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SELLA CONTROLS to provide Taffs Well Depot Control System in Partnership with Amey

10 January 2022 | SELLA CONTROLS

Systems integration specialist Sella Controls Limited is pleased to announce the contract award by Amey to supply the Depot Control System at Taffs Well, Wales.

Taffs Well Depot is a modern installation being built by Transport for Wales as the base for its new fleet of Citylink Trains. The new solution will provide Transport for Wales (TfW) with a modern COTS Safety PLC based interlocking, distributed around the depot for connection to train location devices, points control and signals. The system will present depot layouts and control via a modern signallers HMI display in the new Taffs Well Control Room. 

Working in partnership with Amey Rail Consulting and Amey Rail, the contract covers the complete design, engineering, build and commissioning of a solution using Sella Controls TRACKLINK® HMI product suite in partnership with HIMA HI Matrix Safety PLC technologies. 

The application will feature a fully redundant safety PLC architecture consisting of a central interlocking PLC connected to 5 distributed location cases delivering a SIL 4 Depot Control System. Integrated with Frauscher Axle Counters to provide train detection and the control of points, this distributed approach provides a significant reduction in installation costs.

The contract also includes the supply of Sella Controls TRACKLINK® HMI application to provide operator and maintainer workstations providing the depot control, event analysis and data exchange with the mainline signalling system for the timely despatch of trains onto the network. 

The combination of these COTS based technologies, integrated with proven rail industry signalling equipment will provide TfW with a modern, flexible and cost effective solution for depot control.

Chris Elliott, SELLA CONTROLS Business Development Director for Rail commented; “The successful award of this contract by Amey is a significant milestone in the growth of our rail controls business and builds on our partnership with Amey in this field. Having the opportunity to introduce Sella Controls safety engineering expertise alongside Amey’s signalling capability strengthens our position as a premier supplier in the global rail market of Safety Critical and Control Solutions.”

Elliott added; “We will be supplying TfW with the latest HIMA SIL 4 Safety PLC technologies integrated with our TRACKLINK® HMI application and train detection equipment. This clearly demonstrates our capability as a systems integrator for rail safety applications. This project will enable the wider use of COTS based Safety PLC solutions for signalling.”

The project is progressing through the design with the depot being commissioned into operation in readiness to receive the Citylink Trains. The DCS solution being supplied is flexible in its design to enable control solutions for SIL 2, SIL 3 and SIL 4 applications.

Depot Control is an addition to Sella Controls range of rail safety solutions that includes Level Crossing Controllers, Emergency Shutdown Systems, Interlockings and Computer based Automated Test Systems (XCATS).

Note 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 Traction Power Control Systems for Irish Rail and Docklands Light Rail, 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.