Frauscher Sensortechnik is extending its IP-based Frauscher Advanced Platform to train detection, with a new FAdP TDS module family designed to run axle counting without dedicated signalling cables — each wheel sensor connecting to the Ethernet infrastructure through a single two-wire link carrying both power and communications.

The Wabtec subsidiary presented the development at InnoTrans. FAdP TDS is intended to be SIL 4 compliant and will share the same power, connectivity and security modules as the rest of the FAdP range, which Frauscher says saves space in lineside cabinets, cuts energy consumption and reduces integration complexity.

The platform concept responds to a structural shift in digital signalling architecture: as interlocking logic becomes more centralised, lineside equipment is consolidating onto fewer, shared platforms. FAdP combines SIL 4 certified application units with a common connectivity and power infrastructure, so that turnout, train detection and other object controllers can be deployed, managed and upgraded together. The approach targets reduced complexity and life-cycle costs for infrastructure managers. FAdP supports EULYNX Baseline 4.2 interfaces alongside generic and customer-specific protocols.

What is already in service?

The platform's object controller hardware and software build on the fourth generation of Frauscher's FAdC axle counter range. FAdP Point, the turnout controller launched at InnoTrans 2024, can control up to 20 point machines through one communication interface using a mix of standard wiring configurations.

Both FAdP Point controllers and FAdC axle counters have been selected for Väylävirasto's Digirail project in Finland — a deployment where the infrastructure manager tendered the central interlocking and the object controllers separately. Systems integrator Mipro Oy has been testing the equipment coupled to a Siemens Mobility DS3 cloud interlocking and various types of point machine.

The FAdP IO module rounds out the lineside portfolio as a SIL 4 compliant object controller for a variety of applications. It enables the safe transmission of input and output data, supporting the digitalisation of analogue legacy systems while allowing a staged transition to modern digital systems. Each unit handles eight safe inputs, eight safe outputs and four additional non-safety-critical outputs; up to 20 IOUs can be combined into one system with a single connection.

What changes with train detection on the platform?

Until now, axle counting has sat outside the FAdP architecture as a separate product line. FAdP TDS brings wheel sensors onto the same platform as point control and generic I/O, meaning operators can manage train detection and control functions from one common infrastructure rather than parallel systems with separate cabling, power supplies and security layers.

Frauscher reports that it is currently testing the chaining of multiple sensors, and says it is working towards a long-distance interface extending up to 6 km over a single two-wire connection. That range, if achieved in testing, would extend the platform's reach along the line without additional cabling infrastructure — though the figure remains a development target rather than a measured result, and the company has not yet announced a commercial availability date for the TDS modules.

Why the architecture matters

The Finnish Digirail selection illustrates the commercial logic behind the modular approach. Because Väylävirasto split the central interlocking and object controller tenders, suppliers of distributed hardware can compete independently of the interlocking vendor — in this case Frauscher equipment operating under a Siemens Mobility cloud interlocking delivered through Mipro Oy. Open interfaces such as EULYNX Baseline 4.2 underpin that separability.

For infrastructure managers, the claimed benefits concentrate in life-cycle cost: shared power and connectivity across object controller types, fewer cabinet modules, lower energy use, and single-platform upgrades rather than product-by-product replacement. Those claims will be tested against deployment experience as Digirail progresses and as FAdP TDS moves from development into SIL 4 certified service.

Frauscher says the next milestones are completing multi-sensor chaining tests and delivering the long-distance interface, which together would define the platform's suitability for network-wide train detection rollouts.