circulating over Madrid-Córdoba high-speed line; and the third scenario was coordinated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Spanish regional TOC, using regular in-service trains throughout its whole network.

The results obtained so far are very promising. The aim is to validate the use of low-cost on-board systems to assess the health status of infrastructure and vehicle assets using the four developed services. Part of this success is due to the use of digital twins and AI technologies to extract health related KPIs. Some of the activities within the project contributed to the creation of a tech startup (MainRail Solutions), dedicated to the management of railway infrastructure. This start-up, created by Ceit and Inycom (linked third party of INGECONTROL) in 2020, has initiated its activities by deploying its first commercial references, e.g. tranvía Zaragoza (Spain)  and SFM (Mallorca Railways, Spain) and PoC (Proof of Concept) pilots with other TOCs and IMs in Spain.

The implementation of the SIA system in regular service trains will enable a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance, while keeping the required levels of safety and service availability. The low-cost nature of the on-board equipment and the capabilities brought by the new services can potentially lead to reductions of 10% in the cost of the maintenance associated to the infrastructure’s assets, thanks to a reduction of unscheduled actions and MTTR (Mean Time To React).

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

• 1. Using analytics to get European rail maintenance on track, McKinsey & Company, 2020

Space based services will help reduce 15% of railway maintenance costs, 25% of maintenance unscheduled events and 15% of derailments associated with the rail-wheel interface. To tackle this challenge, the SIA consortium brings together multidisciplinary and cross sector partners (EGNSS technology providers, research centres, IT companies and railway stakeholders) that will co-design EGNSS solutions truly adapted to the needs of the rail sector.

Railway infrastructure and vehicle maintenance are estimated to cost over 25 billion Euros per year in Europe, and this figure is rising1 . The distribution of maintenance expenses varies in different countries and organizations. However, in relation to the railway infrastructure, track expenses represent between 40%-70% of the operational expenses, where the defects associated with the rails and catenary are the most significant (30% and 50% respectively). Other major maintenance costs relate to vehicle equipment such as the wheelset and pantograph (typically between 30%-50% and 5%-10% of the overall vehicle’s maintenance cost respectively). These figures are similar for all the infrastructure managers (IMs) and train operating companies (TOCs), which in total accounts for 330 organizations in the EU and 1500 organisations worldwide, therefore incurring over 8 billion Euros in recurrent expenses in the EU.

SIA project (System for vehicle-infrastructure Interaction Assets health status monitoring) has been funded by EUSPA since 2018 with the objective of developing four ready-to-use new services, to provide prognostic information about the health status of railways’ most demanding assets in terms of maintenance costs, at the points of the interaction between the vehicle and the infrastructure (wheelset, pantograph, rail, and catenary).

iCatMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors. The service provides information about the status of the overhead line (e.g. geometry of the Overhead Contact Wire - OCW).

iPantMon is intended for TOCs, providing information about the status of the pantograph during its interaction with the OCW (e.g. contact dynamics).

iWheelMon is also intended for TOCs, this service provides information about the health status of the wheelset (e.g. wheel diameter, out-of-roundness).

iRailMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors, the service provides information about defects on the rails (e.g. short-wave irregularities).

To enable these services, a modular system with all of the required components from vehicle sensor networks to KPI visualization for the end user has been developed. The value proposition of SIA is to develop these components in the most cost-effective way, i.e. with the use of cost-effective sensors and systems. 

The SIA components include a sub-system for the recording of axle-box acceleration (ABA) data that can be related to defects in the track and wheelset. Another sub-system includes sensors that provide signals to characterize the interaction between the pantograph and catenary. EGNSS- based localization is performed, with real time processing of GNSS signals in multiple frequency bands including Galileo and map-supported refinement using Kalman filter methods in the back-office. A central datahub provides the onboard data management and communicates with the back-office part of SIA, for instance, to send events or detections in the monitoring data. The axle-box acceleration and pantograph data enriched with position information are further processed using component degradation models and analysis algorithms in the back-office. Finally, relevant asset key performance indicators (KPI) are displayed to the user in the visualization platform, with a rich functionality to illustrate the asset status and its evolution using different capabilities. 

To validate the results, pilot tests have been carried out since October 2020 in three different scenarios: one of them coordinated by OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen), the Austrian operator, using both inspection vehicles and regular in-service trains throughout Austrian rail network; another scenario coordinated by VIAS, a Spanish maintenance subcontractor, using for the installation of the system a maintenance vehicle circulating over Madrid-Córdoba high-speed line; and the third scenario was coordinated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Spanish regional TOC, using regular in-service trains throughout its whole network.

The results obtained so far are very promising. The aim is to validate the use of low-cost on-board systems to assess the health status of infrastructure and vehicle assets using the four developed services. Part of this success is due to the use of digital twins and AI technologies to extract health related KPIs. Some of the activities within the project contributed to the creation of a tech startup (MainRail Solutions), dedicated to the management of railway infrastructure. This start-up, created by Ceit and Inycom (linked third party of INGECONTROL) in 2020, has initiated its activities by deploying its first commercial references, e.g. tranvía Zaragoza (Spain)  and SFM (Mallorca Railways, Spain) and PoC (Proof of Concept) pilots with other TOCs and IMs in Spain.

