Rail Agency officials visit the ATC factory in Canada

During operation, the ATC system will be continuously interfacing with many different systems namely: the Rolling Stock, the Power Supply, the Platform Screen Doors, and the Operation Control Systems etc.

Adnan Al Hammadi, Director of Rail Projects Construction said:

"All the ATC functions require thorough review and testing. The tests included normal and degraded operations and covered safety critical functions. In addition to the core functions, specific emphasis was made on the new functionality provided for Dubai Metro. There were a huge number of tests performed. The test procedures were carefully documented and submitted for review before the Factory Acceptance Tests will commence. The tests cover real scenarios of train control and different expertise were involved to conduct the tests. A team of experts from RTA, DURL, Systra/Parsons and Serco witnessed the tests."

"The first build of the ATC software should be deployed for the Dubai Test Track at the beginning of August 2008. The process of electronically recording and tracking comments is very thorough and efficient to make sure the deployed version of the software on site is very robust and safe.", he added.

The subsystems include the Vehicle Control Centre (VCC), System Management Centre (SMC), Vehicle o board Controller (VOBC) and Station Controller (STC).

The VCC subsystem is responsible for vitally ensuring safe automatic train separation based on the safe braking distance from the last verified location of the rear of a preceding train or any other obstruction such as disturbed switches or closed tracks.

The SMC is the overall management facility which serves as the interface between the System and the Central Control operators.

The VOBC communicates constantly with the subsystem responsible for central ATP functions (VCC) and is primarily responsible for the control of propulsion, brakes and train doors.

The STC works in conjunction with the VCC.

The wayside control functions of the STC are initiated by commands from the VCC during operation. Status information of all devices under STC control (such as switches, Platform Screen Doors, etc...) is conveyed back to the VCC.

Several other components of the software will be tested for the Metro systems in the months to come before trial runs begin.