2014 – March – Oliver – MPLS Based Networks in Railway Deployment

Adam Oliver Bachelor of Engineer Calibre Global Safe and reliable communications are a critical component in operating modern railway networks. Voice radio, signalling, asset protection, CCTV, station services and alarms form the basis of a typical rail system, with telephony, data and internet connectivity between offices shaping corporate requirements. These services are traditionally provisioned through a combination of separate Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH), Plesiochronous Digital Hierarchy (PDH), Ethernet and legacy analogue circuits, resulting in increased maintenance and support requirements. As more railways move towards Communications Based Signalling (CBS) systems bandwidth requirements increase, with a corresponding focus on reliability and resilience. Coupled with growing focus on Ethernet connectivity for hardware, an opportunity exists to explore alternate network arrangements that are more holistically encompassing of all supported technologies and their requirements. Implementation of an IP/MPLS (Multi-Protocol Label Switched) network allows convergence of these disparate networks into a single unified system. Key infrastructure can be shared between different facets of an organisation on a single physical network, whilst maintaining completely independent circuits for the various services being transported. In contrast to an IP-only implementation, where scalability and traffic engineering can be challenging as network size increases, an IP/MPLS solution allows a network to grow as needed, while providing excellent load balancing to make better use of existing network infrastructure. This in turn can lead to savings in both OPEX and CAPEX, as both infrastructure and maintenance costs are reduced. Ideally suited to both green and brown field rollouts, an IP/MPLS based network is a viable solution for any network rollout.