Huawei eLTE Solution for Heavy Haul Railway

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Version No.: M3-038477-20150116-C-2.0

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Overview

Background-New Challenges for Heavy Haul Railway

The application of the capacity-increasing technology on the heavy haul

trains raises new challenges for railway mobile communications. Stable,

reliable access to mobile communications on higher capacity trains requires

larger, more reliable train-to-ground broadband to reliably extend support for

existing GSM-R services and new services. Heavy haul railway safety issues,

such as the need for comprehensive track monitoring, increases the load

on traditional mobile telecom systems. New techniques and technologies, a

new broadband telecommunications system, is needed to break through the

limitations of the old system.

The Solution-eLTE

With LTE, railway operators can start shifting their dedicated wireless

networks from GSM to LTE. The Huawei broadband eLTE network for heavy

haul railway has high reliability, high bandwidth, short delay, and excellent

mobility. It can guarantee higher capability and safer operation.

Huawei eLTE Solution for Heavy Haul Railway｜1

CN Redundancy

Masterlocomotive

Slavelocomotive

Controllabletrain tail

NMS

OCU+CIR OCU+CIR

eCNS1 eCNS2

RRU

BBU

RRU

BBU

RRU

BBU

Front Middle Rear

Voice dispatchingserver

CTC server

Locomotivecontrol server

Solution&Application Scenarios

Application 1: Multi-locomotive synchronous control to improve train capacity

The increased length of heavy haul trains results in a greater distance between locomotives. The master locomotive at the front needs

to be able to communicate with the controllable tail at the back, to solve the longitudinal impulse problem of long trains. Traditional

telecommunications systems are not up to this task.

With Huawei LTE wireless system, multi-locomotive synchronization system for heavy haul trains is able to link cars over 2500m apart  

and can do it with less than 100ms of delay.

The locomotive synchronization system is made up of an on-board communication unit (OCU), a controllable train-tail, a ground  

wireless multi-locomotive server, and an LTE network.

Application 2: Voice dispatching to increase inter-departmental efficiency

The Huawei LTE-based communications and dispatching system not only provides all of the standard voice dispatching functions of a

GSM-R based system; it can also interwork with FAS to support dynamic group calls between locomotives. Voice dispatching can:

Enhance interdepartmental efficiency between the dispatchers, various attendants, engineers, emergency workers and other related personnel.  

Provide voice dispatching services, telephone services at the station and the yard, and telephone services between stations. It supports  

personal calls, emergency calls, and group or conference calls.

Include vehicle terminal CIR and handheld terminals, an FAS dispatching console, a trunking dispatching console, a trunking server, and  

an LTE network.

Application 3: Video surveillance and running status monitoring to guarantee operational safety

The LTE network can be used to conduct on-board video surveillance and status recording from the command center. This surveillance can

assist in handling emergency situations and in making evaluations of responsibility after events.

Real time surveillance over important roadways  

Real time on-board video surveillance  

Real time running status reporting  

Multi-locomotive synchronous

control

Station and yard dispatching

Driver dispatching On-board video surveillance

Train status monitoring

Command centerControllable train tail

Major Roadway video surveillance

With wide coverage, short delay, and high bandwidth, as well as its IP platform, the eLTE solution can

use a single network to support multiple functions.

2｜Huawei eLTE Solution for Heavy Haul Railway Huawei eLTE Solution for Heavy Haul Railway｜3

Multiple Levels of Network Redundancy

Secure and reliable communications are core issues for heavy haul railway telecommunications.

The eLTE heavy haul broadband mobile telecom system must transmit train control signals such as synchronous control signals and

controllable train tail signals. In addition, it transmits signals for dispatching commands, train number checking, and emergency calls. These

services are all necessary to ensure train safety. This is why Huawei designed an LTE solution with enhanced reliability built in on three

levels: network architecture, key network elements, boards and modules. They all have been designed with automated backup systems and

redundancies that enhance the overall reliability of the LTE system to 99.999%.