The implementation of the SIA system in regular service trains will enable a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance, while keeping the required levels of safety and service availability. The low-cost nature of the on-board equipment and the capabilities brought by the new services can potentially lead to reductions of 10% in the cost of the maintenance associated to the infrastructure’s assets, thanks to a reduction of unscheduled actions and MTTR (Mean Time To React).

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

• 1. Using analytics to get European rail maintenance on track, McKinsey & Company, 2020

Space based services will help reduce 15% of railway maintenance costs, 25% of maintenance unscheduled events and 15% of derailments associated with the rail-wheel interface. To tackle this challenge, the SIA consortium brings together multidisciplinary and cross sector partners (EGNSS technology providers, research centres, IT companies and railway stakeholders) that will co-design EGNSS solutions truly adapted to the needs of the rail sector.

Railway infrastructure and vehicle maintenance are estimated to cost over 25 billion Euros per year in Europe, and this figure is rising1 . The distribution of maintenance expenses varies in different countries and organizations. However, in relation to the railway infrastructure, track expenses represent between 40%-70% of the operational expenses, where the defects associated with the rails and catenary are the most significant (30% and 50% respectively). Other major maintenance costs relate to vehicle equipment such as the wheelset and pantograph (typically between 30%-50% and 5%-10% of the overall vehicle’s maintenance cost respectively). These figures are similar for all the infrastructure managers (IMs) and train operating companies (TOCs), which in total accounts for 330 organizations in the EU and 1500 organisations worldwide, therefore incurring over 8 billion Euros in recurrent expenses in the EU.

SIA project (System for vehicle-infrastructure Interaction Assets health status monitoring) has been funded by EUSPA since 2018 with the objective of developing four ready-to-use new services, to provide prognostic information about the health status of railways’ most demanding assets in terms of maintenance costs, at the points of the interaction between the vehicle and the infrastructure (wheelset, pantograph, rail, and catenary).

iCatMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors. The service provides information about the status of the overhead line (e.g. geometry of the Overhead Contact Wire - OCW).

iPantMon is intended for TOCs, providing information about the status of the pantograph during its interaction with the OCW (e.g. contact dynamics).

iWheelMon is also intended for TOCs, this service provides information about the health status of the wheelset (e.g. wheel diameter, out-of-roundness).

iRailMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors, the service provides information about defects on the rails (e.g. short-wave irregularities).

To enable these services, a modular system with all of the required components from vehicle sensor networks to KPI visualization for the end user has been developed. The value proposition of SIA is to develop these components in the most cost-effective way, i.e. with the use of cost-effective sensors and systems. 

The SIA components include a sub-system for the recording of axle-box acceleration (ABA) data that can be related to defects in the track and wheelset. Another sub-system includes sensors that provide signals to characterize the interaction between the pantograph and catenary. EGNSS- based localization is performed, with real time processing of GNSS signals in multiple frequency bands including Galileo and map-supported refinement using Kalman filter methods in the back-office. A central datahub provides the onboard data management and communicates with the back-office part of SIA, for instance, to send events or detections in the monitoring data. The axle-box acceleration and pantograph data enriched with position information are further processed using component degradation models and analysis algorithms in the back-office. Finally, relevant asset key performance indicators (KPI) are displayed to the user in the visualization platform, with a rich functionality to illustrate the asset status and its evolution using different capabilities. 

To validate the results, pilot tests have been carried out since October 2020 in three different scenarios: one of them coordinated by OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen), the Austrian operator, using both inspection vehicles and regular in-service trains throughout Austrian rail network; another scenario coordinated by VIAS, a Spanish maintenance subcontractor, using for the installation of the system a maintenance vehicle circulating over Madrid-Córdoba high-speed line; and the third scenario was coordinated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Spanish regional TOC, using regular in-service trains throughout its whole network.

The results obtained so far are very promising. The aim is to validate the use of low-cost on-board systems to assess the health status of infrastructure and vehicle assets using the four developed services. Part of this success is due to the use of digital twins and AI technologies to extract health related KPIs. Some of the activities within the project contributed to the creation of a tech startup (MainRail Solutions), dedicated to the management of railway infrastructure. This start-up, created by Ceit and Inycom (linked third party of INGECONTROL) in 2020, has initiated its activities by deploying its first commercial references, e.g. tranvía Zaragoza (Spain)  and SFM (Mallorca Railways, Spain) and PoC (Proof of Concept) pilots with other TOCs and IMs in Spain.

The implementation of the SIA system in regular service trains will enable a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance, while keeping the required levels of safety and service availability. The low-cost nature of the on-board equipment and the capabilities brought by the new services can potentially lead to reductions of 10% in the cost of the maintenance associated to the infrastructure’s assets, thanks to a reduction of unscheduled actions and MTTR (Mean Time To React).

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

• 1. Using analytics to get European rail maintenance on track, McKinsey & Company, 2020

Space based services will help reduce 15% of railway maintenance costs, 25% of maintenance unscheduled events and 15% of derailments associated with the rail-wheel interface. To tackle this challenge, the SIA consortium brings together multidisciplinary and cross sector partners (EGNSS technology providers, research centres, IT companies and railway stakeholders) that will co-design EGNSS solutions truly adapted to the needs of the rail sector.

