A Feasibility Study on TETRA System Application for Train Control Systems

TETRA communication system is very versatile system which can transmit voice + data and packet data optimized. Direct mode operation permits to connect between mobiles when mobile stain is out of coverage of networks. It can be more secure communication channel for railway signaling systems. Railway signaling systems use many of wayside signal equipment, which require many maintenance efforts and budget. Many railway authorities want to reduce and replace the wayside equipment. Radio based signaling systems are one of candidate for replacing the conventional signaling systems. The radio based signaling systems can replace track circuit and wayside signal. The radio systems permit to connect between control centers and trains. The radio systems have to ensure high quality of the connectivity more or equal to the existed track circuits. We studied the application of TETRA systems for railway radio systems for bridging between train control centers and trains. We provide an operation scenario for radio based train control system to ensure the safety require to the existed trains control system and satisfied the existed operational availability. We showed the data transmission speed, maximum bit error rate, and data coding for the radio-based signal system using TETRA systems.