Interoperability of signaling interlocking and its Cyber-Security requirements*

Abstract

Today interoperability in railway systems is a worldwide necessity especially in Europe. Indeed, multiple systems control the mobility of trains through borders from one country to another one, yet the communication of railway signaling interlocking between these borders is still a challenge. Some projects deal with the interoperability issue. ERTMS is one of them: it ensures an exchange between interlocking and the train. EULYNX is another project that standardises interfaces between field equipment and computer interlocking. Our paper presents an approach for interlocking communication all along the architecture of computer interlocking. Indeed, due to the evolution of computer interlocking technology, we are faced to many architectures depending on signaling principles of each country and also the proposition of each actor in the industry. Our approach will dress a vision of interoperability that relies on the architecture of Functional Blocks (FB) related to IEC 61499 standard and Service Oriented Architecture (SOA); this architecture allows an easy communication of relevant information but requires a high level of security.