Railway infrastructure and vehicle maintenance are estimated to cost over 25 billion Euros per year in Europe, and this figure is rising1 . The distribution of maintenance expenses varies in different countries and organizations. However, in relation to the railway infrastructure, track expenses represent between 40%-70% of the operational expenses, where the defects associated with the rails and catenary are the most significant (30% and 50% respectively). Other major maintenance costs relate to vehicle equipment such as the wheelset and pantograph (typically between 30%-50% and 5%-10% of the overall vehicle’s maintenance cost respectively). These figures are similar for all the infrastructure managers (IMs) and train operating companies (TOCs), which in total accounts for 330 organizations in the EU and 1500 organisations worldwide, therefore incurring over 8 billion Euros in recurrent expenses in the EU.

SIA project (System for vehicle-infrastructure Interaction Assets health status monitoring) has been funded by EUSPA since 2018 with the objective of developing four ready-to-use new services, to provide prognostic information about the health status of railways’ most demanding assets in terms of maintenance costs, at the points of the interaction between the vehicle and the infrastructure (wheelset, pantograph, rail, and catenary).

iCatMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors. The service provides information about the status of the overhead line (e.g. geometry of the Overhead Contact Wire - OCW).

iPantMon is intended for TOCs, providing information about the status of the pantograph during its interaction with the OCW (e.g. contact dynamics).

iWheelMon is also intended for TOCs, this service provides information about the health status of the wheelset (e.g. wheel diameter, out-of-roundness).

iRailMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors, the service provides information about defects on the rails (e.g. short-wave irregularities).

To enable these services, a modular system with all of the required components from vehicle sensor networks to KPI visualization for the end user has been developed. The value proposition of SIA is to develop these components in the most cost-effective way, i.e. with the use of cost-effective sensors and systems. 

The SIA components include a sub-system for the recording of axle-box acceleration (ABA) data that can be related to defects in the track and wheelset. Another sub-system includes sensors that provide signals to characterize the interaction between the pantograph and catenary. EGNSS- based localization is performed, with real time processing of GNSS signals in multiple frequency bands including Galileo and map-supported refinement using Kalman filter methods in the back-office. A central datahub provides the onboard data management and communicates with the back-office part of SIA, for instance, to send events or detections in the monitoring data. The axle-box acceleration and pantograph data enriched with position information are further processed using component degradation models and analysis algorithms in the back-office. Finally, relevant asset key performance indicators (KPI) are displayed to the user in the visualization platform, with a rich functionality to illustrate the asset status and its evolution using different capabilities. 

To validate the results, pilot tests have been carried out since October 2020 in three different scenarios: one of them coordinated by OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen), the Austrian operator, using both inspection vehicles and regular in-service trains throughout Austrian rail network; another scenario coordinated by VIAS, a Spanish maintenance subcontractor, using for the installation of the system a maintenance vehicle circulating over Madrid-Córdoba high-speed line; and the third scenario was coordinated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Spanish regional TOC, using regular in-service trains throughout its whole network.

The results obtained so far are very promising. The aim is to validate the use of low-cost on-board systems to assess the health status of infrastructure and vehicle assets using the four developed services. Part of this success is due to the use of digital twins and AI technologies to extract health related KPIs. Some of the activities within the project contributed to the creation of a tech startup (MainRail Solutions), dedicated to the management of railway infrastructure. This start-up, created by Ceit and Inycom (linked third party of INGECONTROL) in 2020, has initiated its activities by deploying its first commercial references, e.g. tranvía Zaragoza (Spain)  and SFM (Mallorca Railways, Spain) and PoC (Proof of Concept) pilots with other TOCs and IMs in Spain.

The implementation of the SIA system in regular service trains will enable a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance, while keeping the required levels of safety and service availability. The low-cost nature of the on-board equipment and the capabilities brought by the new services can potentially lead to reductions of 10% in the cost of the maintenance associated to the infrastructure’s assets, thanks to a reduction of unscheduled actions and MTTR (Mean Time To React).

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

• 1. Using analytics to get European rail maintenance on track, McKinsey & Company, 2020

Space based services will help reduce 15% of railway maintenance costs, 25% of maintenance unscheduled events and 15% of derailments associated with the rail-wheel interface. To tackle this challenge, the SIA consortium brings together multidisciplinary and cross sector partners (EGNSS technology providers, research centres, IT companies and railway stakeholders) that will co-design EGNSS solutions truly adapted to the needs of the rail sector.

Railway infrastructure and vehicle maintenance are estimated to cost over 25 billion Euros per year in Europe, and this figure is rising1 . The distribution of maintenance expenses varies in different countries and organizations. However, in relation to the railway infrastructure, track expenses represent between 40%-70% of the operational expenses, where the defects associated with the rails and catenary are the most significant (30% and 50% respectively). Other major maintenance costs relate to vehicle equipment such as the wheelset and pantograph (typically between 30%-50% and 5%-10% of the overall vehicle’s maintenance cost respectively). These figures are similar for all the infrastructure managers (IMs) and train operating companies (TOCs), which in total accounts for 330 organizations in the EU and 1500 organisations worldwide, therefore incurring over 8 billion Euros in recurrent expenses in the EU.

