D4.3 – Design and architecture specifications for Communications Report

This document, D4.3 Design and architecture specifications for communications, is framed in the Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking FP6 – FutuRe project, and mainly focuses on designing a modern and adaptable communications architecture for the European railways sector in a context of a technologic transition driven by the obsolescence of GSM-R and other legacy mobile communications systems and the adoption of the new standard FRMCS or cost effective wireless solutions for regional lines. This architecture seeks to optimize both operative costs (OPEX) and capital costs (CAPEX) for the regional lines, while improving network capabilities such as bandwidth, latency, and availability and enable new applications due to these improvements.
The architecture to be developed will improve both operational safety and the efficiency of railway communications, enabling advanced services such as autonomous train operation (ATO), video surveillance and Wi-Fi for passengers.
The development of the architecture follows a methodology structured in phases, according to CENELEC specifications, to ensure that it meets the safety, reliability, and efficiency requirements of the railway environment. The main phases include:
– Concept and system definition phase: This phase focused on identifying the connectivity needs for main and regional lines, and on integrating multiple types of networks, from mobile operators to satellite and dedicated networks.
– Definition of use cases and requirements: Different use cases and the associated requirements were specified to detail the needs of the proposed architecture.
– Definition of architecture and interfaces: The functional blocks of the architecture were specified and the interfaces that link them were identified.
– Definition of the test setup and test scenarios.