SELLA CONTROLS TRACKLINK® RTU achieves full industry Product 
Acceptance

5 July 2021 | SELLA CONTROLS

Stockport, United Kingdom - Systems integration specialist Sella Controls Limited is pleased to announce that it’s TRACKLINK® RTU Product has achieved full Network Rail Product Acceptance for 
electrification control and substation automation.

Acceptance of the TRACKLINK® RTU is the culmination of a long term partnership between Sella Controls and Mitsubishi Electric. Back in 2007, both companies identified an opportunity to combine their industry expertise and proven products to design a modern, cost effective, COTS (commercially off the shelf) based Remote Terminal Unit (RTU) for Traction Power Substation control and automation.

A long term product development strategy was implemented which saw the first installation going live in January 2016 at West Ham Feeder Station on the Anglia route. Since then Sella Controls has deployed installations across the UK rail network for Network Rail, Transport for London and Docklands Light Rail. This has included not just substation automation but also Tunnel Ventilation Control and the provision of Consolidated Control Panels for the Safer Isolations Program.

As part of the HS2 enabling works program, Sella Controls recently installed a solution at Euston to provide substation automation and control. This installation presented the opportunity to demonstrate the full capability of the TRACKLINK® RTU with the application requiring a fully distributed solution across four substations implementing both remote and local control as well as auto reconfiguration of power around the site.

Chris Elliott, SELLA CONTROLS Business Development Director for Rail Infrastructure commented; “This achievement is another significant milestone in the development of the TRACKLINK® product suite. Achieving full Network Rail product acceptance demands hard work, innovation and commitment to meet the requirements of the industry standards that apply. When Sella Controls and Mitsubishi Electric set in motion the development program for the TRACKLINK® RTU we knew this was a long term plan. It is fantastic news for both businesses.”

Elliott added: “Our success is down to the combined engineering expertise within both businesses, the end client base and the support of the industry supply chain who had to confidence to invest in a new product in 2015. The TRACKLINK® RTU is now recognised as a premier solution for substation control and automation in the UK Rail industry.”

David Bean, Solutions Group Manager for Mitsubishi Electric also commented: “The joint development between Mitsubishi Electric and Sella Controls has produced a great solution for the rail network. Where their complimentary skills combined with the use of Mitsubishi Electric’s robust and versatile iQ-R series programmable logic controller has produced a COTS telemetry solution within TRACKLINK® RTU that is fit for purpose for many different field communications scenarios and supportable for the long asset life expectations of the sector”

Sella Controls are in the process of installing and commissioning three TRACKLINK® RTU on the Wessex route, replacing life expired Foxboro C50 equipment.
Notes to Editors


Company Brief – Sella Controls
Established in 1974 as Sella Controls, the company was appointed agent for HIMA Paul Hildebrandt for safety system products in 1983; and became Hima-Sella Ltd in 1994. In 2001, Hima-Sella Ltd received the first ever CASS certificate - awarded for functional safety management in accordance with IEC 61508. In June 2017 the company changed its name back to Sella Controls. The change of name reflects the successful and continued development of the business across an increasing number of industry sectors, whilst maintaining its long standing relationship with HIMA Paul Hildebrandt GmbH of Bruehl, Germany.

Today, Sella Controls is recognised as a market leader in ‘engineered solutions’ for safety, control, automation and telecommunication applications in the oil & gas, petrochemical, rail, steel and power industries. Current services include completely integrated systems, panel building, sub-assemblies, product development and on-site support.

The company is an active member of RISQS – the standard database from which companies in the rail sector select their contractors and suppliers; First Point Assessment Limited (FPAL, the industry database from which those operating in the oil and gas industries select their contractors and suppliers); and the Joint Qualification Scheme (JQS, the prerequisite for suppliers to the oil industry in Norway and Denmark, as used by the top 20 oil companies in those countries). Sella Controls is also a member of several associations and industry-based councils, including the Railway Industries Association, Rail Alliance, Energy Industries Council, the Institute of Measurement & Control, and the Nuclear Industry Association, keeping the company up to date with the changes in legislation and standards.

Recent multi-million pound contracts won by Sella Controls in the rail sector are the design and supply of Docklands Light Rail Traction SCADA System, a fully integrated telecommunications system for the Central Line, Network Rail SCADA Renewals across AC/DC Electrification and Tunnel Ventilation SCADA for the Piccadilly Line. (In the oil & gas sector the upgrade of critical safety equipment in Norway, at the world’s third largest liquid petroleum gas (LPG) processing plant, as well as offshore system in the North Sea and Indian Ocean. The company is headquartered in Stockport with regional offices in Leicestershire and Aberdeen. In total, Sella Controls employs more than 100 full-time personnel and has a turnover in excess of £12million. The company’s quality management system has been approved to BS EN ISO 9001 since 1989.