Down from the air and on the rails!

First developed for the aerospace sector, Souriau’s ELIO® contact combines excellent optical performance in demanding environments with very low signal losses even when subjected to the most violent vibrations or shocks. It now joins the Souriau railway connector product range: several all-optical or electrical/optical hybrid configurations are now available in the VGE1 range.

Building on more than 20 years of expertise in optical fibre technology applied to the railway market, Souriau’s R&D teams have succeeded in incorporating ELIO® contacts into the VGE1 range of railway-qualified connectors. ELIO® is the easiest optical contact to use in demanding environments: hermaphroditic contact, contact insertion in and extraction from the connector without tools, easy to clean, contact sealed to the optical cable without additional union.

Optical fibre technology is the perfect match for railway equipment data transmission requirements: constantly increasing data rates, enhanced security and reliability, increasingly long life, and energy savings from reduced equipment weight. Optical fibre can handle practically unlimited data rates, provides immunity to electromagnetic interference without shielding, and avoids any risk of electrostatic discharge. The connectors are more compact than standard electrical connectors, while providing higher performance.

Drawing on more than a decade of operating experience feedback in the aerospace sector and its ease of use, the Elio® contact has all the advantages it needs to make its mark in the railway market, where optical technology is spreading rapidly: sensors, wayside and train signalling equipment, passenger information systems, gigabit Ethernet networks, etc. Making the choice now for optical fibre transmission rather than a conventional copper system ensures that growing data rate needs over the coming 20 years can be met without having to upgrade your network. Souriau guides all its customers on the optical fibre path, whether they are familiar with the technology or not.

SMS IP: The compact high-security railway connector
Copper connectors are not standing still: Souriau is extending its railway product range with its new SMS IP range. Designed to comply with the NF F 61-030 standard, the SMS IP is a high performance and high security connector for internal equipment. It complies with fire/smoke requirements, and is the only connector on the market to have obtained HL3/R23 rating according to the new CEN/TS 45-545 standard. It withstands low temperatures down to – 55 °C and can be used for voltages up to 500 V. Available in 3-, 6- and 12-pin versions, SMS IP has been qualified by Alstom, Bombardier and the SNCF.

Like the other connectors in the Souriau railway range, the SMS IP uses standard AWG16 contacts.

The new VGE1 Elio and SMS IP ranges will be presented at the Innotrans show in Berlin (D)Sept 2012