Xtralis Helps Customer Madrid Metro Mark Its 90th Anniversary

Metro Honoured for Long-standing Commitment to Early Warning Fire Detection and System-wide Deployment of VESDA by Xtralis Solution 

Xtralis, a leading provider of intelligent fire detection and security solutions, today announced that in a ceremony in the city of Madrid, CEO Samir Samhouri honoured the Metro for its 90th anniversary celebration and for its forward-thinking deployment of VESDA by Xtralis aspirating smoke detectors (ASDs) across the Madrid Metro system to safeguard passengers, staff and rail infrastructure.  Covering more than 127 kilometres of track on 11 lines running beneath the city, Madrid Metro serves 423 million passengers each year. 

For years, thousands of VESDA detectors have ensured reliable, early warning smoke detection across more than 170 underground railway stations, retail shops and escalators in the Madrid Metro environment. Selected for its effectiveness in demanding critical-infrastructure environments, VESDA detects the earliest threat of fire across the entire Metro system, eliminating costly and disruptive downtime and protecting against catastrophic losses due to fire. 

As the fire detection solution of choice for Madrid Metro, VESDA is widely implemented across the system in:

·       Transformer substations
·       Escalators, elevators and concourses
·       Switching and signal rooms
·       Command centres and the Rail Museum

In addition, Madrid Metro operates the world’s largest fleet of on-board, fully automated ASD-protected trains, ensuring the utmost in safety for rolling stock and passengers. VESDA provides actionable intelligence at the earliest threat of fire, ensuring that command centre personnel and train operators can take proactive steps in real time to avert disaster before it strikes.

“We are pleased to be a part of Madrid Metro’s 90th anniversary celebration and proud of their long-standing commitment to the broad adoption of ASD, which sets a best-practise example for major transit systems around the world,” said Samir Samhouri, president and CEO of Xtralis. “Our VESDA solution is the defacto standard for the most demanding critical-infrastructure environments, and Madrid Metro’s stringent early warning requirements demonstrate their leadership and dedication to preserving passenger safety and enhancing operational continuity and performance.”

VESDA is the only ASD solution designed for use in harsh and confined environments with a zero tolerance for fire, such as underneath railway station escalators and in service rooms and ventilation duct work.  VESDA uses small tubes to collect air samples from underneath the moving stairways and above escalator motors.  The samples are passed through a multi-stage filter where advanced laser detection technology identifies the presence of fire before visible smoke can be detected, allowing fire safety personnel to address the threat before it escalates.