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Part of the SCADA mimic L P S display of the new DLR S I

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T S N L O O C R T N O C Controls upgrade puts DLR in Olympic starting blocks trains for display on the mimic board. The system was installed control room. A challenge for Iconsys was to network the PLCs early in the 1990s, and was definitely showing its age, with only to the 30 trackside I/O boxes, spread across some 2km of track very basic visualisation capabilities and very limited flexibility.” around the marshalling yards. TThhee o bDvioousc rkeplalacnemdesn tL fiogr thhet mRoasaiilcw syasteym w wailsl a p SClaAyDA a vitaTlh er oanlsew eirn w atsr taon linskp thoer It/Oin viga av fibsriet oprtisc nteotw ork using sytstheme c2om0m1u2nic aLtoingn wditoh nm oOdelryn mPLCps ikcinsk.e dIn, in p turren,p viaa rationEth feorNre t/tIPh ceom Gmaunmicaetiosn,s .a Ic oknesyys a mdopaterds ah lainlelairn togpology, high-speed communications to the trackside I/O. with the I/O boxes daisy-chained via a series of repeaters. The yWaitrhd th he oarisg inbale PeLCns bueipngg orbasodleeted a nbd yw itrhe npo loabcviionusg its orebsuslto isl eretlieab lce,o ronbtursto closm amnundica mtionism ati csp ededis pofl 1a0yMsb ps upwgraitdhe p matho, Icdoensryns w PasL fCrees t,o SchCooAseD thAe m soostf stuwitabalere and wciothm nom prauctnicaicl laimtiitso onn so pfearactiinlgit diiestsan. ces. SCADA system for the upgrade. “ We had previously installed a Installing the new system was a key challenge, with minimum Rockwell Automation RSView SCADA package at Poplar,” says disruption to the rail network being a priority. “ We discussed Darrall. “ Among other things, this delivered remote control of several installation and commissioning strategies, but the all-in- the Becktohne snid tihneg sO alys ma pbiac cgkaump etso ctohme elo tcoa lL monodsaoinc ibno 2a0rd12, the onse ravpicper oisa 9c6h% w aasn bdy, wfairt hth ae 9m7o%st rsetlriabigilhittyf orrewcoarrd,, ”th sea yDsL DRa lreraadlls. all operation. capital will see more than nine million people coming Ino tfh Be reitvaein’ts, rtahiel ncehtawnogrekosv.er went smoothly with the old system W“ Having thoagde tghoeor dto e cxhpeerire nocne cso wmitphe tihtoe rds einsi g2n6 asnpdo ritnss, tallation beinTgh ree pDlLaRce tdra ainnsd a trhee f unlelyw a ountoem coatmicm ainssdi oonpeedr ainte jdu sbty f iovneb doaayrsd, oafp tpheaat rsinysgt einm 3, 4w vee wnueeres noavetur r1a7lly d kaeyes.n to base Beckton’s own wcitohm aplmutoesrt snyost demows nlitnimkeed. to a central control room at the Poplar SCAODnAe oimf pthleem keenysta ttoio tnh eo nL oan Rdocnk Owleylml ppaic kCaogme.m Tihttise,e i’ns tsurcnc,e lsesdful in“ tInesrsteactdio onf. tBhuet pwhhysiliec aPlo bpulattro ins st hoen htuhbe mfoor soavice,r athll ec oonpterroal,t ojurst as ubsi dto w loaos kt haet iAnlvlenst-mBreandtl etyo CdoenvetrloplL othgeix cPaLpCitsa, l’asn tdra wnsep qourtickly noimwp borritnagn t riasi nths ein dteop soidt iantg tsh aet ethaset ecrlinc-km oof sat emnodu osef ,t”h eD alirnrea,l lat reinaflrisaesdtr uthctaut rteh, eb caosemdb oinna ati opnre wdiocuteld fpoeramk tchaep abcaistyis wofh iac hv ecroyuld exBpelacikntso.n “, Btuhta tw oef feenrs usreerdvi cthinagt athned SsCtaAbDlinAg s fcarecielinti ems ifmoirc tkheed ttrhaeins. eeffxecceteivde 2 s4o0lu,0ti0o0n .p”a ssengers per hour. And a cornerstone of the mosaic as closely as possible to minimise the learning curve for trIacnosnpsoyrst psryosjteecmt ewniglli nbee trhs es eDto acbkolauntd dse Lvieglhotp Rinagil wthaey c(oDnLtRr)o, lwhich th>e Mopaejorar tuoprsg.”rade swysitlel mco,n ineclcutd sipnegc wtartiotirnsg w, ittehs teinvegn atns din p vreonvuinegs alcl roofs st hEea scto Lnotrnodlon. OInvteror dthuec iynega trhs,e a SsC thAeD DAL sRo ifntwfrasretr uhcatsu brero huagsh gt rao wne,a tlthhe oBfeckton sAof tnwewar