Connected Signalling:

Improve the Utilisation of Your Trackside Networks

Solution Overview

Railway infrastructure managers can deliver more services to a wider variety of customers when they move to an IP architecture in their trackside fibre-optic networks. This solution overview discusses why moving from traditional networking technologies to a more capable IP design opens the door to cost savings and opportunities to deliver new revenue-generating services. In this document, youll learn: Why other industries have moved to an IP architecture How the IP network is designed to be resilient and support very high availability of services About Connected Signalling, Ciscos mission-critical network architecture for railway infrastructure companies

The Challenges
Railway infrastructure managers face three key challenges: Maintaining a safe operating environment for personnel and train movements Improving the utilisation of their assets Increasing the efficiency and productivity of their operations within a changing technology environment The constant focus on safety is necessary to ensure the safe movement of trains, avoid accidents, and reduce incidents that lead to delays for which penalties are due. Better utilisation of the track and trackside infrastructure through preventative maintenance and targeted upgrades is necessary to support the demand for increased train movements, especially in the face of limited budgets. Finally, any gains in the efficiency of routine operations, for example through a reduction of complexity or the ability to perform repairs and upgrades in less time, will support the organisations ability to invest in a new infrastructure that in turn can lead to higher revenues. The Cisco Connected Signalling solution provides railway infrastructure operators with concrete means to improve the utilisation of the trackside data networks and reduce complexity, without losing the focus on safety.

Solution Overview
Connected Signalling is an architectural blueprint that details how todays trackside fibre-optic networks can be upgraded to a highly resilient infrastructure that makes use of dense wavelengthdivision multiplexing (DWDM) technology, to support Ethernet and IP Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS), and in turn, help ensure the very high availability of services. It is based on Ciscos MissionCritical Network Design, which was specifically adapted for the railway environment. The MissionCritical Network Design was the blueprint for the first all-IP network to support air traffic management. This IP network supports both radar and voice communications, and has been in reliable use in Romania since May 2008. The Connected Signalling architecture allows for the secure segregation of services in the network so that safety-critical applications such as train control and signalling, as well as standard business services including video surveillance traffic and telephony can be supported in a single highly resilient network. The current synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) networks common to railway infrastructure cannot support the high bandwidth requirements for video traffic or other services in a cost-effective manner. Instead, they prevent the cost-effective deployment of additional applications that can improve safety, reduce delays, or generate additional revenues. The upgrade of trackside fibre-optic networks to a Connected Signalling design allows for improved utilisation of these network assets.

Connected Signalling was designed as an open transmission network as defined in EN50159 and, properly configured against your service-level requirements, meets the convergence performance of an SDH network. Convergence times the time required for the network to determine a new route for traffic in the event of a failure are often less than 50 milliseconds (ms). Cisco technologies, including Forward Error Correction (FEC) to enable the detection and rerouting of traffic while a fibreoptic cable is being cut, as well as Resilient Ethernet Protocol (REP), support fast convergence. A range of methods combined together help to achieve the required network resilience, enabling railway infrastructure operators to reliably deliver application data and services. These methods include: Ciscos Mission-Critical Network Design Redundant links Redundant installations of network devices Redundant use of critical components such as fans and power supplies Use of equipment with a high, measured mean-time-between-failure (MTBF)

The components of the Connected Signalling solution comply with the European electromagnetic compatibility requirements for railway applications in the signalling or communications apparatus, EN50121-4, and are listed in the following table.

