7.Operations

The Operations department handles all matters relating to the day-to-day operation of road tunnels, and occasionally rail and river tunnels: traffic management, technical management, equipment maintenance and operating costs. It maintains constant contact with road tunnel operators, in particular through its coordination and secretarial role for theGTFE (French-speaking Working Group of Road Tunnel Operators) and the Tunnels Committee (which brings together tunnel operators from local authorities). It is thus in contact with more than 170 road tunnel operators or safety officers. It processes the knowledge collected out in the field and disseminates it internally to other CETU departments.

In the life of an underground structure, the Operations Department can intervene very early on, from the initial design phases, or later on, during the daily monitoring of tunnel operations. In conjunction with operators, it participates in:

• the development of professional guidelines and research;
• the incorporation of feedback into new projects;
• the dissemination of knowledge and new recommendations to future users;
• assistance missions for operators, project owners and project managers.

Its scope of action mainly covers the following major topics :

• the organisation of operations
• signalling, geometry and intelligent transport systems
• maintenance policy and asset monitoring
• the shift towards sustainable mobility.

For each of these topics, the main activities of the department are presented below.

Organisation of operations

This topic encompasses all the actions implemented by operators to ensure that the ‘tunnel system’ provides users with an appropriate service and guarantees the safety of persons.

The Operations department’s activities concern:

• the organisation of day-to-day operations, including preparation for event/contingency management (organisation of monitoring, emergency information systems and operating procedures, minimum operating conditions, coordination between the operator and emergency services, safety drills, etc.);
• the professionalisation of operators (through initial and refresher training courses) and other operating personnel (management, maintenance staff, field agents, through various specific training courses);
• feedback, which is then used for exercises, and when dealing with traffic incidents, malfunctions of any origin, communication with users, etc.

Signalling, geometry and intelligent transport systems

This topic encompasses the design and implementation of technical measures for traffic flow management.

The department focuses in particular on the following sub-topics:

• tunnel geometry, taking into account functional expectations and the needs of operators and users (according to types of transport and desired multifunctionalities, vehicle dimensions, regulatory requirements, etc.);
• signalling in tunnels and in their vicinity, including regulations and their implementation, any necessary adaptations and maintenance issues for these systems;
• adapting tunnels to the safe circulation of connected and automated vehicles, integrating intelligent transport systems that can improve infrastructure safety.

Maintenance policy and monitoring of equipment assets

This topic encompasses all actions enabling tunnel operators to maintain tunnels in good condition, mainly in terms of equipment.

It includes:

• tools to assist in proper asset management, with support for the Ministry of Transport’s Directorate-General for Land Transport and Mobility for state-owned tunnels;
• knowledge and assessment of assets, with the application of booklet 40 and the integration of lessons learned from tunnel inspections;
• optimisation of operating resources with a view to efficiency;
• improvement of tunnel design, maintenance and operation through analysing feedback, Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) and the contribution of technological and digital innovations.

The Operations department is also currently involved in managing the end of motorway concessions, alongside FCA (the French government department responsible for financing and monitoring the motorway network), and in collaboration with CETU’s Materials, Structures and Tunnel Durability department.

Shift towards sustainable mobility

Work aimed at integrating sustainable personal mobility (active transport modes) into existing infrastructure, whether urban, rural or dedicated (such as greenways), involves collaboration between several CETU departments. It is the subject of strategic research activities led by the Operations department.

Contact us

Secrétariat : (+33) (0)4 72 14 34 14

Courrier : exploitation.cetu@developpement-durable.gouv.fr