ee.x Ttehnes uiopng troad teh eh aDdL Rto i sb ael s“or ibgehitn fgir bstu tilitm teo” p wroitvhid teh ae direct otdheepr obte hnaesf itesx,p wanitdhe md uwcihth b netetwer fvaicsiblitiliietsy aonf dth eex trra isni dtirnagcks. Most slyinstke mto btheein Og liynmstpailcle Pda irnk .o ne “ hit” , in a live changeover, with poresicteionntsly ,c oasm ppaarrte odf wthiteh ctohnes otrruigcitnioanl mofo nsaeiwc, spilduisn gims,p irto bvecdame minTimhea lO dlyismruppicti oDne ltivoe trhy eA ruatihl noeritwy oanrkd. Transport for London have sacfleetayr ptrhoacte as smesa ajonrd u aplgaramdse, aonf dth seu pcoenritorro sl yssytsetmem dsi awganso nsteicesd.e d, already invested £100m to improve the DLR, but the ongoing wThiteh uthpeg raaimde do fP dLeClsiv aelrsinog p vroavstidlye i ma preraodvey du pvigsuraadliesa ptiaotnh, ief aasniedr >in Fvaemstimliaer nats gseotes far beyond the requirements of just the Games wmheanin atdendaitniocnea, ls suipdeinrgiosr afrlex aibdidliteyd a. nTdh ea PrLeCads ya-ruep ngeratwdeo rpkaetdh tfoor any Tthhee mneswel vseyss.t eTmhe i sw bourkilt w airlol ualnlodw R othcek wraeillw’sa Fya tcoto kreyeTapl kp aVciew w HithMI prfouvtiudree ae xdpeagnresieo no.f redundancy so that if one of them – or even sionfctrweasrein, gw phaicshse pnrgoevri dneusm ab secrasl a–b cleu,r rdeisnttrliyb u6t5e dm pillliaotnfo prmer tyheatr, but two T–h seh uopugldr agdoe dwoaws nu,n tdher tsaidkienng sb cya tnh es tTilel lbfoer du-sbeads. ed system simplifies system design. expected to rise to 100 million by 2012. inAtse tghrea tDorL RIc oentseyrss, witsh tichhir ds pdeeccialdisee so fin s ethrveic dee, swigitnh, maonreu faancdture “ Our familiarity with the RSViewT ShCeA trDaAns ipnostrat lplalatinosn watil lt haleso loanngde rc tormainmsi stshiaon ienvge or fb teufornrek,e tyh ceo inmtrpool rptaronjceec tos,f wthieth B tercakntsopnort as Poplar control centre was an asset,”co Dnatirnraulel rteop dorritvse. “reTgheen tewraotion faocinlieti eosf witsil lk ceoyn atrineuase otof egxrpoewr.t iAsen. dIn wcoitnhs yitss hnaesw mlya iinnsttaainlled the packages share common developmenot ft oEoalsst, Leoansidnogn u asn tdh rtohueg whider coenxtirsotiln sgy sBtemck,t othno csoen otvroelr sseyestinemg tfhoer dmeavneylo ypemaresn, ta onfd t dhes DigLnRed and thLiosn pdroonj’es cDto caksl awndesll as simplifying integraTthioanm bees tGwaeteenw Paoy,p clarer aatnindg cahna bs ein csotanlfleidde enqt uthipamt tehnet Bine cokthtoenr afarecailist ioefs tchaen DmLeRe ct otnhter onle seydsstem. Beligchktt Roanil.w”ay carries of today, as well as being flexible enough to meet the 65 million passengers one of the best- “ The driverless DLR is a great example of how effective a D&C aT yheear SCADA system connects to three necwon PnLeCcst eind tahrea Bse icnk tthoen recqoumirepmuteenr-tcs oonft trolmleodr roawil .network can be,” says Inconsys capital, and bringing managing director, Trevor Darrall. “ A state-of-the-art SCADA economic and social system in the central control room at Poplar monitors all the benefits that go far relative positions and speeds of the trains from their onboard beyond 2012, and far computer signals and trackside monitoring systems, and then beyond sport. sends data to the trains to ensure that safe distances are The DLR, which maintained. opened in 1987, today “ By contrast, the local control system at Beckton that we were transports more than ten looking at upgrading was based on a traditional mosaic tile mimic times its original passenger board,” Darrall continues. “ Operators bringing trains into the numbers and has played a vital depot would press a button on the mimic board to set an end role in the regeneration of East destination. The connected PLCs would determine the route and London. Customer satisfaction with the operate the points and signalling, feeding b ack the posit ion of t he CONTROLS CONTROLS & DISPLAYS Controls upgrade puts DLR in Olympic starting blocks

