Knorr-Bremse to modernise Fortescue's train control by mid-2027

Fortescue Metals Group has commissioned Knorr-Bremse to upgrade the existing ITCS train control system and to migrate key infrastructure components to KB Signaling's ElectroLogIXS platform; the use of the EC6 digital track circuit and the Rail TempEst rail temperature measurement is also being examined.

Fortescue Metals Group, a mining group, has commissioned Knorr-Bremse to modernise and digitalise its rail network in Western Australia, several hundred kilometres long, over which iron ore travels from the mines to the coastal ports. The programme runs in stages until mid-2027: the existing ITCS train control system is upgraded and key infrastructure components are moved to the ElectroLogIXS platform of the group unit KB Signaling (headquartered in the USA), so that ore trains weighing up to 5,000 t receive their driving parameters remotely in real time instead of pulling into sidings to adjust them. Further technology (EC6 digital track circuit, Rail TempEst rail temperature measurement) is also being examined; the report gives no contract value, and the date is the day of the report. (LOK Report, 16 Jul 2026)