CaseStudies

The followingpagescontain a seriesofcase studiesprovidedby ourmembers.We hope they highlight the excellent ongoing work in the data and digital space, both in Rail and outside, underpinned by strong connectivity.

Knorr-Bremse Rail Systems UK Ltd. (KB UK) offers the full global portfolio of Knorr-Bremse railsystemsand brandsto customers in the UK and Ireland alongside full life-cycle support for those systems. KB UK is a member of the global Knorr-Bremse Group, a world leader in sub-systems for rail vehicles. The entire portfolio of Knorr-Bremse crossconnected rail systems technology including braking, HVAC, power supply, sanding, toilets, train doors, wash/wipe, and integrated digital control and monitoring technology are all available to rail vehicle builders, maintainers, and operators from KB UK.

Connected Products and Services: Contributing to KB Objectives in the UK

KB UK provides connected products and services to train builders, ROSCOs and TOCs. We know that the need for connected products and, more importantly, associated services, will continue to grow as the real value of a connected asset becomes better understood. Our customer offer:

• To give customers the best value maintenance

• To support customers to be more sustainable and environmentally astute by reducing the energy consumption of products and conserving resources

• To give customers greater insight into their assets and operations above and beyond maintenance, improving efficiency and passenger services

• Integrated subsystems to deliver compound benefits to customers and passengers

Why is Connectivity Important?

To deliver our customer offer, remote connectivity is crucial to ensure data can be transmitted and received. The ability to gather data from subsystems in realtime, as the subsystem is being used, allows a greater understanding of how the equipment works in an operational scenario. It’s also important to have ‘context’ data. Context data will help contextualise what’s happening in the wider vehicle system e.g., location, speed, mode of operation etc.

Accesstoallthisdataisvital–it’sextremelydifficulttospecifyeveryaspectofperformance,efficiency, usage, and RAMS prior to full fleet fitment. This ‘real’ data allows us to look to at how the asset is being used and how we can optimise the performance, operational impact, and maintenance. Our Data Science teams use the data that’s received with our subject matter expertise to identify areas of interest for review and improvement.

Challenges

This guide shows the vast range of options available as well as their pros and cons. The solutions we’re focusing on include:

Protected Assets: Making sure assets are protected through cyber security architectures in the telecoms network to cloud/back-office. This requires working with a specialist, knowledgeable supply chain.

Coverage: As consumer mobile services move to higher bandwidth solutions like 5G, there will be reduced coverage due to the higherfrequencies needed to producethe 5Gbenefits.Whilethis means that urban data coverage will be huge, when trains are away from urban centres there’s a risk that coverage won’t be enough to fulfil services. One option could be to install active antenna, but these are more expensive. NB IoT could be an option, but with lower data rates. Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites have become more mainstream for consumers following the release of the iPhone 14 range -thistechnologyhascomplexitiesandisimmature,butitcouldsuitmoreruralconnectivitychallenges. There are specific rail solutions available like trackside networks which offer resilient connectivity. However, significant infrastructure investment would be required if this was to be used solely by rail.

Cost: The cost of providing connectivity through data SIM tariffs is relativity inexpensive but if there is a data package needed per train subsystem, this quickly mounts up. The cost of hardware such as antennae and associated wiring and installation needs to be considered too.

Optimisation of a service is important to reduce cost and complexity across system – Optimising the amount of data transmitted and received will reduce the tariff and the effects of any loss of connection. Learning which parameters are critical to the quality of the service and how to process themiskeye.g.,EdgevsCloud.Edgeprocessingneedshigherperformance computersontrains,giving higher device costs. Processing in the cloud means dealing with latency and connectivity challenges. Vehicle connectivity also requires optimisation. If each subsystem supplier had their own data connection and associated antenna, complexity would be unworkable.

Obsolescence: Of communication mediums and associated parts is a risk that needs to be managed into the lifecycle of a rail asset. As we can see from Figure 1 in this paper, there’s always a newer technology around the corner which will need specific hardware upgrades to be incorporated.

Conclusion

Connectivitywillopennewareasofvalueandoptimisationforrail.Itwillcreateabroadersupplychain andimproveservices,allowingfasterimprovementstoreal-time operationalissues.Knorr-Bremseare excited to be pushing these boundaries.

