Thales Rail Signalling Solutions
Encyclopedia
THALES Rail Signalling Solutions Inc. is a subsidiary of THALES Group. TAS supplies transportation automation solutions for railway from its head office in Paris and railway business divisional center in Stuttgart, Germany, Vienna, Austria, and mass transit business divisional center in Toronto, Canada. Their major train control products are: SelTrac
(communication based train control for mass transit), ETCS, and LZB. Additionally TAS sells electronic interlocking systems, axle counters that can replace track circuits, various types of point machine
s, and railway worker protection systems.
(a Crown Corp in Ontario) and was successfully implemented for the Scarborough RT in Toronto, Ontario, which was opened in 1985.
UTDC was later absorbed by Bombardier
(train Manufacturing) and Alcatel (Rail Signaling Solutions)
In April, 2006, Thales Group
announced it would be acquiring Alcatel
's space business (67% of Alcatel Alenia Space and 33% of Telespazio
), and Alcatel's Rail Signalling Solutions division in a deal which also raised Alcatel's ownership of Thales to 21.66 percent.
SelTrac
SELTrac is a digital signalling technology used to control the movements of rail vehicles originally developed by Standard Elektrik Lorenz . It was originally developed for the Krauss-Maffei Transurban automated guideway transit system developed in the 1970s, and moved to the ICTS vehicle when the...
(communication based train control for mass transit), ETCS, and LZB. Additionally TAS sells electronic interlocking systems, axle counters that can replace track circuits, various types of point machine
Point machine
A point machine is a device for operating railway turnouts especially at a distance.-Overview:In the earliest times, railway turnouts were operated manually by simple levers...
s, and railway worker protection systems.
History
The original moving block signaling system for rapid transit was introduced by Urban Transportation Development CorporationUrban Transportation Development Corporation
The Urban Transportation Development Corporation, or UTDC as it was commonly known, was an Ontario, Canada, Crown corporation created in the 1970s as a way to enter what was then expected to be a burgeoning market in advanced light rail mass transit systems...
(a Crown Corp in Ontario) and was successfully implemented for the Scarborough RT in Toronto, Ontario, which was opened in 1985.
UTDC was later absorbed by Bombardier
Bombardier Transportation
Bombardier Transportation is the rail equipment division of the Canadian firm, Bombardier Inc. Bombardier Transportation is one of the world's largest companies in the rail-equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. Its headquarters are in Berlin, Germany....
(train Manufacturing) and Alcatel (Rail Signaling Solutions)
In April, 2006, Thales Group
Thales Group
The Thales Group is a French electronics company delivering information systems and services for the aerospace, defense, transportation and security markets...
announced it would be acquiring Alcatel
Alcatel
Alcatel Mobile Phones is a brand of mobile handsets. It was established in 2004 as a joint venture between Alcatel-Lucent of France and TCL Communication of China....
's space business (67% of Alcatel Alenia Space and 33% of Telespazio
Telespazio
Telespazio is a space systems services company, based in Rome, Italy. Telespazio was founded in 1961; however the company as it exists today was formed on July 1 2005 with the merger of the original Telespazio with the space services division of Alcatel...
), and Alcatel's Rail Signalling Solutions division in a deal which also raised Alcatel's ownership of Thales to 21.66 percent.