Nortel Wins Chinese High Speed Railway GSM-R Contract

China's Ministry of Railways (MOR) has placed a GSM-R contract with Nortel to provide new communications capabilities between trains and ground staff along the 510 km high-speed passenger line between Zhengzhou and Xi'an.

With fast trains traveling at speeds of up to 350 km/hr, conventional mobile networks are not reliable enough to depend on for critical communications. Features such as group calls, connections based on the train's position, prioritization of calls during emergencies, and connection to employees by function rather than name all ensure the rapid response necessary for safe and efficient train operation.

In May 2006, Nortel signed an agreement with MOR to deploy GSM-R to seven of MOR's 19 switching centers, at Xi'an, Chengdu, Harbin, Nanchang, Lanzhou, Kunming and Urumqi. As a significant component of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERMTS), GSM-R reliably transports voice, data, and advanced European Train Control System-2 (ETCS-2) signaling data even at high speeds. This will enable MOR to safely maximize traffic on the Zhengzhou-Xi'an line, a significant rail route that is expected to promote trade and economic exchanges between eastern and western China. The Nortel GSM-R solution deployment also marks the first commercial operation of this kind on a dedicated passenger line (DPL) running up to 350 km/hr on the ETCS-2 in China.

"With its massive population and distributed manufacturing base, high-speed rail transportation has long been essential to China's economic success," said Jackson Wu, president, Greater China, Nortel. "Nortel was an early provider of GSM-R solutions, applying our Business Made Simple commitment to dozens of successful deployments on some of the world's most complex rail networks. The Ministry of Railways' decision to embrace GSM-R brings this critical rail link in line with global standards and ensures Chinese passengers will benefit from train services running at peak efficiency and safety."

Posted to the site on 29th January 2008