The Docklands Light Railway will play a vital role in transporting visitors to the 2012 London Olympics. In preparation for the Games, a key marshalling yard has been upgraded by replacing its obsolete controls and mimic displays with modern PLCs, SCADA software and communications facilities.

hen the Olympic games come to London in 2012, the service is 96% and, with a 97% reliability record, the DLR leads all capital will see more than nine million people coming of Britain’s rail networks. W together to cheer on competitors in 26 sports, The DLR trains are fully automatic and operated by onboard appearing in 34 venues over 17 days. computer systems linked t o a central control room at the Poplar One of the keys to the London Olympic Committee’s successful intersection. But while Poplar is the hub for overall control, just as bid was the investment to develop the capital’s transport important is the depot at the eastern-most end of the line, at infrastructure, based on a predicted peak capacity which could Beckton, that offers servicing and stabling facilities for the trains. exceed 240,000 passengers per hour. And a cornerstone of the transport system will be the Docklands Light Railway (DLR), which > Major upgrade will connect spectators with events in venues across East London. Over the years, as the DLR infrastructure has grown, the Beckton A new extension to the DLR is also being built to provide a direct depot has expanded with new facilities and extra sidings. Most link to the Olympic Park. recently, as part o f the construction of new sidings, it became The Olympic Delivery Authority and Transport for London have clear that a major upgrade of the control systems was needed, already invested £100m to improve the DLR, but the ongoing with the aim of delivering vastly improved visualisation, easier investment goes far beyond the requi rements of just the Games maintenance, superior flexibility and a ready-upgrade path for any themselves. The work will allow the railway to keep pace with future expansion. increasing passenger numbers – currently 65 million per year, but The upgrade was undertaken by the Telford-based system expected to rise to 100 million by 2012. integrator Iconsys, which specialises in the design, manufacture The transport plans will also and commissioning of turnkey con trol projects, with transport as continue to drive regeneration one of its key areas of expertise. Inconsys has maintained the of East London and the wider existing Beckton control system for many years, and designed and London’s Docklands Thames Gateway, creating has installed equipment in other areas of the DLR control system. light Railway carries 65 million passengers one of the best- “ The driverless DLR is a great example of how effective a a year connected areas in the computer-controlled rail network can be,” says Inconsys capital, and bringing managing director, Trevor Darrall. “ A state-of-the-art SCADA economic and social system in the central control room at Poplar monitors all the benefits that go far relative positions and speeds of the trains from their onboard beyon d 2012, and far computer signals and trackside monitoring systems, and then beyond sport. sends data to the trains to ensure that safe distances are The DLR, which maintained. opened in 1987, today “ By contrast, the local control system at Beckton that we were transports more than ten looking at upgrading was based on a traditional mosaic tile mimic times its original passenger board,” Darrall continues. “ Operators bringing trains into the numbers and has played a vital depot would press a button on the mimic board to set an end role in the regeneration of East destination. The connected PLCs would determine the route and London. Customer satisfaction with the operate the points and signalling, feeding back the position of the