SIA project (System for vehicle-infrastructure Interaction Assets health status monitoring) has been funded by EUSPA since 2018 with the objective of developing four ready-to-use new services, to provide prognostic information about the health status of railways’ most demanding assets in terms of maintenance costs, at the points of the interaction between the vehicle and the infrastructure (wheelset, pantograph, rail, and catenary).

iCatMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors. The service provides information about the status of the overhead line (e.g. geometry of the Overhead Contact Wire - OCW).

iPantMon is intended for TOCs, providing information about the status of the pantograph during its interaction with the OCW (e.g. contact dynamics).

iWheelMon is also intended for TOCs, this service provides information about the health status of the wheelset (e.g. wheel diameter, out-of-roundness).

iRailMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors, the service provides information about defects on the rails (e.g. short-wave irregularities).

To enable these services, a modular system with all of the required components from vehicle sensor networks to KPI visualization for the end user has been developed. The value proposition of SIA is to develop these components in the most cost-effective way, i.e. with the use of cost-effective sensors and systems. 

The SIA components include a sub-system for the recording of axle-box acceleration (ABA) data that can be related to defects in the track and wheelset. Another sub-system includes sensors that provide signals to characterize the interaction between the pantograph and catenary. EGNSS- based localization is performed, with real time processing of GNSS signals in multiple frequency bands including Galileo and map-supported refinement using Kalman filter methods in the back-office. A central datahub provides the onboard data management and communicates with the back-office part of SIA, for instance, to send events or detections in the monitoring data. The axle-box acceleration and pantograph data enriched with position information are further processed using component degradation models and analysis algorithms in the back-office. Finally, relevant asset key performance indicators (KPI) are displayed to the user in the visualization platform, with a rich functionality to illustrate the asset status and its evolution using different capabilities. 

To validate the results, pilot tests have been carried out since October 2020 in three different scenarios: one of them coordinated by OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen), the Austrian operator, using both inspection vehicles and regular in-service trains throughout Austrian rail network; another scenario coordinated by VIAS, a Spanish maintenance subcontractor, using for the installation of the system a maintenance vehicle circulating over Madrid-Córdoba high-speed line; and the third scenario was coordinated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Spanish regional TOC, using regular in-service trains throughout its whole network.

The results obtained so far are very promising. The aim is to validate the use of low-cost on-board systems to assess the health status of infrastructure and vehicle assets using the four developed services. Part of this success is due to the use of digital twins and AI technologies to extract health related KPIs. Some of the activities within the project contributed to the creation of a tech startup (MainRail Solutions), dedicated to the management of railway infrastructure. This start-up, created by Ceit and Inycom (linked third party of INGECONTROL) in 2020, has initiated its activities by deploying its first commercial references, e.g. tranvía Zaragoza (Spain)  and SFM (Mallorca Railways, Spain) and PoC (Proof of Concept) pilots with other TOCs and IMs in Spain.

The implementation of the SIA system in regular service trains will enable a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance, while keeping the required levels of safety and service availability. The low-cost nature of the on-board equipment and the capabilities brought by the new services can potentially lead to reductions of 10% in the cost of the maintenance associated to the infrastructure’s assets, thanks to a reduction of unscheduled actions and MTTR (Mean Time To React).

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

• 1. Using analytics to get European rail maintenance on track, McKinsey & Company, 2020

Space based services will help reduce 15% of railway maintenance costs, 25% of maintenance unscheduled events and 15% of derailments associated with the rail-wheel interface. To tackle this challenge, the SIA consortium brings together multidisciplinary and cross sector partners (EGNSS technology providers, research centres, IT companies and railway stakeholders) that will co-design EGNSS solutions truly adapted to the needs of the rail sector.

Railway infrastructure and vehicle maintenance are estimated to cost over 25 billion Euros per year in Europe, and this figure is rising1 . The distribution of maintenance expenses varies in different countries and organizations. However, in relation to the railway infrastructure, track expenses represent between 40%-70% of the operational expenses, where the defects associated with the rails and catenary are the most significant (30% and 50% respectively). Other major maintenance costs relate to vehicle equipment such as the wheelset and pantograph (typically between 30%-50% and 5%-10% of the overall vehicle’s maintenance cost respectively). These figures are similar for all the infrastructure managers (IMs) and train operating companies (TOCs), which in total accounts for 330 organizations in the EU and 1500 organisations worldwide, therefore incurring over 8 billion Euros in recurrent expenses in the EU.

SIA project (System for vehicle-infrastructure Interaction Assets health status monitoring) has been funded by EUSPA since 2018 with the objective of developing four ready-to-use new services, to provide prognostic information about the health status of railways’ most demanding assets in terms of maintenance costs, at the points of the interaction between the vehicle and the infrastructure (wheelset, pantograph, rail, and catenary).

iCatMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors. The service provides information about the status of the overhead line (e.g. geometry of the Overhead Contact Wire - OCW).

iPantMon is intended for TOCs, providing information about the status of the pantograph during its interaction with the OCW (e.g. contact dynamics).

iWheelMon is also intended for TOCs, this service provides information about the health status of the wheelset (e.g. wheel diameter, out-of-roundness).

iRailMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors, the service provides information about defects on the rails (e.g. short-wave irregularities).

