ATMB ¥ News/ANG n¡15

Mont Blanc Tunnel news
Information
on the recovery
and modernisation
programme
of the Mont Blanc tunnel
Editorial
Mont Blanc Tunnel managers ATMB
and SITMB have always said that
their primary goal was to reopen
a tunnel that meets each and every
safety requirement set by the French
and Italian governments.
Conformity to these standards is
being checked by the future single
operator via a comprehensive series
of tests and dry runs. Moreover,
the Security Committee appointed
by the French and Italian
governments is supervising
additional exercises.
Some 4,000 technical trials are
currently under way; the results
so far are largely satisfactory.
Some additional fine-tuning is still
required, causing a slight delay
in the delivery of the tunnel (originally
scheduled for December 10).
As a result, public authorities will
conduct safety exercises after the
Christmas holiday period, in January
2002. Then only will the relevant
government ministers be able
to announce the reopening date.
This extra time will enable
completion of additional work
needed to organise alternate traffic
routing with the Fréjus Tunnel. ■
N°15
December 2001
Info
The 4,000 tests
of the company trials
A total of 4,000 tests must be conducted as part of the company trials prior to
delivery to Mont Blanc Tunnel managers ATMB/SITMB and G.E.I.E. TMB.
Launched in September while restoration work was under way, these tests are
designed to control the reliability and performance of all equipment used inside
the tunnel. Results fall into three categories: conclusive tests, minor reservations
that do not invalidate the trial, and serious reservations that dispute the trial.
To ensure optimum equipment reliability, tests that raise serious reservations
are carried out again until satisfactory results are obtained in line with safety
requirements. Following these tests, G.E.I.E. TMB, the future sole operator
of the tunnel, will conduct dry runs and the French and Italian authorities
will carry out full-scale exercises.
200 people mobilised to conduct
the five-level technical tests
So far, close to 2,400 tests have been
performed at five successive levels to
determine the following:
power supply and wiring to other technical
components inside the tunnel.
Level 1: compliance of each equipment
Level 3: equipment is classified by
“function” (ventilation, lighting, thermometry,
etc.) to ensure that all functions operate
as specified when activated.
item with its prototype and specifications
defined by engineer Scetauroute-Spea.
Level 4: Independent assessment of
Level 2: correct installation of each
equipment item, including inspections of
the Centralised Technical Management
(GTC) systems (without connection to
other equipment).
The last steps before reopening
In addition to the technical trials conducted by the companies, the
dry runs performed by the G.E.I.E. consortium and the exercises by
the public authorities, reopening of the Mont Blanc Tunnel
to traffic is subject to the finalisation of:
• traffic regulations taking into account the alternate routing scheme;
• toll structures, including combined Mont Blanc/Fréjus passes;
• parliamentary ratification of communications exchanged between
France and Italy to endorse the creation of mixed police squads
assigned to impose fines on traffic offenders inside the tunnel.
Telecommunications, emergency
call network and public address
system
These tests concern the performance of
data transmission and telecommunications
networks. The following tests have been
completed:
• all Level 1 tests (a total of 170),
• 94% of Level 2 tests (170).
Level 5: integrated operation of the
GTC systems with other equipment.
In total, more than 200 people are
involved in the test campaign. These
include 30 technicians from the FrancoItalian engineer Scetauroute-Spea
and managers ATMB and SITMB
and their assistants;more than 100
people from the eight consortiums
commissioned to supply equipment;
and over 85 people from G.E.I.E.
TMB’s departments of Security/
Traffic, Information Technology and
Customer/Toll Gate. A delegation
from the Security Committee has also
been appointed to observe Level 5 tests.
Electrical work
Most of the current tests are in this field.
The following have been completed:
• 99% of Level 2 tests (totalling 567),
• 82% of Level 3 tests (nearly 100),
• 91% of Level 4 tests (240).
Areas covered by these tests include
unhooking fire extinguishers, door contacts,
circuit breakers, transformers, high and
low voltage panels, roof-mounted lighting
and lighting in ducts, etc. Minor reservations
concern cleaning of equipment bays
and misplaced cable labels.
Centralised Technical
Management (GTC)
These tests are designed to check the
operation of the 37 programmable
logic controllers (PLCs) installed in the
emergency shelters, tunnel-end servers,
memory boards, data network and
computer terminal connections. The following
tests have been completed:
• all Level 1 tests (a total of 50),
• all Level 2 tests (50) with 96% of minor
reservations now removed,
• 80% of Level 3 tests (225).
CCTV and automatic incident
detection system
The 120 cameras have all been checked.
However, they cannot be configured
until the road surface is completely ready
for service (cleanliness, white lines, etc.).
The following tests have been completed:
• all Level 2 tests (55),
• 60% of Level 3 tests.
Ventilation work
Level 1 and 2 tests have been conclusively
completed, along with:
• 70% of Level 3 tests,
• 93% of Level 5 tests.
A special category of ventilation tests was
defined for this work. The aim is to test
the general functioning of the ventilation
systems on the basis of predefined models
beyond the actual equipment items
themselves. Aspects covered include, for
example, the volume of air to be extracted,
checks on duct airtightness, efficient
distribution throughout the length of the
tunnel of air injected into the ducts, etc.
The following tests have been completed:
• 17% of the 61 planned tests on stagnant air,
• 31% of the 48 planned tests on fresh air.
Fire-fighting system
The fire-fighting system ducts have been
pressurised, remote control by GTC systems
has been checked, and tests have been
performed on all manual and automatic
control valves, booster pumps, sensors,
and hydrants, etc.:
• all Level 3 tests (107) have been conclusively
completed,
• all Level 5 tests (21) have been completed.
to which the cable is connected, along with
configuration of the detection pitch.
Signalling systems
The following tests have been carried out on
the variable message boards, traffic lights,
charts, barriers, etc.:
• all Level 1 and 2 tests,
• 99% of Level 3 tests (440),
• 86% of Level 5 tests (42).
Radio communications system
Tests of analogue, digital and FM channels
have been carried out on the amplifiers,
antennas, retransmission boxes, microphones
and computer terminals installed at both
tunnel ends. The following tests have been
completed:
• 97% of Level 2 tests (65),
• 79% of Level 3 tests (118).
These tests will be concluded by external
safety services.
Lighting work
A luminescence test was carried on the first
1,000 meters of the French entrance to
the tunnel to check that the light intensity
adapted to the outside light. The same test
will be conducted on the Italian entrance
once the work site has been cleaned. ■
Thermometric fire detection
network
The 50 Level 2 tests and 85 Level 3 tests
have been conclusively completed. They
concerned the detection cable and computers
Executive editor: Laurence Guillerm (ATMB) - Design and editorial content:
Autoroutes et Tunnel du Mont Blanc - Head office: 100, avenue de Suffren - 75015 Paris - www.atmb.net
Construction Division: Immeuble "Le Majestic", 74400 Chamonix - Tel.: +33 (0)4 50 53 51 80