Innovations in Railways: 4G and 5G Technology and Gauge-Changing Trains

Today, we continue the series dedicated to innovations in railway traffic! 

In the previous video we spoke about hydrogen-powered trains and drone-based maintenance of railway infrastructure. Also, we had a small discussion about what innovations are and what do they mean for the railway industry. If you didn’t, check out that video right away! Now, we'll talk about use of 4G technology in rail traffic management systems and the trains capable of running at two (or more) different track gauges! We started with GSM-R - 2G-based international wireless communications standard used for communication on railways and applications that are used for these purposes. 

It is, on one hand, a secure platform for voice and data communication between railway operational staff (train drivers, dispatchers, shunting team members) and station controllers, and, on the other hand, it is a platform that enables (and guarantees!) smooth performance of the trains for the speeds up to 500 km/h, without any communication loss. Then, we presented South Korea's experience related to developing a 4G-based, Korean Train Control System, which is about to replace (outdated?) 2G technology. 

It uses so called LTE-R protocol for communication enabling smart video and audio and high-speed wireless voice and data communications - inside the train, between different trains and between the train and the ground. In the second part of the video, we spoke about a procedure of bogie exchange and the impacts it has on international railway traffic. Bogie exchange is a procedure in which a railway wagon is converted from one gauge to another - simply by removing the existing bogies, and installing a new, with differently spaced wheels. We also spoke about Spanish experience with gauge-changing trains and the recent Chinese gauge-changing trainset made by the CRRC.