Triple Top Certification for Safety and Reliability

Hidden from view, our WTB gateways combine proven train bus technology with modern architecture for seamless interoperability in digital rail transport. This means a lot for customers of new vehicle and modernization projects. As a central part of train bus communication, the devices perform tasks such as automatic train composition.

In the background, an intelligent process ensures that each train set is uniquely identified and correctly configured. They are essential for trains, locomotives, and coaches to communicate with each other via train bus systems. Additionally, the gateways enable seamless communication between the WTB train bus and various train buses, which, depending on the application, manage functions such as door controls, braking systems, or the transmission of safety-critical data.

The Selectron WTB family has now reached a decisive milestone: three successful certifications in accordance with the UIC Leaflet 556.

All three versions are easy to configure

Versions of the Wire Train Bus (WTB) gateway are available for Ethernet, MVB (Multifunction Vehicle Bus) and CAN (Controller Area Network) TCNs, suitable for a variety of vehicle architectures.

“Depending on the technology used, vehicle manufacturers now have a flexible WTB gateway at their disposal to flexibly serve both new vehicles and modernization projects,” explains Luca Della Ricca, CTO of Knorr-Bremse subsidiary Selectron Systems Italia, based in Udine, Italy.

Vehicles fitted with WTB can continue to operate over MVB or CAN-based consist buses, or else be converted to the latest Ethernet technology. Thanks to an intuitive user interface, all three versions are easy to configure.

Intensive development and approval work culminated in successful certification. „Our teams began working on the approvals just as the COVID-19 pandemic was gathering pace,” says Della Ricca. “It wasn’t the easiest start!” Even so, from a market perspective there was no alternative: “The certification takes a complex, cost-intensive task off our customers’ shoulders – it’s a process that’s almost impossible to manage without in-depth specialist knowledge.”

The approval process itself was also far from easy. “The team worked with focus: if even the verification of a single sub-function had failed, we would have had to repeat the entire approval process from scratch.” The devices also meet IEC 62443 cybersecurity requirements for Security Level SL2.

Challenging approval process

The certification was preceded by almost five years of intensive preparation. “Our teams began working on the approvals just as the COVID-19 pandemic was gathering pace,” says Della Ricca. “It wasn’t the easiest start!” Even so, from a market perspective there was no alternative: “The certification takes a complex, cost-intensive task off our customers’ shoulders – it’s a process that’s almost impossible to manage without in-depth specialist knowledge.”

Cross-border networking: sharing knowledge, shaping progress

Thanks to the close and efficient collaboration between the International Union of Railways (UIC), based in France, the Italian certification specialist Italcertifer, and Selectron, which is based in Lyss (Switzerland) and has branches in Italy, the challenge was overcome.

"With proper communication between the teams, national borders don’t hold us back," says Della Ricca. "On the contrary, they enrich us! This is a shared success that we can truly be proud of." There’s another important aspect as well: "We have gained tremendous expertise throughout this process. Both our customers and we will benefit equally from this when the next comparable approval is granted."