We discuss the keys to electronic railway safety with Silvia Gómez Martín, our embedded software engineer. Silvia highlights the importance of electronic safety solutions in the prevention and response to both physical and cyber threats, highlighting the benefits that these solutions can offer in terms of efficiency and profitability for railway companies.
How can electronic safety solutions help prevent and respond to threats such as intrusions, vandalism or sabotage in the railway sector?
To answer your question, we must differentiate between two types of threat: First, the physical and tangible aggression by which someone could directly attack a railway asset in order to damage property and even end up affecting the integrity of people. For more than twenty years, we have been designing solutions that enable sensor-based prevention and mitigation to stop adverse effects as soon as possible. Here it is vital to have super-reliable equipment that responds as effectively as possible.
The second aspect is more complex and current. In the process of unstoppable digitalisation that the sector is undergoing, the cybercriminal has emerged. Physical action against the asset is no longer necessary, but it could carry out its action from anywhere in the world. Faced with this challenge, we have developed equipment with the latest cybersecurity technology, both hardware and software, which allows us to ensure the maximum possible integrity while taking into account the limitations of an embedded system.
What role does cyber security play in electronic railway safety and how are challenges related to cyber threats addressed?
Safety-related electronic systems are equipment with embedded or built-in software. This means that many measures that are common in the workplace are also implemented in the computers, such as firewalls. Safety functions must also be integrated into the system itself.
Following the UNE 62443 standard, we have incorporated cybersecurity into our design processes. Through an analysis of vulnerabilities, we have come to the conclusion that it is necessary to implement measures, such as protection against denial of service (DoS), intrusion prevention, or to fight against brute force attacks, as well as the implementation of a secure software update by means of a digital signature and of course cryptography with symmetric or non-symmetric encryption. Regular reviews are equally important, which we must now do by logging into the system to ensure that we always have the most up-to-date protection.
What are the most significant benefits that electronic safety solutions can offer railway companies in terms of safety, efficiency and profitability?
Since I joined Triple E, it has always been very clear to me that our ultimate goal is to protect the lives of our users. That’s why we have an obsession when we design: that our system should be totally reliable and robust under very extreme conditions: temperatures, electrical voltages, environmental pollution… As an engineer, my contribution to efficiency and profitability comes from the preventive side. Thanks to new solutions we can anticipate unwanted situations and avoid them. Digitalisation has also resulted in permanent connectivity and monitoring, accessible from any location. However, I would like to stress that when I work, on a daily basis, my obsession is putting all the necessary means in place to protect people’s lives.
What do you see as the future of electronic railway safety and what developments do you expect to see in the coming years?
I have the feeling that we are experiencing an unprecedented transformation in the railway sector. We are moving from understanding railway as a mechanical means of getting from one place to another to a global transport solution. And as passengers, not only do we benefit from the digitisation of the railway sector through systems that guarantee comfort but also ensure our well-being to the highest extent possible. In fact, the growth in the permanent interconnection of railway infrastructures is making and will make railway transport perhaps the safest way to travel. Moreover, this interconnection provides all the data from the infrastructures, which will make it possible to reinforce prevention and thus focus on avoiding accidents.
