REGISTER

Rodrigo Alvarez

MEng

Practice Director – Telecommunications, Rail Systems Australia

The Public Transport Authority of Western Australia (PTA) is currently building a new mobile radio and backhaul transmission communications network across the Perth metropolitan electrified railway network.

The purpose of this new Digital Radio System (DRS) and Backhaul Transmission Network (BTN) is to replace rapidly aging radio and transmission communications technologies, to support the expansion of railway network and services created by the Metronet programme, and to support new railway operational applications such as a CommunicationsBased Train Control (CBTC) system, live streaming video and Remote Condition Monitoring.

After a rigorous technology selection process, PTA decided to go ahead with the deployment of a system based on 4G technology. The network will continue to be upgraded after entry into service, with the objective to reach an alignment with the 5G-based Future Railway Mobile Communications System (FRMCS) standard.

This paper will cover a brief description of the international standards involved, the development of new applications based on those standards to meet PTA’s operational requirements, and the upgrade process planned during the maintenance phase to align the system with FRMCS.