Vaisala to Provide Swedish Transport Administration with New Road Weather Station Network

Vaisala
Press Release
February 21, 2019

Vaisala to Provide Swedish Transport Administration with New Road Weather Station Network  

Vaisala, a global leader in environmental and industrial measurements, has signed a five-year frame agreement with the Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket) for a minimum of 600 road weather stations throughout Sweden. The value of the deal at signing phase is approximately EUR 7 million with deliveries scheduled for 2020–2024. 

In addition to the road weather stations, the agreement includes atmospheric weather sensors and road condition sensors for the detection of snow, ice, humidity, and temperature on the road surface, as well as Observation Network Manager NM10 for remote monitoring of the network and management of road weather stations and sensors. Prior to the start of the first deliveries in 2020, a set of required tests on the products will be conducted.

Vaisala Road Weather Station RWS200 is designed for the future of road weather systems and Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). It provides a complete road weather solution to improve road, rail, or airport runway winter maintenance operations. RWS200 comprises of high quality components that have been specifically designed for and tested in the harshest conditions.

Atmospheric sensors enhance the performance of the algorithms when determining the road surface conditions. They also provide additional information that can be critical to the overall driving conditions. This kind of information can be, for example, alert of heavy rain or fog.

“We are excited to continue our collaboration with Trafikverket with this agreement. We consider a long-standing partnership to be most beneficial for both parties,” said Kenneth Hörhammer, Vice President, Weather and Environment Europe, Vaisala. “Over the years, several studies and research have been done to prove that road weather technology provides a significant return on investment. This largely comes through operational savings of road maintenance and Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) activities, which improve mobility and increase safety of travelers. Vaisala consistently introduces new road specific sensors. The remote sensors provide a level of decision support unique in the road weather market. Vaisala continues to innovate and develop new and highly relevant road weather sensors and solutions.”

“The new Vaisala road weather stations will replace Trafikverket’s current system. Our objective is to be able to monitor and guide our winter maintenance activities as well as manage traffic flow as efficiently, effectively, and safely as possible. To keep the roads safe and passable at all times, the pavement and atmospheric weather must be continuously monitored. Weather conditions such as snow and ice, heavy rains, fog, and high winds can impact road safety in many different ways. The primary requirement of a road weather station is reliable and continuous data flow from the station. We must be able to trust the information every time we make a critical decision. Vaisala is a global company with reliable and high quality products and solutions. They invest significantly in R&D to ensure technologically leading products,” said Jonas Jonsson, National Manager, Trafikverket. “The agreement is a result of a thorough process at Trafikverket. A pre-study was done in 2016, then a market analysis in 2017 followed by intense work to form preconditions and requirements. We were very confident with our procurement process in the autumn of 2018, and now we are very satisfied with the agreement.”

More information for media:

Vaisala Media Desk
Tel. +358 20 6198800, [email protected]

Vaisala is a global leader in environmental and industrial measurement. Building on over 80 years of experience, Vaisala provides observations for a better world. We are a reliable partner for customers around the world, offering a comprehensive range of innovative observation and measurement products and services. Headquartered in Finland, Vaisala employs approximately 1,850 professionals worldwide and is listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki stock exchange. www.vaisala.com www.twitter.com/VaisalaGroup