Siemens Mobility has secured a major contract from EFE Trenes de Chile to introduce the country’s first European Train Control System Level 2 (ETCS L2), marking a significant step forward in the digital modernisation of rail transport in Chile and Latin America. The project will deploy the company’s next-generation Signaling X platform, representing the first rollout of this technology in the region.
The new signalling system will be installed across 87km of infrastructure on the Tren Alameda–Melipilla line (61km) and the Tren Santiago–Batuco line (26km), both currently under construction. Siemens Mobility will be responsible for engineering, supplying, installing and commissioning the system over a five-year period, followed by a ten-year maintenance contract covering preventative, corrective and predictive services.
The project will run on Siemens Mobility’s DS3 platform, designed for SIL4 applications, and will include interlockings, wayside equipment, traffic control centres and onboard systems for 32 trains. Communication will be handled via 4G-LTE, with provision for future migration to 5G.
“This is a pivotal project in Latin America, bringing our cutting-edge Signaling X technology to the region for the first time and setting new standards for railway operations and efficiency,” said Marc Ludwig, CEO of Rail Infrastructure at Siemens Mobility. “We appreciate EFE for their confidence in our role as a market leader in rail and signalling technologies.”
Advanced digital platform for safer, more efficient operations
Signaling X is a cloud-ready, virtualised signalling platform that integrates control, interlocking and safety systems into a central data environment. Designed to run on commercial off-the-shelf hardware, it simplifies infrastructure requirements and reduces system complexity for operators.
Key benefits include:
- real-time train supervision and continuous communication
- reduced number of trackside interlocking systems
- lower maintenance complexity
- high scalability for future expansions
- future-ready digital architecture suitable for AI-based applications
The technology will support EFE’s long-term strategy to standardise ETCS Level 2 across future network extensions.
Strengthening Siemens Mobility’s presence in Latin America
This contract follows Siemens Mobility’s recent award for Latin America’s largest ETCS L2 project in São Paulo, reinforcing the company’s leading role in the region’s digital rail transformation.
Siemens Mobility has been active in Latin America for decades, delivering major electrification, automation and signalling programmes across Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina and Chile. The company also built the continent’s first fully automated metro line (GoA4).
As part of the new Chile contract, Siemens Mobility will establish a regional software maintenance Centre of Competence, supporting both the project and future deployments across Latin America.
EFE Trenes de Chile is undertaking significant upgrades and expansions across its suburban and commuter rail network, with ETCS L2 chosen as the future standard for ensuring operational safety, reliability and capacity.
The new Melipilla and Batuco services are key pillars of this strategy, intended to provide faster, safer and more efficient rail links for the Santiago metropolitan area.
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