Efficient testing of complex interlocking interfaces between HSL-Zuid and ProRail

摘要

The HSL-Zuid is a high-speed line, a 100 kilometres long, running from Amsterdam via Rotterdam to the Belgian border, from where the railway continues to Antwerp, Brussels and Paris. The Netherlands part of the line has connections with pre-existing tracks in five places. At these locations, the interlocking systems of the existing network are linked to those of the HSL-Zuid system. The existing Dutch rail infrastructure is managed by ProRail. It is this organization that determines the conditions that must be met by any external systems that are to be connected to its existing systems, including interlocking ones. The HSL-Zuid organization therefore has the duty to ensure that these connections are demonstrably safe and reliable. This article describes the testing of the connections between the HSL-Zuid interlocking system and that of the existing infrastructure. It describes the structure of the tests, their content, the division of responsibilities between the parties and how a demonstrably safe overall system is created.