New digital integrated telecommunication system for SLR
 

BY ENG., TR., U.C. NIMAL Fernando CEng., Consultant., Retired CSTE, SLR.

I attended the presentation of the UIC - Union Internationale des Chemins de fer International Union of railways at the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka (IESL) on 7th July 2005 in the midst of a well attended meeting organised by the electrical Section of the IESL.

UIC, the world organisation for cooperation between railways with more than 150 members in over 85 countries had presentations at the Ministry of Transport/ Sri Lanka Railways, Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (TRC) and IESL.

They have visited to advise the SLR on their proposed New Digital Integrated Telecommunication System.

In 1980, SLR planned and implemented it in 1983 to modernize the train control telephone system. Following other modern railways with independence in the railway communications, SLR implemented the Islandwide Radio-Communication Project, UHF/VHF multi channel analogue system for train controlling doing away with the overhead wire omnibus telephone system.

Although it was only for voice communications, at that time it was felt as a very big leap forward implemented by making use of some of the SLT infrastructure (repeater station towers, emergency power supplies, etc) which helped to float the project economically.

Now the voice communication radio system is defunct, outdated and could not be maintained in good order due to lack of spare parts from the OEM Company - ABB of Switzerland from 1993.

Today SLR is at an important junction like so many other railways were, to decide which type of communication modernizations that they should undertake to circumvent the prevailing increasing in failures and assure the safety of the commuters, goods, running staff and infrastructures of the railways.

By taking into consideration the experience of other railways worldwide, SLR is proposing to lay a Fibre Optic Cable (FOC) along side the railway tracks as the backbone network of a new digital integrated telecommunication system with a mobile communication system exclusively for the SLR train communications from the railway stations and the train control offices.

SLR is planning to lease out the extra fibres of the FOC to other service providers, Government institutions and Boards.

The three UIC experts were Klaus Konrad, Chairman of the UIC GSM-R (Global System for Mobile Communication - Railway) project and leader of the railway group., Hans Bier, Telecom expert and former Chairman, GSM-R project in Germany and Peter Hans Fischer, Chairman GSM-R project in Austria.

Their opinions and recommendations were that SLR should deploy the well proven GSM-R technology for the railway mobile communications system.

They categorically said that the GSM-R technology is well advanced and have been implemented in most modern railways well over a decade showing the expected stability to be the bearer for the railway mobile communication needs.

It will prove to be valid with far reaching immediate effects and few decades to come. Their presentations gave the full information about the specifications and standards for GSM-R.

The actual position it has gained with the modern railways in Europe and worldwide due to the very attractive features and fast responses required for the railway communications. They gave the full information of the available technologies like CDMA and compared them with GSM-R.

Konrad stated that GSM-R follows the main stream of GSM and is therefore an upto date technology which is flexible and stable. It has been deployed as way back as 1994 with the railways and proven to be very efficient.

It covers the railway needs and is a bearer service for actual and future applications. It is now an accepted worldwide phenomenon with the mobile railway communications.

Fischer stated that GSM-R can be implemented in stages according to the requirements of the railways as it is a modular system.

The full range of railway features can only be provided within a GSM-R network, although public GSM operators could allow a railway to build a virtual private network and to start with some basic functionality.

Bier gave a lengthy explanation regarding the differences between GSM-R and CDMA systems. He concluded that even if CDMA would develop the full functions, they would not be available, tested and validated within the next decade.

He categorically said that at present there is no railway which has yet approved such functionality with a CDMA system.

He reiterated that the railway communications is far different from the public telecommunications, as it is a speciality which should assure the safety of the train loads of commuters, train running staff, freight and the infrastructures of the railway.

In Sri Lanka, TRC is giving licence to CDMA technology for land telephones and GSM technology for mobile phones. In due course TRC will have to consider giving licences to SLR for the GSM-R technology.

Logically if over 100 or more domestic/commercial telephones are out of order, there will not be any danger to life and limb until they are put right even in a few days time.

But if a section of the railway communication system or a telephone of a railway station is out of order, it could bring disastrous results, like ahead on collisions of trains, derailments, etc bringing danger to the lives of the train travelling public, running staff, freight and the infrastructures of the railway.

For example, if SLR had the new Communication system along the Coast Line commissioned and in good working order before 26th December 2004., the World's worst train disaster which killed over 1,300 commuters at Peraliya could have been averted.

Due to the safety aspects of the system an accepted dedicated frequency bands for the GSM-R system have been exclusively reserved in the frequency bands spectrum for the railway communications internationally.

This will avoid any interference from other users of the communication systems at large in the island. The primary function of the railway telecommunications has been and will continue to be, to support the safe working of trains, the signalling or train control function.

The communications network also supports other train operations, business applications in freight and passenger markets, safety response and security.

As the present analogue communication system is defunct and no original spare parts are available to maintain it., the proposed new Digital Integrated Telecommunication System for the SLR should be implemented as early as possible for the safety of the train travelling public, freight, running staff of the trains and the infrastructure of the railway.

The new FOC backbone network will pave the path to make money by the SLR by leasing out the extra fibers as adopted by a number of railways worldwide by commercialising the venture.

SLR could have a number of case studies on this as some railways are making more money out of their communications network, than by selling the train ride tickets and carrying freight.

The experience of those railways show that the project cost could be covered in few years time giving more independence to utilise the accrued funds in due course for the other railway improvements without depending from the Treasury coffers annually.

The long felt modernization plans of SLR could be undertaken in stages to par with the other modern railways and to bring back the glorious past it had in the post independence era for clean passenger carriages, to maintain punctuality of trains, to introduce more express intercity named trains it had and to improve the safety of the trains.

It will help to bring down the congestions on the roads today by encouraging the people to travel more by trains, to take away the strains in travelling by buses, vans and cars to avoid the ever increasing traffic snarls.

By subsidizing the freight charges bulk goods and regular freight could be undertaken by SLR improving the intermodal system by introducing more hubs establishing to decentralize the containerise cargo.

By implementing the proposed new Digital Integrated Telecommunication System of SLR, after paying off the loans, from the accrued funds in due course it will help to buy the most needed items to rehabilitate all the tracks (rails, sleepers, fasteners, etc) periodically and maintain them on good working order to run the trains at 120 kph as planned.

Purchase the passenger coaches, locomotive engines to haul the long distance trains, Diesel Multiple Units (DMUs) to intensify the sub-urban train service., taking action to modernize the over forty five years old Ericsson Colour Lights Signal system without any burden to the Treasury.

UIC have recommended implementing this on a Business Plan, to be implemented by the Ministry of Railway Transport and the Sri Lanka Railways, to bring about a new era for this essential service and save this national asset. It is easy to say to close down some existing lines, but very hard to find the solutions how it could be maintained profitably without infusing new thinking.

As late Minister of Foreign Affairs Lakshman Kadirgamar said in one his powerful speeches to the UN Assembly on Terrorism as the concluding remarks, I wish to quote it here with due respects to him about the SLR Communication project before a major accident happen in the near future which may take the lives of so many hundreds of innocent train travellers.

"The hour is late, the hour is Great"