The evolution of mobile communications for railways

Siemens Mobility’s GSM-R cab radio system provides operators worldwide with a robust and secure platform for voice and data communication, transforming journeys for passengers by making them smootherandmorereliable.Astheindustry’scommunicationsrequirementsareevolving,particularly the need to seamlessly migrate to the Future Rail Mobile Communications System (FRMCS), so too is the technology behind the cab radio, with innovative solutions increasingly being used to enable passengers, operators and maintainers to benefit from a range of new applications that will deliver improved performance.

5G FRMCS is the next-generation worldwide telecommunication system for railways, which will ultimately replace GSM-R. Supporting IP (internet protocol) voice and prioritizable IP data (critical; video; telemetry), 5G FRMCS is a key enabler for digitalisation within the rail industry and provides a range of opportunities to enhance the passenger experience, for example with dynamic passenger information systems.

A dual mode GSM-R / 5G FRMCS solution, which will adapt and re-use the existing on-board infrastructure, will ensure costs are kept to a minimum whilst enabling a seamless migration for operators, and providing flexibility in terms of network deployment. Siemens Mobility has adapted its GSM-R cab radio to suit the next generation IP systems with railway specific requirements, futureproofing the equipment by providing an upgrade path for operators to transition to 5G FRMCS.

The necessity to evolve and transition from GSMR to 5G FRMCS sets a path for innovative cab radio enhancements. With a 4G SIM card fitted, which enables 4G connectivity, the cab radio can additionallybe usedas aplatformfor arangeof integrated Airlink® Smart Applications, includingtrain borne condition monitoring (TBCM), connected-driver advisory service (C-DAS) and cab radio maintenance terminal (CRMT).

TBCM:providingtrackassetinformation efficientlyandcost-effectively

Without the need for any new hardware, TBCM offers benefits to many railway stakeholders, including infrastructure owners and their maintenance teams, rail passengers,trainoperatingcompaniesand train owners. The application can be inexpensively retrofitted to trains equipped with GSM-R cab radios and is simply downloaded over air (provided that LTE and GPS antennas are installed).

TBCMisanefficientwayofmanaging,monitoringandmaintainingthetrack,identifyingareasthatneedto be maintained by simply using data collected from in-service trains that are equipped with a GSM-R cab radio.Thesystemwirelesslycreatesadigitalrepresentationofthetrackusinginformationfromeverytrain ontheroute,withoutneedingadditionalequipmentfitted.Thisallowsmaintainerstofocustheiractivities on those areas,reducing time lost dueto temporary speed restrictions and damage to trains,significantly improving the overall safety and reliability of the network. Train delay costs, line closures, journey replanning andspeedrestrictionsarethenall minimised.

C-DAS:improvingtrainperformance

Connected driver advisory systems (CDAS) support train drivers in achieving a consistent and economical driving style, with this application enabling train operating companies to implement real time updates to their timetables, temporary speed restrictions,routedataandpositioning to improve train punctuality and continuously optimiselinecapacity.

Implemented as an Airlink® Smart Application and so requiring no additional hardware, the train-carried C-DAS system has very low installation costs. It uses the processing power of the GSM-R cab radio and provides real-time updates wheninterfacedtothe control centre TrainManagement System.

During trials, C-DAS has recorded energy savings of up to 9%, with the system mitigating excess energy usage by advising the driver of the optimal speed required to timetable requirements. This avoids unnecessary braking and allows the driver to run at reduced speed while maintaining on-time arrival, preventingthetrainarrivingneedlesslyearlyataredsignalorastation.Thesystemhelpsoperatorsrecover thecost of delay minutes, andgivespassengers asmoother, less interruptedride.

CRMT:providingremoteaccesstothecabradio

CRMT provides remote access to the voice cab radio via LTE, enabling new versions of the cab radio application software to be uploaded remotely. As it is no longer necessary to visit every train individually to update the software, maintenance costs are reduced, and the operator has more flexibility to make changes as and when required. Essentially, CRMT creates a constantly updated “Digital twin” of each cab radios asset, providing a ground side interface and so enabling all the cab radios in a fleet to be tracked. The system also allows the activation of software/phone book changes to take place simultaneously, fleetwide aswell as enabling inventory information to be collected from the cab radio remotely.

With its GSM-R equipment already fitted to main line trains worldwide, through these developments SiemensMobility is harnessing the powerof theequipment both to speedup and to reduce the cost of adopting new technologies to deliver immediate benefits to the customer, operator and maintainer.

