MOBILE TRAIN RADIO
COMMUNICATION
Computer Networking (BCAC-502)
Continuous Assessment – 2
Student Name: Priyanshu Kundu
Class roll number: 144258
University roll number: 21301220038
The Heritage Academy
Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad University
of Technology
2020-2023
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
In this technical report, I have made attempts. However,
it would not have been feasible without my mentors'
generous encouragement and assistance. I want to
express my sincere gratitude to them.
I owe a debt of gratitude to The Heritage Academy for
giving me the opportunity to complete this report and
Professors Avik Mitra and Shameek Mukhopadhyay for
their direction, ongoing supervision, assistance with the
report's completion, and provision of the pertinent
information.
INTRODUCTION
Communication is the act of passing along, exchanging, or interacting ideas,
thoughts, feelings, information, etc. through a shared set of signs, gestures,
symbols, or language. This development may occur between people or groups.
Oral, written, visual/audiovisual, and electronic communication are some of the
several modes of communication.
In the field of transportation, an effective communication system is necessary;
specially in railway transportation due to the wide array of components
involved in the process.
Without reliable communication solutions, it is impossible to operate train
signalling systems, alarm systems, ticketing, video surveillance, and traffic
management simultaneously in an environment with increasing volumes of
company and passenger voice, video, and data traffic. According to experts in
the field, this is actually a right of the passengers. Rightly said by Timo Harju
[1], “Smooth communications between the right people are need to run
operations in a safe and efficient manner. Lack of proper communications can
result in a variety of issues, depending on the operational mode of the metro
operator.”
For the last 5 years, India has seen more than 500 train accidents across various
states and districts. In a bid to reduce the number of accidents, the Indian
Railways has introduced Mobile Train Radio Communication, or MRTC.
To understand MRTC, let us find look into Radio Communication.
In radio communication, information is carried across space usinf radio waves.
At the sending end, the information is to be sent is converted by some type of
transducer to a time-varying electrical signal called the modulation signal [2].
Mobile radio or mobiles refer to wireless communications systems and devices
which are based on radio frequencies (using
commonly UHF or VHF frequencies), and where the path of communications is
movable on either end.
Mobile Train Radio Communication is a digital wireless network based on
Global System for Mobile Communication-Railway or, GSM-R. GSM-R for
railways is a communication system for railway networks utilizing GSM
technologies and specific applications for railway operations. It is the
communication standard chosen by European Integrated Railway Radio
Enhanced Network (EIRENE) to meet the railway requirements.
How does MRTC work?
Mobile Train Radio Communication system is technologically advanced and
plays an intrinsic role in preventing train accidents and reducing delays through
effective communication. It facilitates an instant and constant interaction of
train crew with the Control Centre and the Station Master.
“MRTC acts in a similar way to that of AIR Traffic Control (ARC) for aircrafts.
The system will monitor, track and aid in communication between the trains and
the control room thereby ensuring smooth movement of rakes as well as help in
preventing adverse events.” [3]
Understanding the GSM-R network
The GSM-R network system requires all the standard GSM infrastructure: base
transceiver station (BTS), base station controller (BSC), MSC, HLR, VLR, AC
and some additional elements or functionality to realize the railway specific
features such as functional and location dependent addressing.
Figure 1
GSM-R uses frequencies below those used according to standard norms. Two
4 megahertz bands have been reserved for GSM-R. As with GSM, these are
divided into channels with 200 kilohertz bandwidth, hence GSM-R has a total
of 19 available channels.
Figure 2
The above are the frequencies allotted for MTRC in India. The basic features of
GSM-R are that it allows user to make a distinct call (Point to Point call), allows
groups of user to receive common information (Voice Broadcast call), allows
groups of user to make calls within/among the groups (Voice Group Call),
allows user to call controller by short code or button during emergency
(Emergency Call), allows a user or an application to be reached by means of a
number, which identifies the relevant function and not the physical terminal
(Functional addressing), provides the routing of mobile originated calls to the
correct controller, for ex: relative to the geographic area (Location dependent
addressing), and allows resource pre-emption for priority calls (eMLPP or
enhanced Multi-Level Precedence and Preemption).
MTRC has several advantages over other communication system. It allows
single touch dialing to call any of the Two Section Train Controllers, Dy. Train
Controller and Emu Controller, Auto Call Answer for Cab Radios for
Motorman and Guards to receive only audio, contact numbers of three
controller (TPC, SIG and TMS) are fed into the phonebook for easy access
while dialing, motorman can directly communicate defect of EMU-to-EMU
Controller which reduces detention of other trains. In any unusual situation, i.e.
if the called MTRC phone is busy then on making emergency call the
overriding feature the speech will get through and communication will be
established. [4]
CONCLUSION
The MTRC system will likely play a significant part in the sphere of rail
transportation in the near future as India is about to enter a period when Bullet
Trains will soon be deployed, starting from tiny sectors and travelling at a high
speed of more than 600 Km/Hour. Such fast trains run a considerable risk of
derailing in addition to other dangers including signal, communication, and
human error. The MTRC system is without a doubt not just necessary, but
absolutely necessary for the effective launch of the Bullet Train system and to
assure its safe operation.
REFERENCES
[1] Business Development Manager, Vertical Markets, Airbus Secure Land
Communications
[2] Wikipedia | Radio | sub-heading: Radio Communication
[3] said by Shri Alok Kansal
[4] https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1701717
