TELEFONOS LINEAS Y CENTRALES SA

Their core work

Telefonos Lineas y Centrales (TLC) is a Spanish SME specializing in railway infrastructure inspection and monitoring technology. They develop automated measurement systems for geometric auscultation of rail tracks and overhead catenary lines. Their core product line (tCat) provides cost-efficient solutions for rail maintenance through predictive analytics, BIM integration, and automated condition assessment of critical railway assets.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

TLC followed a classic SME innovation trajectory within H2020. They started in 2015 with a feasibility study (tCat WorkStation, SME-1 phase) focused on adapting their geometric auscultation equipment, then scaled up in 2017 with the full tCat project (SME-2 phase) adding predictive maintenance and BIM capabilities. By 2018, they joined the larger SIA consortium as a participant, broadening into prognostic health monitoring, degradation modeling, and big data — signaling a shift from hardware-focused inspection toward data-driven infrastructure intelligence.

TLC is moving from physical measurement hardware toward data-driven predictive maintenance platforms, making them increasingly relevant for digital railway and smart infrastructure projects.

How they like to work

TLC primarily leads its own projects — coordinating 2 out of 3 H2020 efforts, both through the SME Instrument pathway. This is typical of a technology SME with a strong proprietary product (tCat) that uses EU funding to develop and commercialize its own solution. Their participation in SIA as a partner in a larger consortium (9 unique partners, 5 countries) shows they can also contribute specialist capability to multi-party projects when the topic aligns with their rail monitoring expertise.

Relatively small network of 9 unique partners across 5 countries, built mainly through one multi-partner project (SIA). Their SME Instrument projects were solo efforts, so their collaborative network is still developing.

What sets them apart

TLC occupies a niche at the intersection of railway inspection hardware and predictive maintenance software — a combination few SMEs cover end-to-end. Based near Madrid, they bring direct experience with both track and catenary monitoring, which is valuable for any consortium targeting railway digitalization or maintenance optimization. Their SME Instrument track record (Phase 1 through Phase 2) demonstrates proven ability to move technology from concept to market within EU funding frameworks.

Highlights from their portfolio

• tCat
  Their flagship SME-2 project with EUR 1.36M funding — aimed at disrupting rail maintenance with cost-efficient auscultation technology combining automatic measurement, BIM, and predictive maintenance.
• SIA
  Their first collaborative project as a partner rather than coordinator, expanding into prognostic health monitoring and degradation modeling across the vehicle-infrastructure interface.