Control centre of the M-30

Portada » Control Centre

The Control Centre is the brain of the M-30, playing the role of running, organising and coordinating the M-30 daily road traffic. It provides a 24-hour service, 365 days a year.

1.5 million motor vehicles travel on the M-30 daily. To supervise this heavy traffic, the M-30 has a Primary Control Centre and a Backup Control Centre. Both integrate cutting-edge technology and highly-skilled personnel.

Where it is located

The Primary Control Centre is located in 95 Méndez Álvaro Street and is one of the largest and most advanced infrastructures of its kind in the world. This is evidenced by the large number of visits the centre receives per day, both from national and foreign institutions and corporations.

How the control center of the M-30 is managed

The Control Centre manages an average of 35 incidents per day. The vast majority are minor incidents such as broken-down vehicles or minor traffic collisions. The Control Centre also supervises and coordinates the maintenance works that Emesa performs on the M-30. Annually, over 90,000 work orders are executed by our staff.

Next time you drive on the M-30 remember that you are not alone. A large number of professionals assisted by cutting-edge technology ensure that you have a comfortable and safe trip.

IT SYSTEMS

To manage this significant number of vehicles, incidents and maintenance works, the Control Centre features the most advanced IT systems, which guarantee a safe and smooth traffic flow. The control is conducted from different posts in the Primary Control Centre, as well as from the Backup Control Centre.

Some systems that stand out, among others, are the Automatic Incident Detection system, the energy remote control, the CCTV and several Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems.

The SCADA systems allow the Control Centre to monitor, supervise and run all the facilities, including the more than 400,000 signals coming from security systems, electromechanical installations, traffic, communications and lighting.

INCIDENCE MANAGEMENT

All these systems centralise the control of over 1,600 cameras, 700 SOS posts, a 60-km multi-mode and a 78-km single-mode fibre optic ring-network, 400 communication nodes, 900 fans, 550 variable-message signs, 40,000 lights, 120 road traffic measurement systems, 8,000 fire detectors, air quality analysers and other devices.

In case of a failure in any system, a visual and acoustic alarm is activated on the control panel, which allows the operator to manage the incident immediately.

The Control Centre also has a Local Police service point in the room, as well as direct communication with 112 (Emergency telephone number).

It is possible to establish direct communication with users from the Control Centre. To this effect, operators can use the Public Address system installed in the tunnel, the SOS posts or even broadcast information messages live to your FM radio.

As a result, the M-30 Control Centre has become a global benchmark for traffic management and road tunnel safety.

CONSOLE OPERATORS, SUPERVISORS AND SHIFT SUPERVISORS

A staff of 7 people per shift works in the Control Centre, being fully operational 24 hours, 365 days a year. This number increases in periods of higher traffic intensity. The Control Centre staff is highly qualified and receives continuous training. In addition, drills are carried out periodically which helps continuous improvement and reduces probabilities of error. The vast majority of these drills include the participation of external emergency teams such as the Police, SAMUR and the Fire Department.

This human team is the true asset of the Control Centre. The experience and performance of its members ensures that incidents will be swiftly managed.

COMMUNICATION WITH USERS

Console operators are responsible for managing all the equipment within the infrastructure. They centralise communications with users, emergency services and maintenance teams. The Control Centre performs more than 200,000 communications per year. They also receive alerts if any anomaly appears in the equipment. Operators continuously monitor the traffic and equipment status of the M-30, instantly detecting incidents ranging from a broken-down vehicle to a major traffic collision. The operators inform the travellers, via the variable-message sign, of the traffic status and possible road incidents.

Room supervisors coordinate the work of all the operators present. They are responsible for ensuring that in the event of an incident, each operator performs their assigned tasks.

The shift supervisor is the person in charge of the M-30 operation. They are responsible for coordinating the actions of the Control Centre with emergency services such as the Police, SAMUR and the Fire Department. Shift supervisors have extensive knowledge of traffic incident management and tunnel facilities.

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