The Warrnambool line is InControl

18/05/2022

Downer has installed its new train control system – InControl – for the first time on the V/Line network as part of major upgrades to the Geelong and Warrnambool rail lines.

Designed, built, commissioned, and supported in-house by Downer, InControl becomes the latest Train Control System (TCS) to be accepted and type-approved on the V/Line network. The last TCS to be approved for use was a decade ago as part of the Regional Rail Link.

Downer’s InControl panels is being commissioned in Centrol and V/Line’s Disaster Recovery Site as part of the May rail occupation on the Warrnambool Line, providing cutting edge technology for train controllers to monitor and manage railway conditions. InControl will be used to control 70 kilometres of line on the Warrnambool corridor between Marshall Station and the Warncoort Loop, following commissioning of Waurn Ponds Station and the first section for Stage 1 of the Warrnambool Line Upgrade during the occupation.

The remaining section between Warncoort and Warrnambool is scheduled for commissioning later this year.

“Commissioning of the InControl panels is significant for Downer and the regional network. It positions Downer as a leader in the industry with the capacity to provide an end-to-end integrated signalling solution to V/Line and RPV,” Geelong and Warrnambool Line Upgrade project director Glynn Ladbrooke said.

“The project team has also installed a maintenance support system designed and built by Downer on the Warrnambool Line Upgrade which will provide enhanced asset management capabilities to V/Line. 

“This system, known as InSupport, can help to predict any potential failures or failure alarms such as issues with rail temperatures, point machines, the communications network, or the signalling power network.”

InSupport will also be commissioned during the May rail occupation. It will be located in the Signal Maintenance Depot at Geelong Station and the signalling equipment rooms at Waurn Ponds and Warncoort and can easily network to the wider V/Line maintenance depots.

Implementation of InControl and InSupport will provide track operators with useful information for signalling maintenance teams and can be used by track maintenance teams for preventative or reactive maintenance purposes. 

The first section of signalling upgrades as part of the Warrnambool Line Upgrade will come into operation following the May occupation, with more than 64 kilometres of new signalling cable installed as part of critical upgrades between Waurn Ponds and Warncoort. 

Final works are also underway to commission a new second platform, loop track, pedestrian overpass, lifts, ramps and stairs to complete the Waurn Ponds Station upgrade. The project team will hand over the completed station upgrade to the Victorian Government and V/Line at the end of May. 

Completion of the Waurn Ponds Station upgrade will enable four extra peak train services per day to and from Waurn Ponds, providing more travel options for passengers and improving reliability on the line.