To enable these services, a modular system with all of the required components from vehicle sensor networks to KPI visualization for the end user has been developed. The value proposition of SIA is to develop these components in the most cost-effective way, i.e. with the use of cost-effective sensors and systems. 

The SIA components include a sub-system for the recording of axle-box acceleration (ABA) data that can be related to defects in the track and wheelset. Another sub-system includes sensors that provide signals to characterize the interaction between the pantograph and catenary. EGNSS- based localization is performed, with real time processing of GNSS signals in multiple frequency bands including Galileo and map-supported refinement using Kalman filter methods in the back-office. A central datahub provides the onboard data management and communicates with the back-office part of SIA, for instance, to send events or detections in the monitoring data. The axle-box acceleration and pantograph data enriched with position information are further processed using component degradation models and analysis algorithms in the back-office. Finally, relevant asset key performance indicators (KPI) are displayed to the user in the visualization platform, with a rich functionality to illustrate the asset status and its evolution using different capabilities. 

To validate the results, pilot tests have been carried out since October 2020 in three different scenarios: one of them coordinated by OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen), the Austrian operator, using both inspection vehicles and regular in-service trains throughout Austrian rail network; another scenario coordinated by VIAS, a Spanish maintenance subcontractor, using for the installation of the system a maintenance vehicle circulating over Madrid-Córdoba high-speed line; and the third scenario was coordinated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Spanish regional TOC, using regular in-service trains throughout its whole network.

The results obtained so far are very promising. The aim is to validate the use of low-cost on-board systems to assess the health status of infrastructure and vehicle assets using the four developed services. Part of this success is due to the use of digital twins and AI technologies to extract health related KPIs. Some of the activities within the project contributed to the creation of a tech startup (MainRail Solutions), dedicated to the management of railway infrastructure. This start-up, created by Ceit and Inycom (linked third party of INGECONTROL) in 2020, has initiated its activities by deploying its first commercial references, e.g. tranvía Zaragoza (Spain)  and SFM (Mallorca Railways, Spain) and PoC (Proof of Concept) pilots with other TOCs and IMs in Spain.

The implementation of the SIA system in regular service trains will enable a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance, while keeping the required levels of safety and service availability. The low-cost nature of the on-board equipment and the capabilities brought by the new services can potentially lead to reductions of 10% in the cost of the maintenance associated to the infrastructure’s assets, thanks to a reduction of unscheduled actions and MTTR (Mean Time To React).

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

• 1. Using analytics to get European rail maintenance on track, McKinsey & Company, 2020

Space based services will help reduce 15% of railway maintenance costs, 25% of maintenance unscheduled events and 15% of derailments associated with the rail-wheel interface. To tackle this challenge, the SIA consortium brings together multidisciplinary and cross sector partners (EGNSS technology providers, research centres, IT companies and railway stakeholders) that will co-design EGNSS solutions truly adapted to the needs of the rail sector.

Railway infrastructure and vehicle maintenance are estimated to cost over 25 billion Euros per year in Europe, and this figure is rising1 . The distribution of maintenance expenses varies in different countries and organizations. However, in relation to the railway infrastructure, track expenses represent between 40%-70% of the operational expenses, where the defects associated with the rails and catenary are the most significant (30% and 50% respectively). Other major maintenance costs relate to vehicle equipment such as the wheelset and pantograph (typically between 30%-50% and 5%-10% of the overall vehicle’s maintenance cost respectively). These figures are similar for all the infrastructure managers (IMs) and train operating companies (TOCs), which in total accounts for 330 organizations in the EU and 1500 organisations worldwide, therefore incurring over 8 billion Euros in recurrent expenses in the EU.

SIA project (System for vehicle-infrastructure Interaction Assets health status monitoring) has been funded by EUSPA since 2018 with the objective of developing four ready-to-use new services, to provide prognostic information about the health status of railways’ most demanding assets in terms of maintenance costs, at the points of the interaction between the vehicle and the infrastructure (wheelset, pantograph, rail, and catenary).

iCatMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors. The service provides information about the status of the overhead line (e.g. geometry of the Overhead Contact Wire - OCW).

iPantMon is intended for TOCs, providing information about the status of the pantograph during its interaction with the OCW (e.g. contact dynamics).

iWheelMon is also intended for TOCs, this service provides information about the health status of the wheelset (e.g. wheel diameter, out-of-roundness).

iRailMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors, the service provides information about defects on the rails (e.g. short-wave irregularities).

To enable these services, a modular system with all of the required components from vehicle sensor networks to KPI visualization for the end user has been developed. The value proposition of SIA is to develop these components in the most cost-effective way, i.e. with the use of cost-effective sensors and systems. 

