Huawei, a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider, announced that its GSM-R solution will be supporting Turkish State Railways (Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Devlet Demiryolları, TCDD) with the construction of a modernised railway communication network. Huawei GSM-R solution, with advanced distributed base stations and seamless interoperation with the ecosystem, will be applied to the Eskisehir-Alayunt-Kutahya-Balikesir high-speed railway, enabling the railway Line to meet the European Train Control System Level 2 (ETCS L2) signal system requirement and to improve communication efficiency along the railway network.
Measuring 466 km in length, the Eskisehir-Alayunt-Kutahya-Balikesir Line forms an important part of the TCDD’s high-speed railway program. Once in operation, the Eskisehir-Alayunt-Kutahya-Balikesir Line will greatly enhance interconnectivity between Eskisehir, Kutahya and other major Turkish cities, promoting economic development in the local communities. The Eskisehir-Alayunt-Kutahya-Balikesir Line winds through 42 tunnels that require coverage by a wireless network in each tunnel. This poses significant challenges to the construction, including site selection for base stations, comprehensive signal coverage requirement and smooth communication throughout each tunnel. Leveraging on its latest innovation in GSM-R, Huawei offers TCDD a unique distributed base station technology, which features the RRU multi-site Co-cell, which allows improved quality of service under complex situations, requiring maximum flexibility in deployment as well as enhanced tunnel coverage in the actual site.
The GSM-R communication system of the Eskisehir-Alayunt-Kutahya-Balikesir Line marks the first ETCS L2 train signaling system in Turkey. In the Line, which is jointly developed by multiple vendors, Huawei’s wireless network fully interoperates with core networks from other vendors to operate under the ETCS L2 signaling system standard, allowing reliable information transmission within the wireless network and safeguarding smooth operation of the high-speed railway.
As an expert in GSM-R wireless technologies, Huawei has ample practical experience interoperating with core networks from multiple vendors in the industry ecosystem. Prior to the project in Turkey, Huawei has also successfully completed the interoperability test campaign for Deutsche Bahn’s DB Systel on the ETCS L2 standard and has worked closely with partners on the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Project, which attains CTCS-3. These experiences become the foundation of another successful project delivery of the GSM-R project for the line