Product

EN 50121-4 Compliant Yes

Equipment Housing, per EN 50125-3 Climate-controlled shelter or building Climate-controlled shelter or building Climate-controlled shelter or building Climate-controlled shelter or building Climate-controlled shelter or building Climate-controlled shelter or building Cubicle or non-temperaturecontrolled shelter

Cisco CRS-1 8-Slot Single-Shelf System Cisco 7604 Router

Yes

Cisco 7606 Router

Yes

Cisco ASR 1002 Router

Yes

Cisco ME 3400 Ethernet Access Switch Cisco Catalyst 3750 Metro Switch Cisco IE 3000 Industrial Ethernet Switch

Yes

Yes

Yes

Solution Overview

The Connected Signalling architecture was developed to meet the required technical performance specification (Subset 041, Version 2.1.0) to support the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) and its two sub-systems, GSM-R and the European Train Control System (ETCS). The response times and delay limits specified for ERTMS-ETCS are well within the limits of network designs Cisco has delivered for other mission-critical and high-availability implementations, for example, in utilities substation environments. With the increasing availability of IP interfaces in interlocking systems and trackside equipment such as point heaters, train detection systems, etc, from a variety of manufacturers, integration of these components in an IP MPLS network is rapidly becoming easier and less complex.
Figure 1 shows how Cisco Connected Signalling components connect safety-critical components (SIL 1 through 4) to the network, reliably making data available to central control centres.

Figure 1 Connected Signalling Solution Example Architecture

Because of its very high capacity and ability to segregate service types, the Connected Signalling solution can support additional services such as video surveillance traffic, public address, and more (Figure 2).

Figure 2 Additional Services Supported by the Connected Signalling Solution

Business Benefits
Upgrading the trackside fibre-optic network infrastructure with the Cisco Connected Signalling solution enables railway infrastructure companies to, in effect, become virtual service providers. The upgrade allows for the continued, highly reliable delivery of train control and signalling communications across the entire network. In doing so, these companies can achieve considerable savings in operational expenses. All of the worlds largest service providers have upgraded their fibre-optic networks from SDH to an IP MPLS design, in order to achieve such savings. A study from Infonetics Research indicates that 69 percent of the service providers surveyed expect to achieve savings from 11 percent to more than 50 percent in their operational expenses. The same study also indicates that 55 percent of the service providers will no longer invest in SDH technologies after 2010. With the major buyers of SDH equipment having decided that this technology has reached the end of its usefulness, it must be assumed that costs for spare parts and support for this equipment will rise. This fact will adversely impact railway infrastructure companies who delay their move toward an all-IP architecture.

Solution Overview

The Connected Signalling solution also enables railway infrastructure companies to deliver additional services to train operators, into stations, and even to third parties, and thereby access new sources of revenue. Most applications in stations have already adopted IP as the standard for communications, with video surveillance and public address systems being notable examples. The centralised viewing and management of video surveillance material from all stations provides a compelling business case to improve the security posture of stations. A highly resilient IP network architecture enables railway infrastructure companies to change the way they do business. With their extensive, nationwide fibre-optic networks, they could also deliver new value-added passenger information services that use rich media to train operators, or even offer broadband connectivity to consumers.

Why Cisco?
Ciscos leadership in IP networking and 20-year history of successfully building high-availability, carrier-grade networks for service providers worldwide make us an ideal choice for railway infrastructure managers who want to upgrade their networks. Our consistently high customer satisfaction ratings, coupled with our architectural approach to addressing the specific needs of railway infrastructure companies, provide further justification for choosing the Cisco Connected Signalling solution.

Ideal for Railway Infrastructure Companies

IP has become the new standard for connecting any and all devices to the network. The Cisco Connected Signalling solution enables railway infrastructure operators to upgrade the capacity of their networks to a converged, highly resilient IP architecture that supports train control and signalling applications as well as standard business services like systemwide video surveillance traffic and rich-media passenger-service applications. Ciscos solutions allow you to utilise your current fibre-optic assets in a cost-effective manner to deliver new revenue-generating services. Railway infrastructure companies can benefit from Ciscos extensive experience in building modern, high-capacity networks for service providers, and a range of proven carrier-grade products for your upgrade project.

For More Information

For further information, please contact your sales representative, or Felix Gerdes, fgerdes@cisco.com, tel. +49 40 3767 4404.

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