Automatic Selective Door Operation System
Petards’ SIL 2-compliant, balise-free ASDO system ensures the safe and reliable operation of passenger doors where long trains serve short platforms.
Designed as more than a door control system, our ASDO solution intelligently anticipates and adapts to the unique characteristics of each station platform. By combining advanced Global Navigation Satellite Systems, odometry, and real-time data analysis, it accurately determines the correct door release pattern for every stop.
This precise control supports safer boarding and alighting, improves operational efficiency, and helps reduce the risk of incorrect door release.
Safety Integrity Level
Petards Rail has solutions up to SIL 2 for ASDO and Driver Controlled Operation (DCO) systems.
Already aligned to the latest RIS-2747 standard, the Petards ASDO platform is designed to support both balise-free operation and integration with balise-based systems. It is also ready for future integration with ETCS Packet 44, providing a robust and future-ready solution for modern rail fleets.
What Safety Integrity Level means:
Safety Integrity Level, or SIL, is a measure of the required integrity of a safety-related function. The higher the SIL, the greater the level of assurance required to demonstrate that the function will perform safely and reliably.
IEC 61508 is the generic functional safety standard for electrical, electronic and programmable electronic safety-related systems. For railway applications, sector-specific standards were developed from the principles of IEC 61508, including:
• EN 50126 – the specification and demonstration of Reliability, Availability, Maintainability and Safety, known as RAMS.
• EN 50128 / EN 50716 – requirements for the development of safety-related railway software, with EN 50716 now superseding EN 50128 and EN 50657.
• EN 50129 – requirements for the acceptance and assurance of safety-related electronic systems for railway signalling applications.
Compliance with these rail-specific standards provides the recognised railway-sector route for demonstrating functional safety. They are based on the principles of IEC 61508, but compliance with them should not be described as automatic IEC 61508 certification unless IEC 61508 has also been explicitly assessed.
How Petards' ASDO System Works
Designed to support flexible fleet operation across peak and off-peak services, the Petards’ ASDO system can be remotely managed by train operators through our eyeBOS back-office software.
The solution requires no additional on-track or station-based hardware, helping to reduce both deployment cost and installation time across the fleet.
Where required, Petards’ ASDO can also be integrated with existing trackside infrastructure. By combining multiple sources of GNSS and odometry data, the system accurately determines train position and enables the correct door release pattern, meeting Safety Integrity Level 2 (SIL 2) requirements.
Key Benefits of Petards' ASDO System
Longer trains can be safely and efficiently deployed on routes with short passenger platforms using Petards’ fully autonomous, vehicle-based ASDO system.
Designed to reduce infrastructure requirements and support flexible fleet operation, the system provides a robust, SIL 2-compliant solution for safe and accurate door release.
The key benefits of the system are:
SIL Accredited Solution
Ensuring compliance with applicable rail standards.
Cost Saving Solution
Optimising safety, minimising dwell time.
Avoid Costly Fittings
With Petards’ ASDO system, you do not need to spend budget fitting balises and beacons to the railway track or train infrastructure. Using our SIL approved GNSS solution allows for GPS only operation.
Configure and update your fleet remotely
Petards’ eyeBOS will allow you to modify your ASDO system via an integrated approval process.
This provides the user with freedom to respond to unique events and revert back for significant operational flexibility.
Fully Automatic Train Configuration
A multiple unit operation can be achieved with our ASDO system, while the technology can also be combined with our eyeTrain Driver Controlled Operation surveillance system.
Over the Air Database Updates
Ability to make database updates over the air minimising fleet downtime and resource requirements.
Accurate Identification of a Train's Location
GNSS satellite input can be used to identify a train’s location, as well as speed and distance measurement derived from the vehicle odometry, for dead reckoning, even accounting for wheel slip for improved accuracy.
Third-Party Interface
Supports third-party graphical user interfaces, including PIS applications and integrates with third-party TCMS platforms.
Utilise existing beacons where available
Common balise systems in industry can be integrated to Petards’ ASDO system where available.
No existing infrastructure needs to be wasted.
ETCS Packett 44
Readiness for integration with ETCS Packett 44 helps future-proof Petards’ ASDO platform as rail networks continue to migrate towards ETCS-enabled operation.
By supporting the potential use of ETCS-delivered data, the system can align with wider signalling and train control strategies, reduce reliance on standalone infrastructure and provide operators with a more flexible route towards long-term inoperability.
Correct Side Door Enable
Correct Side Door Enable (CSDE) complements the core functionality of the Petards’ ASDO system. While ASDO determines the correct door release pattern based on the relationship between train length and platform length, CSDE ensures that only the platform-facing side of the train is enabled at each stop.
Petards’ ASDO and CSDE functions share the same proven hardware platform and are delivered as configurable software modules.
Where CSDE is required, the functionality can be enabled at software level without the need for additional onboard equipment.
Key CSDE benefits:
- Shares the operational and safety benefits of Petards’ ASDO solution.
- Prevents incorrect-side door release by disabling doors that are not platform-facing.
- Built into the Petards’ ASDO platform, reducing the need for additional equipment or software
- Provides CSDE warnings when a potential wrong side release is detected.
Remote Access & Data Management
Petards’ eyeBOS software enables operators to remotley access live on-train footage and review key diagnostic information securely through a web-based browser on almost any device.
Video search, viewing and export are supported through Petards’ surveillance camera systems and eyeTrain CryptoVision software. This maintains a strong audit trail, supports data traceability, and enables tamper detection to protect the integrity of recorded evidence.
By streaming captured CCTV footage to authorised on-board and off-train devices, operators can make informed, real-time decisions when responding to incidents that may affect passenger safety, service performance or operational reliability.’
A Trusted Partner
Why Choose Petards’ ASDO System
Petard Rail’s eyeTrain technology is engineered for the demands of modern rail operations, combining proven safety-critical design with the latest onboard positioning, data processing and remote management capabilities.
Our ASDO and CSDE solutions provide a fully automatic, SIL 2-approved approach to safe door release, helping operators prevent incorrect door enable events at short platforms and non-platform-facing sides of the train. Modular by design, the system can be adapted for both new rolling stock and retrofit applications, supporting integration with existing onboard systems and evolving route geography.
By reducing the need for manual intervention and removing the requirement for additional on-track or station-based equipment, Petards’ ASDO helps operators maximise fleet availability, reduce deployment complexity and optimise day-to-day service performance.
Our system is developed in accordance with the following recognised railway standards and client-approved development processes.
EN 50132-7
EN50716
EN50126
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Petards Rail is a UK leader in intelligent rail technology, delivering safety-critical solutions that protect passengers, staff and assets while helping operators maximise reliability and efficiency.
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