Systra Secures Taiwan HSR ATC Assessment to European Standards

French engineering group Systra has been awarded a contract for the independent safety assessment of automatic train control (ATC) systems being upgraded on Taiwan’s high-speed trains. The project client is Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), marking the first rail sector collaboration between the French and Japanese industrial groups. The monetary value and specific timeline for the contract have not been publicly disclosed.

The scope of the contract covers Independent Safety Assessment (ISA) activities for the onboard ATC equipment. MHI has developed a new-generation ATC system based on a platform currently operational in Japan’s high-speed network. Systra’s function is to perform an independent evaluation of this new system to validate its safety integrity and functional compliance for the Taiwanese operational environment.

Systra’s primary role is to verify the compliance of the new MHI equipment with established Reliability, Availability, Maintainability, and Safety (RAMS) requirements. The assessment will be conducted against two key European standards: EN 50126, which specifies the process for managing RAMS in railway applications, and EN 50128, which details the requirements for software used in railway control and protection systems. Adherence to these standards is critical for certifying the system’s safety case.

The company’s selection was influenced by its documented experience in independent certification and system assurance within the rail industry. This project builds upon Systra’s extensive history with Taiwan’s high-speed network, where it was involved between 1990 and 2007. Its previous participation included work on planning, feasibility studies, and the verification of technical infrastructure specifications during the network’s initial development.

Furthermore, Systra previously held third-party verification roles for the network’s concessionaire, Taiwan High Speed Railway Corp. The company served as the Independent Checking Engineer (ICE) and Independent Site Engineer (ISE) during the certification and commissioning phases, providing it with deep institutional knowledge of the network’s technical architecture and operational parameters.

This contract signals a strategic partnership between Systra and MHI amid a significant modernization phase for Taiwan’s high-speed rail infrastructure. Both companies have noted the potential for this initial project to expand into further cooperation on other rail initiatives in the Asian market. The successful safety validation of the Japanese-developed ATC system to European standards will be a key enabler for MHI’s technology deployment.