Critical Software selects BlackBerry for Portugal’s National Rail Network safety improvements

BlackBerry Limited announced that its QNX OS for Safety has been selected by Critical Software to implement a railway protection system, being deployed for Portugal’s national rail network.

Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP), the Portuguese railway infrastructure manager, had been looking for a solution that performed movement authority and speed supervision functionalities. IP awarded Critical Software with a contract to design, supply and supervise the installation of a complementary safety system to be deployed for its fleet of maintenance vehicles that inspect things like tracks, bridges and overhead lines.

“BlackBerry QNX is trusted by rail partners around the globe to help them develop safe, secure mission-critical systems that they can count on and it’s a real pleasure to share both our expertise and proven technology to support the comprehensive safety solution that Critical Software will be rolling out across the Portuguese rail network,”said Joerg Zimmer, said Joerg Zimmer VP, BlackBerry Technology Solutions.

The QNX-powered system from Critical Software will perform active supervision of vehicle operations, avoid Signal Passed at Danger (SPAD) scenarios and ensure applicable speed restrictions are met on Portugal’s 2,786 kilometres of track.

“Overseeing the safety of the legions of maintenance vehicles that work across a rail network as vast as Portugal’s is no small task and something that requires having a high level of trust and reliability in one’s suppliers,” said Luís Gargaté, Business Development Director, Critical Software. “Beyond just a supplier, we see BlackBerry QNX as a true partner. Besides supplying the operating system, their support to help us certify the overall solution will be crucial to deploy it faster.”