Accidents in tunnels can have particularly disastrous consequences. Rescuing the injured and dealing with breakdowns is considerably more difficult than on open roads. Accidents, fires and excessive carbon monoxide must be detected and dealt with quickly. Siemens Industrial Solutions and Services Group (I&S) offers advanced traffic control solutions and safety and information systems that optimize road safety. Visit www.industry.siemens.com
Tunnel control centre
To enable a rapid, appropriate response to alarms and accidents, all relevant data must be bundled and suitably displayed and action must be initiated. This is where the tunnel control centre acts as the fundamental piece for tunnel control and safety.
Existing tunnel control centres have usually been equipped with widely varying hardware and software designed to conform to local regulations and technical standards. Siemens I&S has developed a control system that integrates a multitude of safety components and control models, enabling communication between proprietary developments and standard industry components. The system brings together traffic guidance and control equipment, safety technology, lighting, ventilation and power supply equipment, emissions measurement, and fire alarm and emergency call systems. Traffic can be controlled either automatically or by active operator intervention. If a fire alarm is activated, for example, the traffic lights at the tunnel entrance automatically switch to red and the tunnel is closed.
Reference projects
With a length of 3,820 metres, the Nefise Akçelik tunnel in Turkey is the country’s longest expressway tunnel. Siemens I&S provided the complete traffic control technology for the project, from a tunnel control centre to traffic guidance systems, power distribution systems, the lighting, ventilation and fire protection equipment, radio systems and camera monitoring equipment with automatic event detection. The tunnel was constructed to cut travel time from one hour (along a 42 km coastal road) to 15 minutes. Its state-of-the-art equipment makes the Nefise Akçelik tunnel one of the world’s most advanced tunnels. An automatic detection system identifies vehicles that have stopped or are moving in the wrong direction, pedestrians, sudden changes in vehicle speed, congestion, extraneous objects on the roadway or smoke, and immediately triggers the alarm systems accordingly. The system also analyzes a multitude of data, such as an increase in the carbon monoxide level, impaired visibility or changes outside the tunnel, and automatically activates defined operating plans to respond to each situation. To ensure a comfortable and safe journey, lighting can be adapted to tunnel conditions and the ventilation system can be controlled.
A wireless communication system enables contact with various public services from within the Nefise Akçelik tunnel. For example, drivers’ attention is quickly drawn to special situations in the tunnel via radio transmitters, providing them with safety and warning information by messages or variable-message signs. General announcements can also be made through 252 loudspeakers in the tunnel. The automation system ensures that the ventilation, lighting and traffic control systems function quickly and reliably in case of a fire. A total of 84 jet fans have been installed and, about every 100 metres, foam fire extinguishers have been provided, along with fire closets, including dry-type fire extinguishers. An additional, water-type fire extinguishing system is supplied from a tank with a capacity of 370 cubic metres that is automatically constantly monitored. The tank is kept filled at maximum level by diesel and jockey pumps.
A further reference project for an integrated traffic control system is scheduled for completion in March 2009 in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. Traffic in the St. Gallen area has been increasing annually by an average of 4% in the last few years and will continue to increase due to the construction of large shopping centres and a new football stadium, creating the necessity for powerful new traffic management systems. More than 600 variable message signs for lane signalling, speed indicators and alarm signals will guide drivers safely along the road and give warning of any hazards that lie ahead. The traffic data will be recorded by distributed equipment before being centrally processed and compressed. The control requirements derived from this procedure will then be passed on to the traffic computer. Five tunnels and 96 display panels will be controlled by the system.
Tunnel radio and emergency call systems
The tunnel radio system distributes signals via the GSM mobile radio network. The advantage of this construction is that in case of fire or damage in a section of the tunnel, an emergency call can be made via radio from the other accessible sections. The system is not impaired by fire or other damage. The emergency call systems function with VoIP technology. They transmit emergency calls made in person from the emergency location as well as system messages and commands such as “Emergency Call Alarm,” “Niche Doors Open” or “Flashing Traffic Light On” that can be given by pressing a button on the emergency call system. The calls are transmitted to the emergency call centre unimpaired by any kind of ambient noise. The emergency call systems from Siemens IT Solutions and Services guarantee good contact with the person seeking help. The voice quality is extremely high.
Reference projects
The Tauern freeway is one of the most important north-south connections in Austria. The Hiefler and Ofenauer tunnels between the Lueg Pass and Golling junctions have a total length of 3,600 metres and are among the oldest freeway tunnels in Austria. In view of the heavy traffic through these tunnels, they have now both been equipped with an advanced tunnel radio system from Siemens I&S and an emergency call system from Siemens IT Solutions and Services.
Fire laser detection
If fire breaks out in a tunnel, there is no time to lose: emergency services must be alerted, the fire must be contained far as possible and the build-up of smoke prevented. This is where modern tunnel systems come in. With the FibroLaser system, Siemens Building Technologies has developed a special fire alarm system for tunnels which pinpoints the location of the flames in the tunnel and automatically sets all the protective systems in motion: emergency calls, extinguishing systems, traffic signals, ventilation and lighting. Visit www.siemens.com/fibrolaser and www.buildingtechnologies.siemens.com
The tunnel is fitted with a sensor cable (Fiber Optic cable). This is divided by means of electronics and a software programme into sections that measure the temperature and transmit the data to a fire alarm centre on the basis of predefined alarm criteria. Measurement proceeds at intervals of a fixed number of seconds. If there is a spontaneous temperature increase of a few degrees, an alarm signal is sent to the tunnel control centre with information about the size, development and direction of the fire.
Reference projects
The Montblanc tunnel between France and Italy has been equipped with the FibroLaser system since the devastating fire in 1999. The system has been installed worldwide in over 1,500 kilometres of tunnel, including the Rennsteig tunnel in Germany, the Kallang-Paya Lebar expressway in Singapore, the San Bernardino tunnel in Switzerland and the Funing tunnel in China.
Safety in railway tunnels
Siemens Transportation Systems contributes significantly to rail safety, outside and inside tunnels. Track vacancy detection equipment and location systems provide information about the location, speed and direction of trains. Electronic interlockings establish route safety and set points, operations control systems in the control centre visualize everything that is happening on a line and help drivers make decisions in unexpected situations. Automatic train control systems calculate the relevant permissible speed and initiate braking and stopping.
Reference projects
This technology is in use high speed trains in the Netherlands. The approximately 100 km rail link from Amsterdam via Rotterdam to the Belgian border has a special feature. Because the line runs almost at sea level, a system for monitoring the flood gates has been integrated into the safety concept along with the systems which recognize unplanned stops or smoke in a tunnel and problems in neighbouring tunnels.
A further reference is the high speed line between Cologne and Frankfurt. Here the line voltage testing equipment helps rescue services such as the fire brigade to make sure before entering the tunnel that the overhead contact line is no longer live and is earthed. They can then go into action without delay or danger to themselves.
In addition, for the Cologne-Bonn airport link, Siemens installed a digitally capable amplifier and antenna system for the BOS radio system and a tunnel radio system. The system facilitates communication with and between the different rescue services in an emergency. 41/07. 