University of Sheffield AMRC North West

The University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre(AMRC) conducts research into advanced manufacturing technologies and techniques. Working with more than 120 industrial partners, the AMRC helps manufacturers become more competitive, productive, and sustainable by harnessing state-of-the-art processes and technologies.

Beginning its 5G journey in 2019, the AMRC was a very early adopter of the next-generation technology. The organisation has vast expertise in Industry 4.0 applications and utilises the most advancedtechnology including 5G to solvecomplex industrial and manufacturingchallenges. Working with some of the world’s leading aerospace companies on cutting-edge projects with demanding manufacturing challenges, the team are always on the lookout for the latest technology to increase efficiency, improve manufacturing safety and above all else, reduce defects, wastage, and quality issues.

Assessing its options for the newly opened £20m AMRC North West facility in Lancashire, the AMRC selected the high-performing Nokia Digital Automation Cloud (NDAC) application platform that underpins Telent’s 5G Private Network services. This was deemed the most advanced technology on the market to addresstheAMRC’scomplex needs andhelp it undertake its digitaltransformation. The AMRC wanted to explore multiple models of deploying 5G and carry out cost benefit analysis for the useof5Ginmanufacturing.Thesemodelsincludebut arenotlimitedto the highlyflexiblefully private models like Telent’s installation, using Mobile Network Operators’ public spectrums, and hybrid models.TheAMRCevaluatedthe technology to see howitcouldhelpimproveitsoperationsandsolve challenges for its manufacturing customers.

Undertaking its 5G journey

This wireless solution creates an on-premises 5G network that is dedicated to the AMRC, providing coverage across the AMRC North West site. The 5G Private Network delivers high capacity, highspeed and secure connectivity with ultra-low latency. It seamlessly takes advantage of the availability of licensed, yet low-cost spectrum allocations, with the solution using 5G wireless access points that provide a greater coverage area than alternative on-premises wireless solutions, such as Wi-Fi.

Telent helped provide the initial guidance and support to help the AMRC fully utilise the newfound capabilities at its disposal. This was something that continued throughout the project. Telent implemented the full turnkey installation, configuration, commissioning, and system integration. The

AMRC required fifth-generation technology to enhance the use and enable greater control of fixed arm and mobile robots, as well as Computer numerical control (CNC) machines used in advanced manufacturingof aerospace components.Leaning on the expertisefromTelent to assist the AMRC on its journey of discovery, Telent helped to provide added value during the project, getting all aspects of the technology working and integrated with its existing infrastructure. The connectivity provided by the NDAC solution helped reduce defects, improving the overall quality of its offering.

Leveraging next-generation applications

As there were very few devices around that were compatible with the 5G installation, the team at AMRC North West developed their own devices going way beyond “bring your own device” (BYOD). Routing data from devices through existing gateway devices added too much latency so the team needed to develop their own data transfer protocols and techniques for faster data transfer. There were vast amounts of data from sensors that had to be processed. High bandwidth and low latency provided by the solution enable near instant analysis of this remotely.

Previously, the dataanalysis was conducted locally, in the factory, right next to the manufacturing cell or the machines and the robots. As the components were hardwired, the processing power was limited, scalability and reconfigurability were also limited. The AMRC can now leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) analysis and process the data online from devices and sensors in real-time, while machines continue to operate in a live environment. The enhanced data processing capabilities allow the team to undertake virtual testing and qualify products while they are being built. Being able to take this data off the manufacturing cells, transfer it over 5G to a data centre for processing and send it back to the device in near real-time is hugely powerful as it helps the team to detect defects during the process,and prevent themif possible, bychangingthe manufacturing parameters,orstoppingthe build from progressing until the issues have been remedied, therefore improvingquality and reducing defects.5Gprovidesthebackbone,withtheAMRCalsolookingataugmentedrealityandvirtualreality technologies to improve its manufacturing processes.

The 5G Private Network project for the AMRC is another example of Telent’s expertise of designing, building, supporting and managing mission-critical networks for its customers. This 5G Private Network offered the AMRC both enhanced reliability and flexibility. With high-speed, highly secure connectivity supporting a range of applications from Internet of Things (IoT) to Push To Talk (PTT) and Push To Video (PTV) communications, the AMRC had access to greater efficiency,innovationandreduced operational costs now, and in the future.