Wireless Communications for California High-Speed Rail An Update, OR Vision hits Reality. Lee Castellion Parsons Brinckerhoff Senior Communications Engineer Denver, CO David Turner Turner Engineering Corporation President Venice, CA
Agenda Project Overview Where We Were What s Next? Take-Aways
Overview: California High- Speed Rail California, 8th Largest Economy in the World Connecting all California Population Centers Comparable to Northeast Corridor in Distance, Population and Complexity
Overview: Why High-Speed Rail in California? Airport Congestion LA-SF, Busiest short-haul market in US 5 M Passengers/Year 1 in 4 Flights Delayed >1 Hr Congested roads 6 of Top 30 US Congested Urban Areas are in CA Population Growth 38M in 2013 53M by 2060 Air Quality
Overview: Corridor Connects to Existing CalTrain in the North Phase 1: 520 miles San Francisco to LA/Anaheim, under 3 hours @ > 200 mph 14 Stations Completed by 2029 Phase 2: 800 Miles Sacramento & San Diego Phase 1 Phase 2
Overview: Radio System Uses: Must Haves Voice: Train ops, maint., law enf. Minimum to run trains Narrowband Data (NB Data): Train health, GPS, & ideally vital ATC/PTC data Broadband Data at Slow Speed (BBSS): Stored CCTV transfer, schedules
Overview: Radio System Uses: Preferred Broadband Data at High Speed (BBHS): Realtime CCTV BBHS for Passenger Use Infotainment Third Party
Overview: Radio Sites Sites available every 2.5 miles Up to 100 foot antenna height Power provided Space for tower and shelter 25 x 40 Radio Site Compound 15 x 18 Shelter 100 Monopole
Overview: Coverage Standards Bounded Area Define where CHSR wants coverage Define percentage of tiles covered Colors show signal strength
Higher Cost Overview: Audio Quality Digital Audio Quality Digital Audio Quality (DAQ) Measures what the user hears DAQ 3.4 is standard for most systems Level DAQ 1: DAQ 2: DAQ 3: DAQ 3.4: DAQ 4: DAQ 4.5: DAQ 5: Definition from TIA TSB-88D Unusable. Speech present but not understandable. Speech understandable with considerable effort. Requires frequent repetition due to noise/distortion. Speech understandable with slight effort. Requires occasional repetition due to noise/distortion. Speech understandable without repetition. Some noise or distortion present. Speech easily understood. Occasional noise/distortion present. Speech easily understandable. Rare noise or distortion Speech easily understood. No noise/distortion present.
Overview: Preliminary Coverage Standards Along trackway for cab radio: 97% @ DAQ 4.0 For other uses, 1 mile either side of track c/l: 95% @ DAQ 3.4 Allow 15 db in-vehicle loss Redundant coverage for fault tolerance
Overview: Preliminary Coverage Standards 1 Mile DAQ 4.0 ~2.5 Miles DAQ 3.4
Where We Were: CHSR Baseline Requirements Requirement Mandatory Preferred 220 mph operational, 250 mph max RF spectrum must be licensable in California (No existing channels) Meet FRA requirements Proven in service for 5 or more yrs Open standards based Interoperate with first responders & other Railroads
Where We Were: The Baseline Solution Was GSM-R!!! Used extensively in Europe Integrated voice, NB data and PTC PROVEN! Many vendors, COTS, etc.
But GSM-R needs: 2x4 MHz blocks 876-880 MHz Up, 921-925 MHz down, 200 khz BW In the US, this is used by Public-Safety, LMR and cell carriers Summary: Spectrum not available in US Bummer
What s Next? Re-evaulate requirements Investigate other technologies Investigate spectrum options Determine channels needed Acquire spectrum supporting several viable technologies Design builder now has land for meeting the CHSR requirements
What s Next: Requirements Requirement Mandatory Preferred 220 mph operational, 250 mph max RF spectrum must be licensable in California (No existing channels) Meet FRA requirements Proven in service for at least 5 yrs Open standards based Interoperate with first responders & other Railroads??
Next: Technology Investigation Investigate other radio technologies Integrated and non-integrated voice and data Voice & NB Data Primary focus for CHSR RFI sent to vendors LMR: TETRA, P25, NXDN, DMR Other: LTE, Satellite, Proprietary
Next: Technology Investigation Examine: Spectrum and BW required Doppler effects at different frequencies Base station transition effects Distances between stations Redundancy and reliability Shared channel capability Security measures
Next: Technology Investigation What radio technologies work at 250 mph? Verify via software and/or lab simulation Prefer real-world demo Either now or later
Next: Investigate Spectrum Options CHSR is green field Not limited to railroad spectrum Many channel possibilities Radio technology choices Wide range of cost Working with FCC certified frequency coordinator Experience in multiple bands & FCC
Next: Determine Channels Needed for CHSR RFI to determine number of channels CHSR sets User needs 1% grade of service with < 1 sec delay Will send RFI to vendors based on radio technology RFI responses
Next:CHSR Process to Determine and Procure Radio Comm Use radio tech. & spectrum info Determine possible solutions Iterate Acquire spectrum common to as many solutions as possible Issue RFP with Tech Req and spectrum licenses to design/builder
Take-Aways US spectrum/regulatory ecosystem different Can t cut and paste radio approach Define user needs Work with vendors, frequency coordinator, & experienced RF eng. Synthesize constraints and options to find feasible approaches The Art of the Possible
For More Information Latest project information: www.hsr.ca.gov