2018 – March – Rispoli – The rise of satellite technology appeal for train control systems [Presentation]

Francesco Rispoli Ansaldo STS, A Hitachi Group Company After relatively long periods of operation, the rise of satellite technology and the importance of its great benefits have atlast been recognised as strategic advancements for the train control system business case especially when operationsare in rural and desert areas. The catalysts are a gained confidence in the reliability of satellite technologies and theunprecedented plans to put into orbit new satellites during the coming years. Furthermore, after decades of steadyinnovation in the telecom networks, 5G offers the ultimate solution with millisecond latencies and “network slicing”capabilities to realize bespoke virtual networks. For these reasons satellite technologies and IP-based communicationsare “game changer innovations” for the ERTMS. This paper aims to assess the satellite technology trends, the AnsaldoSTS projects that in Australia have set the world’s bench mark as the early adopter of satellite technology on heavy haullines, and the roadmap to exploit new satellite innovations after the positive field tests in Italy. This plan backed by RFI(Italian Railways Infrastructure operator) aims to contribute to the certification process to implement by 2020 an ERTMSinnovative solution for regional networks based on virtualization of balises through satellite localization, an augmentationnetwork, and the upgrade of the communication system from GSM-R to a public telecommunications network.