Heathrow Rail Tunnel Systems

Heathrow Rail Tunnel Systems

Firstco have carried out Customer Factory Acceptance testing of a ControLogix PLC system that is believed to be one of the largest of its kind in Europe.

The PLC network runs through the 2.5KM long Heathrow Express tunnel linking the T5 site to the existing PLC network at the Heathrow Central rail station. The entire network will now cover a geographical area of approximately 25km as the existing network is linked to both Terminal 4 and Paddington Station.

Firstco has tested and commissioned tunnel SCADA systems for a number of projects including:

• Heathrow Express T5 Extension (2005 - Present)
• Heathrow Express (2000 – 2003)
• Jubilee Line Extension (1998 – 2000)

Each requirement from the PLC networks and SCADA that has been identified as requiring traceability is verified through testing wherever possible. If a requirement cannot be verified through testing, it will be verified through analysis. The requirements will be verified back to the design stage (SDS) through customer Factory Acceptance Testing (cFAT) and verified back to the detailed design stage (SWDS) through software Factory Acceptance Testing (sFAT). For SIL 1 and 2 sub-systems, a third level of code verification will occur in the form of a review prior to sFAT and cFAT, that will cover additional items specified in an Appendix.

The sFAT documentation is designed to test every possible scenario of every aspect of the complete system that is described in technical detail in the SWDS documents whilst the cFat documentation will be designed to test functionality outlined in the SDS documents from a higher level, focussing on user interaction and specific tests the client wishes to see for completion and acceptance of the system.