30 years with QNX: Trainers of Channel's trains improve their skills on simulators based on QNX

In the early 1990s, builders of the transport tunnel under the English Channel (also known as the “Channel”) faced a problem. To make the "Channel" commercially viable, it was necessary to organize up to 1,200 patrols per day. This requires a lot of machinists who need to be trained somewhere.

Working as a train driver on the Channel train is not easy. You need to speak good English and French. In case of emergency, for example, in the event of a fire, breakdown or accident in a tunnel, it is required to instantly notify about the actions of passengers. It is necessary to apply all your knowledge when driving a train at a speed of 100 miles per hour, in a 31-mile-long tunnel that is located 330 feet below the seabed. Yeah, claustrophobic people have nothing to do here.

It is clear that the tunnel itself could not be used, because It is used around the clock. Where were all the trainers to be trained by the Channel?
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A simple solution was found: use simulators. After an international tender in 1991, the French company EBIM was selected to supply simulators based on QNX for the Eurostar, C92 and Le Shuttle trains.

So why did EBIM choose QNX? Below are a few quotes from Philippe Rose, who then worked at EBIM:

“We chose QNX because it was the only real-time operating system that provided all the necessary functions — the window system, the real-time functions, the network — that enabled us to do the necessary development.”

“We wanted to achieve as short a response time as possible so that the simulation was realistic. When the trainee presses the beep button, the sound should be heard without delay. Indicators of pressure and movement of the cab should change immediately when the brake is applied. Artificially created images used by the visual system also require a high refresh rate — a new train location should be displayed every 40 milliseconds (i.e. 25 frames per second). ”

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