Abstract
Multimedia and data-based services experienced a nonstopping growth over the last few years. People are continuously on the move using devices to access multimedia contents or other data-based services. Due to this, railway companies are showing a great interest in deploying broadband mobile wireless networks in high-speed-trains with the aim of supporting both passenger services provisioning as well as automatic train control and signaling. Nowadays, the most widely used technology for communications between trains and the railway infrastructure is GSM for Railways (GSM-R); however, it has limited capabilities to support such advanced services. Due to its success in the mass market, Long Term Evolution (LTE) seems to be the best candidate to substitute GSM-R. In this paper, we experimentally characterize the downlink between an LTE Evolved NodeB (eNodeB) and a high-speed train in a commercial high-speed line. We consider two links: the one between the eNodeB and the antennas placed outdoors on the train roof, and the direct link between the eNodeB and a receiver inside the train. Such a characterization consists in assessing the path loss, the Signal to Noise Ratio, the K-Factor, the Power Delay Profile, the delay spread, and the Doppler Power Spectral Density.
Highlights
Railway communications can be divided into two groups: (a) train control signaling and safety-related communications and (b) noncritical communications, both for train staff and passengers
The main contribution of this paper is the complete and detailed characterization of the downlink between a commercial Long Term Evolution (LTE) Evolved NodeB (eNodeB) and a train moving at high velocities along a track in commercial operation in a rural area in speed train line connects Cordoba and Malaga (Spain)
Note that two configurations for data traffic transmission were considered (a commercial LTE receiver is connected as the only user to the eNodeB; this way we can capture the signals between the eNodeB and the commercial receiver to be used for our evaluations): (i) Maximum throughput: all the resource blocks of the LTE signal are filled in with data
Summary
Railway communications can be divided into two groups: (a) train control signaling and safety-related communications and (b) noncritical communications, both for train staff and passengers. While in previous publications we studied the suitability of LTE to fulfill the operational and functional requirements for the railway environment (e.g., see [1–4]), in this paper, we account for the detailed characterization of the wireless link based on LTE measurements in a high-speed train line in Spain. We consider both the channel between an Evolved NodeB (eNodeB) and a passenger inside a highspeed train, as well as the direct channel between the eNodeB and the outdoor antennas installed on the train carriage.
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