Service Prioritization

Service prioritization ensures that when the system is overloaded, important services are preferentially guaranteed. Various LTE QoS

mechanisms are implemented so that, when the network is congested, eNodeBs and the evolved packet core (EPC) use mechanisms such

as admission control, congestion control, and service pre-emption to ensure that high-priority services such as locomotive synchronization

control, train tail control, and emergency calls remain unaffected.

Railway Voice Dispatching over IP

The LTE QoS mechanism guarantees reliability of CS services over the PS bearer, and has allowed for trunking dispatching communications

performance to reach that over GSM-R, with some performance indexes even better. Moreover, it provides other railway-specific functions

such as functional number, cell location based routing, call matrix, and emergency call. The railway trunking dispatching solution is highly

reliable. It provides a trunking dispatching server with dual-center functionality. In order to better satisfy the requirements for convenient

operation of heavy haul rail, group call for multi-locomotive train drivers has been introduced to allow drivers to quickly establish high

quality VoIP connections with each other. New safety measures have been introduced as well. During construction or in emergency

scenarios, there is an 800 meter buffer zone with temporary group call which can be effectively extended beyond that.

Dual-Network Coverage

A dual network load sharing design is employed to ensure that heavy haul railway safety services are never interrupted and to double the

frequency usage. When a transmission link between a UE, eNodeB, or the EPC, malfunctions, dual-network redundancy guarantees that

synchronization control and train tail services continue uninterrupted. Two networks can bear voice dispatching services for different CIRs

and handheld devices. In addition, this dual network design provides twice the bandwidth utilization of the traditional active-plus-standby

network configuration and more robust support for network services.

Robust Network

The eLTE solution is based on advanced LTE technology, and can achieve downlink data rate of 100 Mbit/s and uplink data rate of 50 Mbit/s. The

system uses the cell combination feature to reduce the total number of handovers and extend cell coverage areas. This extends the single

site coverage and reduces the probability of service drops because handovers or cell reselections are not required when UEs move between

the coverage areas of the RRUs. Moreover, the ability to reduce interference has improved significantly through interference rejection

combining (IRC) advanced receiver technology, effectively increasing network quality.

Interworking with FAS and CTC

The connection between the PoC server and the FAS switching center provides unified dispatching between wired and wireless systems. The

PoC trunking server is connected to the EPC and interconnects with the FAS through the E1 port. A handheld trunking terminal can access

the LTE network, the PoC trunk server and the FAS primary systems to establish a VoIP connection between the PoC handheld terminal and

the FAS dispatching system.

To guarantee that each locomotive is bound to a specific IP, the system needs to assign fixed IP addresses to end terminals so that, during

load sharing between base stations or EPCs, IP addresses remain static. Huawei eLTE solution uses proprietary technologies to assign static

IP addresses in such scenarios and interconnect the LTE system and the railway CTC system.

To guarantee safe and efficient operations, LTE for heavy haul railway flexibly adapts to the varying

demands of each LTE public network with a variety of high tech solutions.

Solution Highlights

4｜Huawei eLTE Solution for Heavy Haul Railway Huawei eLTE Solution for Heavy Haul Railway｜5

The network management system provides carrier level management for a wide range of wireless network elements, including the eNodeBs and core network(eCNS600).

Performance management  Fault management  Configuration management  Security management  Log management  Resource management  Alarm Management  

The MDS6800 application server is a POC server for voice dispatching.TDM/IP dual-network architecture: supports the circuit /IP dual network  frameworkHigh reliability: the dual standby mechanism, all modules support the hot  standby and hot pluggingMaintainability: convenient and reliable upgrading of services  Safety protection design: class III lightning protection, high resistance to  electromagnetic interferenceHigh quality design: EMC/EMI, heat dissipation, dustproof design,  MTBF>=37 yearsHigh capacity, high performance: BHCA value >680000 times/H, call loss  <1/100000Terminal diversification: supports a series of dispatching terminals  

Network Management System

M2000/U2000Application Server

MDS6800

The EM350 is a Mini PCIe data module based on the TD-LTE technology, used for secondary development of terminals for customers.

