This system is designed to control up to 200 routes. Here, a route refers to the distance between two consecutive points in railway signal processing. The primary goal of the system is to streamline operating facilities and control processes, and to increase efficiency, by enabling train dispatchers to control the operation of the entire tram line. This system also enhances the overall safety of the tram and reduces the possibility of operator error.

In addition to the detailed functions of the system, Bombardier took into account the special environmental conditions of Suzhou, such as high temperatures and humidity rising up to 82%. Electronic equipment used in these extreme conditions must be robust and provide the highest level of reliability for such mission-critical applications.

The train dispatcher can control and monitor all movement on the railway marshalling yard and tram line from their control point, as well as set routes and control individual location points. MOXA's rugged ioPAC 8500 series, a modular RTU controller, is a key part of the system and can monitor the condition of railway equipment by collecting and recording results measured from sensors installed for trackside management in real time.

"Nadir Yilmaz, Sales Manager for Eastern Europe at MOXA, explained, 'The RTU controller's ioPAC 8500 series can collect data precisely with high-speed data capture rates and millisecond timestamps. Every cabinet at the Suzhou railyard is equipped with a pair of controllers, and all commands are executed only after approval from both devices. In this way, the security of the solution is enhanced, and unauthorized access to the system is prevented.'"

One of the project's key challenges is the extreme environment. High temperatures and humidity require robust industrial hardware and software. Bombardier's CITYFLO 150 software is a core element of the entire project and requires a robust hardware platform, and the ioPAC 8500 provides such a platform along with a high MTBF. The product's high reliability, combined with a modular design and C programming, is a critical prerequisite for selecting this robust platform. Furthermore, compared to competing products, MOXA's solution is more cost-effective by combining the controller and I/O into a single device.