The SIA components include a sub-system for the recording of axle-box acceleration (ABA) data that can be related to defects in the track and wheelset. Another sub-system includes sensors that provide signals to characterize the interaction between the pantograph and catenary. EGNSS- based localization is performed, with real time processing of GNSS signals in multiple frequency bands including Galileo and map-supported refinement using Kalman filter methods in the back-office. A central datahub provides the onboard data management and communicates with the back-office part of SIA, for instance, to send events or detections in the monitoring data. The axle-box acceleration and pantograph data enriched with position information are further processed using component degradation models and analysis algorithms in the back-office. Finally, relevant asset key performance indicators (KPI) are displayed to the user in the visualization platform, with a rich functionality to illustrate the asset status and its evolution using different capabilities. 

To validate the results, pilot tests have been carried out since October 2020 in three different scenarios: one of them coordinated by OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen), the Austrian operator, using both inspection vehicles and regular in-service trains throughout Austrian rail network; another scenario coordinated by VIAS, a Spanish maintenance subcontractor, using for the installation of the system a maintenance vehicle circulating over Madrid-Córdoba high-speed line; and the third scenario was coordinated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Spanish regional TOC, using regular in-service trains throughout its whole network.

The results obtained so far are very promising. The aim is to validate the use of low-cost on-board systems to assess the health status of infrastructure and vehicle assets using the four developed services. Part of this success is due to the use of digital twins and AI technologies to extract health related KPIs. Some of the activities within the project contributed to the creation of a tech startup (MainRail Solutions), dedicated to the management of railway infrastructure. This start-up, created by Ceit and Inycom (linked third party of INGECONTROL) in 2020, has initiated its activities by deploying its first commercial references, e.g. tranvía Zaragoza (Spain)  and SFM (Mallorca Railways, Spain) and PoC (Proof of Concept) pilots with other TOCs and IMs in Spain.

The implementation of the SIA system in regular service trains will enable a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance, while keeping the required levels of safety and service availability. The low-cost nature of the on-board equipment and the capabilities brought by the new services can potentially lead to reductions of 10% in the cost of the maintenance associated to the infrastructure’s assets, thanks to a reduction of unscheduled actions and MTTR (Mean Time To React).

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

• 1. Using analytics to get European rail maintenance on track, McKinsey & Company, 2020

Space based services will help reduce 15% of railway maintenance costs, 25% of maintenance unscheduled events and 15% of derailments associated with the rail-wheel interface. To tackle this challenge, the SIA consortium brings together multidisciplinary and cross sector partners (EGNSS technology providers, research centres, IT companies and railway stakeholders) that will co-design EGNSS solutions truly adapted to the needs of the rail sector.

Railway infrastructure and vehicle maintenance are estimated to cost over 25 billion Euros per year in Europe, and this figure is rising1 . The distribution of maintenance expenses varies in different countries and organizations. However, in relation to the railway infrastructure, track expenses represent between 40%-70% of the operational expenses, where the defects associated with the rails and catenary are the most significant (30% and 50% respectively). Other major maintenance costs relate to vehicle equipment such as the wheelset and pantograph (typically between 30%-50% and 5%-10% of the overall vehicle’s maintenance cost respectively). These figures are similar for all the infrastructure managers (IMs) and train operating companies (TOCs), which in total accounts for 330 organizations in the EU and 1500 organisations worldwide, therefore incurring over 8 billion Euros in recurrent expenses in the EU.

SIA project (System for vehicle-infrastructure Interaction Assets health status monitoring) has been funded by EUSPA since 2018 with the objective of developing four ready-to-use new services, to provide prognostic information about the health status of railways’ most demanding assets in terms of maintenance costs, at the points of the interaction between the vehicle and the infrastructure (wheelset, pantograph, rail, and catenary).

iCatMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors. The service provides information about the status of the overhead line (e.g. geometry of the Overhead Contact Wire - OCW).

iPantMon is intended for TOCs, providing information about the status of the pantograph during its interaction with the OCW (e.g. contact dynamics).

iWheelMon is also intended for TOCs, this service provides information about the health status of the wheelset (e.g. wheel diameter, out-of-roundness).

iRailMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors, the service provides information about defects on the rails (e.g. short-wave irregularities).

To enable these services, a modular system with all of the required components from vehicle sensor networks to KPI visualization for the end user has been developed. The value proposition of SIA is to develop these components in the most cost-effective way, i.e. with the use of cost-effective sensors and systems. 

The SIA components include a sub-system for the recording of axle-box acceleration (ABA) data that can be related to defects in the track and wheelset. Another sub-system includes sensors that provide signals to characterize the interaction between the pantograph and catenary. EGNSS- based localization is performed, with real time processing of GNSS signals in multiple frequency bands including Galileo and map-supported refinement using Kalman filter methods in the back-office. A central datahub provides the onboard data management and communicates with the back-office part of SIA, for instance, to send events or detections in the monitoring data. The axle-box acceleration and pantograph data enriched with position information are further processed using component degradation models and analysis algorithms in the back-office. Finally, relevant asset key performance indicators (KPI) are displayed to the user in the visualization platform, with a rich functionality to illustrate the asset status and its evolution using different capabilities. 

