Thales recently opened its Regional Integration Centre (RIC) in Singapore. The Thales RIC will address Signalling and Integrated Communication & Supervision Systems, with a focus on innovative developments based on its world leading Seltrac® Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC) solution and its versatile ATSSoft supervision platform flagship.
As Singapore’s population is expected to grow, so will the expectations and demands of its commuters, thus the government is currently working to expand the Rail Transit System (RTS) and bus services. As announced by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) in its 2013 Master Plan, the RTS network will increase from 138 km today to 360 km by 2030. Leveraging on the technology and expertise residing in the RIC, Thales aims to work alongside the local operators, contributing to the development of these proposed network enhancements.
These challenges however are not just unique to Singapore. Other growing cities in South-East Asia would similarly benefit from the solutions developed by Thales, which will be further customised and tailored to their specific requirements at the RIC.
The scope of the RIC will include business development, bid and project management, procurement, system engineering, installation, test & commissioning as well as the supervision of health & safety aspects. It will also provide additional value-added services to Thales’s customers such as troubleshooting, support, training and documentation.
Innovation in Ground Transportation
A unique feature of the RIC is that it will incorporate a Technical Competence Center for developing innovative solutions in ground transportation. There will be a comprehensive Integrated CBTC lab enabling the testing and validation of a complete MRT line, training for operators and simulation of both normal and degraded modes of operation.
The presence of such a localised facility will provide greater opportunities for training & development as well as shorter turnaround times for product evolutions and operator support. It will join Thales’s vast network of Centres of Competence for transport systems, all over the world (Toronto, Shanghai, Paris, Stuttgart, Vienna and Madrid). The RIC will contribute to Thales’s global transportation expertise and in return will benefit from the Thales Group’s strong global investments in R&D, which represents approximately 20% of its total annual revenue.
Ian Woodroofe, VP Transportation & Security, Thales Solutions Asia, said: “The region is witnessing immense growth and along with it, an increasing need for modern and efficient infrastructure. In order to be close to its customers, Thales is very happy to announce the creation of this Regional Integration Centre in Singapore to address the specific requirements of the region. Our solutions will enable these growing cities to better manage their transportation networks and serve their commuters.”
Thales’s Continuous Investment in Singapore
The opening of the RIC signifies Thales’s continued confidence in and commitment to Singapore and is fully in line with the company’s growth path accompanied by continued investments in its local industrial capability and technical competencies in the fields of Avionics, Land Transport, Urban Security and dedicated mission critical systems.
In Transportation, Thales has supplied automatic fare collection gates for the North East, Circle and Downtown MRT Lines, CCTV enhancement systems for the North-South and East-West MRT Lines and Integrated Supervisory Control Systems for the North East MRT Line’s Operational Control Center.
In the most recent contract awarded to Thales, the market leading Seltrac® CBTC solution will be deployed to re-signal the North-South and East-West MRT Lines and to equip the new TUAS west extension on the East-West MRT Line. Using the high level of experience gained on such complex programs, Thales also looks forward confidently to addressing the requirements for the upcoming new Lines, such as Thomson, Eastern Region, Cross Island and Jurong Region MRT Lines, as well as the potential of modernisation of all existing MRT Lines in Singapore.
Source: Thales/unedited