Siemens, Damm Test TETRA Solution with ETCS Level 2 for Rail
23rd Aug 2018
Siemens and Damm Cellular Systems implemented and tested an open and interoperable TETRA packet data solution that complies with European Train Control System (ETCS) level two.
The tests were mainly focused on bandwidth requirements and the reliability of data delivery. They were performed according to UNISIG Subset-093 (PS version), the communications requirement specification for ETCS describing the worst-case conditions for ETCS communications.
Packet data for this service provides scalable and sufficient bandwidth for ETCS level two. Unlike circuit-switch service, the data is fully interoperable between vendors of a train-borne onboard unit (OBU) and a wayside radio broadcast center (RBC) along the rail track.
The solution tested provided two dimensions of interoperability — the interoperability between TETRA vendors that have completed interoperability tests for packet data, and secondly, the interoperability between OBU and wayside RBC vendors secured by the use of standard ETCS level two, which is also specified for GSM-R packet data.
Within the solution tested, the standard was kept; the main change was the replacement of the GSM-R hardware with TETRA hardware. The safety integrity level was kept between both train-borne OBU and wayside RBC. Results of these tests have proven that data transmission quality in both directions was always above requirements of the standard and that TETRA delivered equal or even better results than a GSM-R system.
“Thanks to the easy integration based on a pure IP interface and the longer lifetime expectation of TETRA systems, this solution can be beneficial or be an alternative, wherever GSM-R is not mandatory due to authority regulations,” said Sven Hagenbuck, responsible for Siemens Mobility sales in Australia.
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