To validate the results, pilot tests have been carried out since October 2020 in three different scenarios: one of them coordinated by OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen), the Austrian operator, using both inspection vehicles and regular in-service trains throughout Austrian rail network; another scenario coordinated by VIAS, a Spanish maintenance subcontractor, using for the installation of the system a maintenance vehicle circulating over Madrid-Córdoba high-speed line; and the third scenario was coordinated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Spanish regional TOC, using regular in-service trains throughout its whole network.

The results obtained so far are very promising. The aim is to validate the use of low-cost on-board systems to assess the health status of infrastructure and vehicle assets using the four developed services. Part of this success is due to the use of digital twins and AI technologies to extract health related KPIs. Some of the activities within the project contributed to the creation of a tech startup (MainRail Solutions), dedicated to the management of railway infrastructure. This start-up, created by Ceit and Inycom (linked third party of INGECONTROL) in 2020, has initiated its activities by deploying its first commercial references, e.g. tranvía Zaragoza (Spain)  and SFM (Mallorca Railways, Spain) and PoC (Proof of Concept) pilots with other TOCs and IMs in Spain.

The implementation of the SIA system in regular service trains will enable a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance, while keeping the required levels of safety and service availability. The low-cost nature of the on-board equipment and the capabilities brought by the new services can potentially lead to reductions of 10% in the cost of the maintenance associated to the infrastructure’s assets, thanks to a reduction of unscheduled actions and MTTR (Mean Time To React).

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

• 1. Using analytics to get European rail maintenance on track, McKinsey & Company, 2020

Space based services will help reduce 15% of railway maintenance costs, 25% of maintenance unscheduled events and 15% of derailments associated with the rail-wheel interface. To tackle this challenge, the SIA consortium brings together multidisciplinary and cross sector partners (EGNSS technology providers, research centres, IT companies and railway stakeholders) that will co-design EGNSS solutions truly adapted to the needs of the rail sector.

Railway infrastructure and vehicle maintenance are estimated to cost over 25 billion Euros per year in Europe, and this figure is rising1 . The distribution of maintenance expenses varies in different countries and organizations. However, in relation to the railway infrastructure, track expenses represent between 40%-70% of the operational expenses, where the defects associated with the rails and catenary are the most significant (30% and 50% respectively). Other major maintenance costs relate to vehicle equipment such as the wheelset and pantograph (typically between 30%-50% and 5%-10% of the overall vehicle’s maintenance cost respectively). These figures are similar for all the infrastructure managers (IMs) and train operating companies (TOCs), which in total accounts for 330 organizations in the EU and 1500 organisations worldwide, therefore incurring over 8 billion Euros in recurrent expenses in the EU.

SIA project (System for vehicle-infrastructure Interaction Assets health status monitoring) has been funded by EUSPA since 2018 with the objective of developing four ready-to-use new services, to provide prognostic information about the health status of railways’ most demanding assets in terms of maintenance costs, at the points of the interaction between the vehicle and the infrastructure (wheelset, pantograph, rail, and catenary).

iCatMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors. The service provides information about the status of the overhead line (e.g. geometry of the Overhead Contact Wire - OCW).

iPantMon is intended for TOCs, providing information about the status of the pantograph during its interaction with the OCW (e.g. contact dynamics).

iWheelMon is also intended for TOCs, this service provides information about the health status of the wheelset (e.g. wheel diameter, out-of-roundness).

iRailMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors, the service provides information about defects on the rails (e.g. short-wave irregularities).

To enable these services, a modular system with all of the required components from vehicle sensor networks to KPI visualization for the end user has been developed. The value proposition of SIA is to develop these components in the most cost-effective way, i.e. with the use of cost-effective sensors and systems. 

The SIA components include a sub-system for the recording of axle-box acceleration (ABA) data that can be related to defects in the track and wheelset. Another sub-system includes sensors that provide signals to characterize the interaction between the pantograph and catenary. EGNSS- based localization is performed, with real time processing of GNSS signals in multiple frequency bands including Galileo and map-supported refinement using Kalman filter methods in the back-office. A central datahub provides the onboard data management and communicates with the back-office part of SIA, for instance, to send events or detections in the monitoring data. The axle-box acceleration and pantograph data enriched with position information are further processed using component degradation models and analysis algorithms in the back-office. Finally, relevant asset key performance indicators (KPI) are displayed to the user in the visualization platform, with a rich functionality to illustrate the asset status and its evolution using different capabilities. 

To validate the results, pilot tests have been carried out since October 2020 in three different scenarios: one of them coordinated by OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen), the Austrian operator, using both inspection vehicles and regular in-service trains throughout Austrian rail network; another scenario coordinated by VIAS, a Spanish maintenance subcontractor, using for the installation of the system a maintenance vehicle circulating over Madrid-Córdoba high-speed line; and the third scenario was coordinated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Spanish regional TOC, using regular in-service trains throughout its whole network.

The results obtained so far are very promising. The aim is to validate the use of low-cost on-board systems to assess the health status of infrastructure and vehicle assets using the four developed services. Part of this success is due to the use of digital twins and AI technologies to extract health related KPIs. Some of the activities within the project contributed to the creation of a tech startup (MainRail Solutions), dedicated to the management of railway infrastructure. This start-up, created by Ceit and Inycom (linked third party of INGECONTROL) in 2020, has initiated its activities by deploying its first commercial references, e.g. tranvía Zaragoza (Spain)  and SFM (Mallorca Railways, Spain) and PoC (Proof of Concept) pilots with other TOCs and IMs in Spain.

