Underground operations of the Copenhagen Metro

This article gives an introduction to the Copenhagen City Metro and a brief overview of both running and planned extension projects.

The Copenhagen Metro has two lines which run from suburban Vanløse to Vestamager and the Airport, both situated on the island of Amager. The first two parts opened in 2002 and 2003 respectively and the extension from Lergravsparken, which link the first two parts of the Metro with the Copenhagen Airport, opened in late 2007. It takes 23 minutes to travel through the entire system, though most passengers spend a maximum of 6-7 minutes at a time in the Metro. The lines cover 21km – 10km in tunnels and 11km on elevated tracks and embankments.

The Civil work of the tunnelpart was completed by several large international contractors, joined in the consortium COMET (The Copenhagen Metro Construction Group). The train and safety systems to the complete Metro were delivered by the Italian company Ansaldo Trasporti Sistemi Ferroviari.

The Metro is operated by Ansaldo Trasporti Sistemi Ferroviari with Metro Service as the subcontractor. The operator is in charge not only of operating and maintaining the total systems but also for manning the trains with Metro Stewards and customer services in general.

Stations

The 22 stations of the Metro are constructed as tunnel stations and on embankments or elevated sections. Nine of them are constructed underground and thirteen are above ground.

Design of the tunnel stations

A total of nine tunnel stations have been built for the Metro, six of which are deep and three of which are near the surface.

The deep tunnel stations are basically large square spaces excavated at a depth of roughly 20 metres, 60 metres long and 20 metres wide. The actual platforms are 18 metres below ground level. The station area has a flat roof with skylights. The entire station is contained in this space. One of the many advantages of this solution is that all stations can be constructed in streets or on squares, which has eliminated the need to expropriate surrounding buildings.

Creating new urban spaces

The tunnel stations are visually unobtrusive, but provide areas where a square can be established. Such a square will contain a series of skylight wells, a glass lift, a descending staircase, as well as signs and other requisite square furnishings. Thus, the Metro is instrumental in establishing new urban spaces.

Information at all levels

The first thing you notice about a tunnel station is a column at street level indicating the tunnel station entrance. The column has an electronic display with details about the train situation and other relevant information. If a train is delayed, passengers are informed of this before descending to the platforms. A stairway leads down from street level to the concourse, where there is additional information about the Metro, a route map, other public transport information, a local map, and ticket dispenser and validation machines.

Bright, even when overcast

The entire station area can be surveyed from the concourse. The space from the platform up to the station skylights is unobstructed. The skylights guide daylight and sunshine all the way down to the platform. The daylight is supplemented by artificial lighting that is regulated by the amount of daylight entering the space. As a result, the station area will always appear bright. In the evening, the station lighting will shine up through the skylights as a distinct landmark indicating the station’s location.

Island platforms ease passenger flows

The platform is located about 18 metres below the surface. Constructed as an island, each platform is designed to ease access and transfer conditions as much as possible. The passenger flows at the stations have been simulated on an advanced computer model to get a general idea of flow patterns – during normal operations and emergencies alike. Since the access routes were dimensioned on the basis of the simulation results, the routes are adequate for handling a possible evacuation.

Platform screen doors

On the platform, glass screens with doors line the edges of the platform. When the train stops at the platform, the doors in the ‘wall’ will line up with the train doors and open simultaneously like a modern lift. The doors provide several advantages:

• Protection against passengers falling or jumping onto the track. This means fewer accidents, fewer suicides and fewer service interruptions
• Easier, better and less costly control of the ventilation at stations and in tunnels
• Improved indoor climate
• Greater safety for visually impaired passengers

Easy access to other means of public transport

High priority has been given to providing easy access to other means of public transport at all stations. At Nørreport Station, passengers will have direct access to S-train and regional train platforms from the Metro station through a pedestrian tunnel.

