Bosch Engineering equips the entire tram fleet of the city of Iași with its collision warning system, named Tram Forward Collision Warning (TFCW). The system assists drivers in critical situations in urban traffic through sound and visual warnings, thus offering increased safety, both for tram drivers and passengers, or for other traffic participants. Safety in public transportation is one of the greatest challenges for modern cities and especially in dense city traffic, inattentive road users present a considerable risk for tram drivers.
The city of Iași, that has become an important center for innovation and modern infrastructure in the past years, intends to improve road safety by using modern technologies. The project, initiated by the City Hall of Iași, is developed together with Bosch Engineering, that will assume the role of a tier 1 supplier for the first time and bears the responsibility for delivering and installing the system and for training the tram drivers. “We are thrilled that Iași has opted in favor of our system and that we are contributing to greater road safety,” says Heiko Mangold, head of the rail technology business field at Bosch Engineering GmbH. The project is scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2025.
Bosch Engineering’s tram forward collision warning system (TFCW) has been successfully in use around the world since 2017. The system has three components, which work together perfectly. A multipurpose camera monitors the tracks and detects objects such as pedestrians, vehicles, and cyclists. A radar sensor detects obstacles even under difficult conditions such as fog, rain, and darkness.
It also receives information from the camera, verifies it, and compares it with parameters such as speed and distance. All this information then comes together in the rail control unit, which provides the interface between the Bosch components and the tram’s systems. This allows the system to be easily retrofitted even in older tram models. If there is an imminent risk of collision, the system warns the driver both visually and acoustically. And in an additional expansion stage, the system could even automatically brake if the driver fails to react.
The system is currently being integrated into eight different tram types, including models of different ages. This variety poses a special challenge, since the system has to be individually adapted to the various tram types to ensure smooth operation.