The implementation of the SIA system in regular service trains will enable a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance, while keeping the required levels of safety and service availability. The low-cost nature of the on-board equipment and the capabilities brought by the new services can potentially lead to reductions of 10% in the cost of the maintenance associated to the infrastructure’s assets, thanks to a reduction of unscheduled actions and MTTR (Mean Time To React).

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

• 1. Using analytics to get European rail maintenance on track, McKinsey & Company, 2020

Space based services will help reduce 15% of railway maintenance costs, 25% of maintenance unscheduled events and 15% of derailments associated with the rail-wheel interface. To tackle this challenge, the SIA consortium brings together multidisciplinary and cross sector partners (EGNSS technology providers, research centres, IT companies and railway stakeholders) that will co-design EGNSS solutions truly adapted to the needs of the rail sector.

Railway infrastructure and vehicle maintenance are estimated to cost over 25 billion Euros per year in Europe, and this figure is rising1 . The distribution of maintenance expenses varies in different countries and organizations. However, in relation to the railway infrastructure, track expenses represent between 40%-70% of the operational expenses, where the defects associated with the rails and catenary are the most significant (30% and 50% respectively). Other major maintenance costs relate to vehicle equipment such as the wheelset and pantograph (typically between 30%-50% and 5%-10% of the overall vehicle’s maintenance cost respectively). These figures are similar for all the infrastructure managers (IMs) and train operating companies (TOCs), which in total accounts for 330 organizations in the EU and 1500 organisations worldwide, therefore incurring over 8 billion Euros in recurrent expenses in the EU.

SIA project (System for vehicle-infrastructure Interaction Assets health status monitoring) has been funded by EUSPA since 2018 with the objective of developing four ready-to-use new services, to provide prognostic information about the health status of railways’ most demanding assets in terms of maintenance costs, at the points of the interaction between the vehicle and the infrastructure (wheelset, pantograph, rail, and catenary).

iCatMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors. The service provides information about the status of the overhead line (e.g. geometry of the Overhead Contact Wire - OCW).

iPantMon is intended for TOCs, providing information about the status of the pantograph during its interaction with the OCW (e.g. contact dynamics).

iWheelMon is also intended for TOCs, this service provides information about the health status of the wheelset (e.g. wheel diameter, out-of-roundness).

iRailMon is a service oriented towards IMs and maintenance subcontractors, the service provides information about defects on the rails (e.g. short-wave irregularities).

To enable these services, a modular system with all of the required components from vehicle sensor networks to KPI visualization for the end user has been developed. The value proposition of SIA is to develop these components in the most cost-effective way, i.e. with the use of cost-effective sensors and systems. 

The SIA components include a sub-system for the recording of axle-box acceleration (ABA) data that can be related to defects in the track and wheelset. Another sub-system includes sensors that provide signals to characterize the interaction between the pantograph and catenary. EGNSS- based localization is performed, with real time processing of GNSS signals in multiple frequency bands including Galileo and map-supported refinement using Kalman filter methods in the back-office. A central datahub provides the onboard data management and communicates with the back-office part of SIA, for instance, to send events or detections in the monitoring data. The axle-box acceleration and pantograph data enriched with position information are further processed using component degradation models and analysis algorithms in the back-office. Finally, relevant asset key performance indicators (KPI) are displayed to the user in the visualization platform, with a rich functionality to illustrate the asset status and its evolution using different capabilities. 

To validate the results, pilot tests have been carried out since October 2020 in three different scenarios: one of them coordinated by OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen), the Austrian operator, using both inspection vehicles and regular in-service trains throughout Austrian rail network; another scenario coordinated by VIAS, a Spanish maintenance subcontractor, using for the installation of the system a maintenance vehicle circulating over Madrid-Córdoba high-speed line; and the third scenario was coordinated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Spanish regional TOC, using regular in-service trains throughout its whole network.

The results obtained so far are very promising. The aim is to validate the use of low-cost on-board systems to assess the health status of infrastructure and vehicle assets using the four developed services. Part of this success is due to the use of digital twins and AI technologies to extract health related KPIs. Some of the activities within the project contributed to the creation of a tech startup (MainRail Solutions), dedicated to the management of railway infrastructure. This start-up, created by Ceit and Inycom (linked third party of INGECONTROL) in 2020, has initiated its activities by deploying its first commercial references, e.g. tranvía Zaragoza (Spain)  and SFM (Mallorca Railways, Spain) and PoC (Proof of Concept) pilots with other TOCs and IMs in Spain.

The implementation of the SIA system in regular service trains will enable a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance, while keeping the required levels of safety and service availability. The low-cost nature of the on-board equipment and the capabilities brought by the new services can potentially lead to reductions of 10% in the cost of the maintenance associated to the infrastructure’s assets, thanks to a reduction of unscheduled actions and MTTR (Mean Time To React).

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

• 1. Using analytics to get European rail maintenance on track, McKinsey & Company, 2020