Displays outside the platforms

Each platform has displays with the latest service updates. The automatic control system generates accurate data on train service. As some of this data is beneficial to passengers, it will be presented on these displays. Thus, the dynamic platform displays will state the final destination of the train, the number of minutes until the next train arrives and any delays. The station information system also consists of a number of loudspeakers that, in parallel to the signs, provide train service information to passengers.

CCTV monitoring from the control room

The whole station is under CCTV surveillance so that the control room staff can see what is happening at the station. If passengers need assistance, they can contact the control room at one of two call points with two buttons, one for emergencies and one for service information on the platform. These call points are primarily intended for emergencies, but passengers with special needs may also use them. This applies to persons with disabilities or to pre-school groups, for instance. The control room is capable of handling any situation immediately and is directly connected to Metro stewards and the police and fire departments.

Technical room with power and ventilation

A number of technical rooms are located along the sides of the station. These technical rooms contain things like power supply and ventilation equipment. The ventilation system provides a pleasant climate in the Metro and is an important fire prevention factor if a fire breaks out. The design of the ventilation system was determined through simulations of routine operations and accidents.

Above ground stations

11km of the line are on embankments or elevated sections. The stations on this part of the line resemble the tunnel stations in functionality and design.

For example, they have the same kind of platform design, information signs, CCTV and call points as the tunnel stations. This helps passengers to recognise the station’s main features right away.

Good accessibility

Like the tunnel stations, these stations were designed with an emphasis on ideal passenger access to platforms from street level.

Lightweight steel/glass construction

The designs of the embankment and above ground stations are similar. The stations are designed as glass and steel structures suspended between the line’s track structures with a lightweight, almost floating appearance. The stations are made of lightweight materials to avoid giving the stations a massive appearance that could dominate the urban scene in Ørestad. A forecourt is established in front of all stations with easy access for buses, taxis, passenger cars and cycle racks.

Information at all levels

The first thing passengers see at the station is a display column by the entrance showing train times and other relevant information. The stations have a concourse with information about the Metro, a route map, public transport information, a local map and ticket machines. A stairway leads from the concourse to the platform, and a glass lift runs between street level and the platform.

Open stations with screened shelters

Like the tunnel stations, the island-platform design provides the best possible train access and transfer conditions. As all these stations are open, shelter screens are set up for the passengers’ comfort as they wait for trains. There are no platform doors as in the tunnel stations, but an electronic surveillance system will immediately stop the train if a foreign object is on the track.

The fully automatic control system

The Metro’s fully automatic control system works as the Metro’s brain. The control system monitors and controls the Metro. Among other things, the fully automatic control system makes it possible to operate trains without drivers. This provides several advantages, such as:

• Instead of long trains with infrequent services, the Metro has many short trains with very frequent service. The interval between trains on the central section will be as short as 1.5 minutes. This means brief waits
• The automatic operation enables the trains to run at closer intervals than under manual operation. Apart from the shorter waiting times, this also makes it easier to make up for delays
• The trains are more punctual. At least 98% of the departures will be on time, and last year about 99% of the departures were on time. Instead of driving the train, the Metro staff will serve the passengers and create a feeling of security
• Using the Metro will be very safe since human error is avoided

Automatic Train Control

The cornerstone of the fully automatic operation is the Automatic Train Control (ATC) system, which has three sub-systems:

• The Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system
• The Automatic Train Operation (ATO) system, an autopilot system
• The Automatic Train Supervisory (ATS) system, an overall traffic and monitoring system

Automatic Train Protection

The ATP system performs a range of functions which protect passengers, staff and equipment from accidents, such as collisions, prevent excess speeds and incorrectly positioned points and make sure the doors are closed before departure.

