China’s Ministry of Railways Chooses Nortel Mobile Network to Enable High-Speed Railway to Run Smoother

China’s Ministry of Railways (MOR) has gained powerful communications and train management capabilities for its busy system after selecting GSM-R mobile communications railway technology from Nortel* [NYSE/TSX: NT]. The highly secure wireless network provides new communications capabilities between trains and ground staff along the 510 km high-speed passenger line between Zhengzhou and Xi’an.

With fast trains traveling at speeds of up to 350 km/hr, conventional mobile networks are not reliable enough to depend on for critical communications. Purpose-built for such applications, the Nortel GSM-R solution enables drivers, dispatchers, shunting team members, train engineers, station controllers and other railway employees to reach each other anywhere along the line, even at full speed. Features such as group calls, connections based on the train’s position, prioritization of calls during emergencies, and connection to employees by function rather than name all ensure the rapid response necessary for safe and efficient train operation.

In May 2006, Nortel signed an agreement with MOR to deploy GSM-R to seven of MOR’s 19 switching centers, at Xi’an, Chengdu, Harbin, Nanchang, Lanzhou, Kunming and Urumqi. As a significant component of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERMTS), GSM-R reliably transports voice, data, and advanced European Train Control System-2 (ETCS-2) signaling data even at high speeds. This will enable MOR to safely maximize traffic on the Zhengzhou-Xi’an line, a significant rail route that is expected to promote trade and economic exchanges between eastern and western China. The Nortel GSM-R solution deployment also marks the first commercial operation of this kind on a dedicated passenger line (DPL) running up to 350 km/hr on the ETCS-2 in China.

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