China accelerates railway development with key communication system;

Nokia Siemens Networks GSM-R solution enables safe travel at 350km per hour between Beijing and Tianjin

The implementation of a key communications solution by Nokia Siemens Networks (www.nokiasiemensnetworks.com) has allowed China to unveil its fastest railway line – the 350km per hour link between Beijing and Tianjin.

The GSM-R solution, alongside key communications subsystem integration on China’s Beijing – Tianjin line, enables high speed, safe travel and higher density of traffic between the two cities. GSM-R is a railways communication solution from Nokia Siemens Networks, which replaces traditional communications methods with an integrated system that carries Train Dispatching and Train Control information.

The high speed rail link reduces travel time between Beijing and Tianjin to 30 minutes and was inaugurated just before the Olympics to cater to the high traffic during this period. The development project was completed in two years, despite significant challenges including weather conditions such as wind, erosion, freezing rain, sleet, snow and thunder storms, all of which had to be taken into account in the process and reflected in the project scope and system design.

Under this turnkey contract, Nokia Siemens Networks undertook the design and engineering of the key communications subsystems, equipment supply, system Integration, installation and tuning, testing, acceptance and technical services. The team in China leveraged the experience of expert teams in Europe during the planning and implementation stage, including an on-site simulated evaluation to ensure that the system design addressed all requirements and contingencies. Nokia Siemens Networks was also involved in building a unified interface management mechanism and platform, as well as developing standard design documents and a deployment schedule, thus reducing the time required by the Ministry of Railways to implement the system.

“By using one standard communication system, the GSM-R technology makes it possible not only for trains to travel much faster but also increases safety as operators will now only need to be familiar with one emergency and operational system. GSM-R is without a doubt the technology of the future. We are very proud to have the opportunity to play a role in this achievement,” said Zhang Zhiqiang, Head of Nokia Siemens Networks Greater China Region.

Nokia Siemens Networks is one of the inventors of the GSM-R technology, with Siemens researching and creating the GSM-R standard in the early 1990s. The world’s earliest three GSM-R trial networks and the first commercial network have been supplied by Nokia Siemens Networks. To date, the company has deployed GSM-R networks in 15 countries serving some 50.000 km of railways, making it the world’s number one GSM-R vendor in both the number of commercial networks and the length of operated GSM-R lines.