AdaCore, a trusted provider of software development and verification tools, today announces that ENYSE, part of the ACS group, has selected its GNAT Pro development environment to develop its new safety-critical railway signaling solutions. As part of one of its research and development department projects, ENYSE will use the tool, and the Ada programming language, to build the Radio Block Centre (RBC), a microprocessor-based system that will be the cornerstone of its advanced new rail signaling system.
Following a successful evaluation of GNAT Pro, ENYSE chose to work with AdaCore due to its certification under the CENELEC EN 50128:2011 railway software safety standard, ability to develop in both the Ada and C programming languages, previous experience and access to a full suite of solutions, including static and dynamic analysis tools.
A completely new solution, ENYSE’s RBC generates and transmits signals to trains, providing them with permission to move through particular sections of track. It needs to meet the highest Safety Integrity Level (SIL 4), under EN 50128:2011, as well as the functional requirements of the European Railway Traffic Management System (ERTMS), the pan-European train control and command system. ENYSE is now developing a proof-of-concept demonstrator of its RBC.
“Our new rail signaling project is being created from the ground up, giving us the chance to focus on innovation while still meeting the highest levels of safety,” said Francisco Lozano, Head of R&D at ENYSE. “AdaCore’s tools are the perfect fit for the project – they are designed to support safety-critical certification, while giving us the ability to develop leading-edge solutions to meet changing market needs.”
Demonstrating the scope of the four-year project, it will be delivered by a 70 strong department within ENYSE’s research and development facility in Spain. GNAT Pro will initially be used by 10 team members, covering a wide range of software development activities, from defining requirements to coding.
“ENYSE’s new rail signaling project highlights the changing requirements of mission-critical software today,” said Jamie Ayre, Commercial Director at AdaCore. “Not only do these systems have to meet safety-critical standards and ensure reliability over the long-term but they must also deliver state-of-the-art functionality. We look forward to working closely with the expanding ENYSE team to help them develop this exciting project.”