Standard mini PCIe slot, handy adaption for PDA, Pad, video camera and  other industrial devices, supports trunking and data transfer by wireless data interface400MHz/800MHz/1.4GHz/1.8GHz/3.5GHz  Supports industry customized secondary development and flexible uplink and  downlink timeslot ratios: 1:3, 2:2 and 3:1

Mini PCIe Data Module

EM350

The eCNS600 is a compact EPC which integrates the functions of MME, S-GW/P-GW and HSS into only one subrack. It provides large throughput and subscriber management ability to meet railway needs.

Maximum subscribers: 200,000  Maximum eNodeBs: 1,500  Maximum throughput: 40Gbps (1024 bytes per packet)  Dimensions (H x W x D): 620 mm x 442 mm x 437 mm  Geographic redundancy, charging, roaming  

The DBS3900 is an eLTE distributed base station. It is composed of two basic modules: BBU and RRU, which can be flexibly deployed to meet diverse deployment requirements.

Frequency (Hz): TDD 1.4G/1.8G/2.3G/2.6G/3.5G/3.7G  Bandwidth (Hz): 5M/10M/15M/20M  Weight: BBU < 12 kg, RRU < 24 kg  One BBU supports 12 RRUs  Installation mode: Mounted on tower/on pole/against wall/on rooftop  

Core Network

eCNS600Base Station

DBS3900CPE

eA660

The eA660 is an outdoor LTE CPE for broadband access, featuring remote management for easy deployment of current and future broadband resources and centralized fault detection and recovery.

Frequency (Hz): TDD 1.8G/2.3G/2.6G/3.5G/3.7G  Dimensions (H x W x D) : 280 mm x 250 mm x 90 mm  Ingress protection rating: IP67  Working temperature: -40ºC to 65ºC  Shock proof: IEC61373 & MIL-STD-810F  Power consumption: < 25W  

The eH701 is a professional trunking terminal.Supporting T9 keyboard  Technical standard: LTE 3GPP Release 9  Size: 140x60x35 mm (not including external antenna)  Weight: ≤ 360g with battery  Working temperature: －25ºC to ＋60ºC  Battery: LI-ion, 3.7v, 4000mAH  Peak power consumption : < 4W  

Handheld Terminal

eH701

Products

6｜Huawei eLTE Solution for Heavy Haul Railway Huawei eLTE Solution for Heavy Haul Railway｜7

The nearly 600-km long Shuohuang Railway is the longest heavy

haul railway ever constructed by the Shenhua Group, the world’s

largest coal supplier and a Fortune 500 company. In order to

service the Chinese economy’s demand for coal, the Shuohuang

Railway must see an increase in annual transportation capacity

to 350 million tons, meaning the capacity of a single train trip

needs to increase from 5,000 tons to 25,000 tons. Operating such

huge, heavy haul trains requires synchronization between multiple

locomotives. Meanwhile, the controllable train tail must be jointly

acted with locomotive braking to solve the longitudinal impulse

problem of heavy haul trains. This extends the communication

distance requirement between the master and slave locomotives to

over 2,500m. The existing analog communications system cannot

meet this requirement.

World’s First LTE Network in a 25,000-ton Heavy Haul Train

With wide coverage, short delay, and high bandwidth, the Huawei

eLTE solution for the Shuohunag Railway uses a TDD LTE network

to successfully implement multiple-locomotive control over the

25,000-ton trains, extending transmission distance and reducing

latency. To achieve high levels of reliability, the Huawei eLTE network

provides a fully redundant solution to ensure 99.999 percent system

availability. Innovative dual-network coverage and multiple-priority

QoS mechanisms contribute to preventing any interruptions in

railway operations. Meanwhile, the Shuohuang Railway has also

achieved whole-line dispatching and driver room video surveillance,

significantly enhancing dispatching efficiency and operational

safety. The successful application of Huawei’s eLTE system in the

Shuohuang railway is an innovation in the field of heavy haul rail

communications, and serves as a role model in both China and the

world for the development and operation of heavy haul rail.

The LTE network has established a good

foundation for the future transportation

capacity of more than 350 million tons,

along with enhanced communication and

network security.

Cao Yanping

Deputy General Manager of

Shuohuang Railway Development Co., Ltd.

Voice of the customer

8｜Huawei eLTE Solution for Heavy Haul Railway Huawei eLTE Solution for Heavy Haul Railway｜9