Automatic Train Operation

The ATO system, or autopilot, controls the trains according to a fixed timetable by:

• Performing programmed stops at stations
• Opening and closing doors
• Verifying that stopping times at the stations are observed
• Starting the train after station stops

Automatic Train Supervisory System

The ATS system monitors the status of all sub-systems and all trains in operation. This is done by:

• Controlling and coordinating overall traffic movements
• Maintaining a schematic overview of the entire line for the operators in the control room
• Providing continuously updated data on each individual train (e.g. position and speed) to stations, points and other equipment on the line
• Continuously updating registers of alarms, faults and other events regarding all equipment on the line and all processes being performed, whether carried out by the control system or the operators

Quality assurance for critical safety components

The advantage of using the functional divisions between ATP, ATO and ATS is that the ATP is the only sub-system that is critical to safety. It is the only sub-system that must be guaranteed never to fail. If a fault arises in the ATO sub-system, for example, the ATP system will intervene before the fault develops into an accident situation. This level of security is achieved by subjecting the ATP system to quality assurance testing in accordance with predetermined standards.

Entire line operated from the control room

The control room is the core of the Metro and the entire line is controlled from here. The control room is staffed by approximately five supervisors who monitor the automatic operations of the Metro round the clock. Typically, two people are engaged in monitoring and controlling the actual Metro operations. One person is in charge of all communication with call points, loudspeakers, displays and Metro stewards and monitors the station cameras and, if necessary, the train cameras, and one person monitors the operations of the CMC, power supplies and the SCADA system. Under normal circumstances, Metro operations are fully automatic, and the supervisors solely monitor the system. In the event of irregularities, the supervisors intervene in the system operations to re-establish normal operations as quickly as possible.

The Metro trains

The three Metro phases are served by 34 trains. Each train consists of three cars with full access from car-to-car. The train is designed to accommodate many commuters travelling short distances in the Metro. Each side of the train has six wide doors, and roughly 100 of the 300-person capacity is for seated passengers, the rest standing. The seats face each other except at the ends of the train where they are in rows so passengers can look out of the large front windows. There are four large ‘flex zones’ with folding seats along the sides, providing space for wheelchairs, prams and bicycles.

Signs

Each car has two electronic signs with information about the time, next station, bus and train connections and other relevant messages that are particularly important in the event of delays. There are also ordinary signs with route maps and transfer indications.

Call points to the control room

Call points – similar to the call points at the station – are located at all six door vestibules where the control room can be contacted by pressing a button. The call points can be used in emergencies and also by wheelchair users or pre-school groups on outings if they wish to prolong the door-opening interval, for example. There are telecoil systems at all call points.

CCTV contact with the control room

Cameras are mounted in all cars so the control room staff can see selected areas of the train. If a call is made from a call point, the system switches to a camera that shows who is pressing the call button. This provides extra security to the user and reduces misuse.

Very safe door automation

By ensuring that the doors close automatically, great effort has been made to prevent anyone from getting trapped or stuck between the doors. The closing of the doors is preceded by a distinct audio signal and a flashing light indicating that the doors are closing. If an arm, hand, handbag or the like is caught between the doors, the pressuresensitive door edges will immediately stop the doors from closing. Even small objects are detected, and the train cannot leave the platform until all doors are fully closed and locked.

Metro for the future

The first two phases

The first phase of the Copenhagen Metro was opened between 2002 and 2003. The two Metro lines run from Vanløse to Vestamager (in the Ørestad district) and Lergravsparken respectively via Christianshavn. The combined route is 16.5km, of which 9.5km runs underground. The trip from Vestamager to Vanløse takes 22 minutes.

The third phase

The third phase of the Metro, the East Amager Line (Østamagerbanen), opened in September 2007. It runs from Lergravsparken to Copenhagen Airport. Of the 4.5km route, 0.5km is underground. The trip from Kongens Nytorv to Copenhagen Airport takes 13 minutes.

Projected extensions

The fourth phase of the Metro – the City Circle Line (Cityringen) – is expected to open in 2018. The route will run underground and the City Circle Line will have 17 stations and will cover major parts of the city centre as well as the Østerbro, Nørrebro, and Vesterbro districts and the Municipality of Frederiksberg – currently not covered by S-train or Metro line services. A round trip is expected to take 23 minutes.

The content of this article has been sourced from www.m.dk