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Showing posts with label Information and communication Technology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Information and communication Technology. Show all posts

Tuesday, 28 July 2015

17:27

Evolve strategy to Combat Crime aboard Train: Kalam asked Railways in 2006

Evolve strategy to Combat Crime aboard Train: Kalam asked Railways in 2006

Use communication technology, IT to enhance passenger safety. Network all RPF units President presents colours to RPF in Delhi

NEW DELHI: Exhorting the Railways to use emerging technology, particularly information and communication technology, to enhance passenger safety, former President of India A.P.J. Abdul Kalam on Monday 23rd May, 2006 said a special strategy should be formulated to combat rising crime aboard trains.

An analysis might be conducted of the frequency and types of crime against passengers in different parts. Based on this, a strategy should be worked out for combating crimes in areas where the frequency and intensity were very high.

Mr. Kalam was speaking after presenting colours to the Railway Protection Force (RPF) at Dayabasti in northwest Delhi.

Executing complex missions

“Advanced sensors have become crucial to forewarn [of] many situations and to keep surveillance. The provision of state-of-the-art communication systems including mobile systems, night vision devices, information technology solutions, micro gadgets and intelligent networking with security can provide better managed solutions for critical operations. It will help you plan and execute difficult and complex missions with precision and a low casualty rate.”

Highlighting the need to network all RPF units for rapid mobilisation of additional resources in critical areas, Mr. Kalam said: “There is need to remove the division of responsibility between the Government Railway Police and the RPF” and for empowering the RPF with legal sanction to tackle all cognisable offences under the Indian Penal Code and all special Acts so that there would be a single-point responsibility for tackling crimes against passengers.

Recruitment of women

The President hailed recruitment of women constables, besides the setting up of the “Tejaswini” and “Bhairavi” squads for the safety of women passengers.
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Thursday, 9 July 2015

21:40

ZTE Launches New LTE-R Next-Generation Broadband Network Solution for Rail Operators

ZTE Launches New LTE-R Next-Generation Broadband Network Solution for Rail Operators

New LTE-R solution demonstrates superior network performance and safety in debut at UIC HIGHSPEED conference in Tokyo

Tokyo: ZTE Corporation (0763.HK / 000063.SZ), a major international provider of telecommunications, enterprise and consumer technology solutions for the Mobile Internet, announced the launch of the LTE-R broadband network solution to bring next-generation performance and improved safety to rail operators.

Making its debut at the UIC HIGHSPEED conference in Tokyo, ZTE’s LTE-R solution offers superior capabilities for video group calls, group, private, emergency and broadcast calls and call priority functions. Based on the latest B-TrunC standard, the new LTE-R solution is also compatible with GSM-R systems, while also supporting the FAS system, multimedia dispatching and the PLMN/PSTN networks. The new solution also offers multimedia trunked dispatching, video phones, real-time video surveillance and release of comprehensive passenger information.

Trunking performance indicators show the new LTE-R solution delivers large performance improvements compared to existing GSM-R railway communication systems and LTE upper-layer applications. End-to-end call setup delay is less than 350 milliseconds, while floor seizure delay is less than 200 milliseconds.

“The new LTE-R technology helps rail operators improves operations, maintenance and security,” said Sun Mingliang ， VP of ZTE. “As a leading provider of high-performance broadband network solutions to rail operators, ZTE is committed to deliver ongoing improvements in our products and services.”

The LTE-R solution comprises systems for video surveillance and passenger information, developed with TAU technology, offering enhanced railway security. Video surveillance is used in dangerous railway areas and on train carriages to improve rail operations, maintenance and emergency response, providing passengers with updated travel information, news and online resources. Additionally, ZTE’s innovative portable railway emergency equipment integrates the BaseBand Unit, Remote Radio Unit and CN equipment into a 20-inch trolley case to provide on-site relief during railway emergencies.

ZTE’s LTE-R solution comprises of a FDD and a TDD solution. The FDD solution is based on the industry-leading SDR platform, in which one base station supports both GSM-R and LTE-R services. The TDD solution supports the existing GSM-R 900 MHz spectrum as well as the European GSM-R extended spectrum. Neither the GSM-R system nor the LTE-R system requires a protection band on the spectrum, so the FDD solution provides higher frequency efficiency. The TDD solution supports dedicated spectrums on low frequency bands below 1 GHz, thus providing better broadcast features and high-speed performance. Taking advantage of the flexible uplink/downlink proportion feature of the LTE TDD mode, the TDD solution can also provide users with timeslot proportion choices, such as 1:3, 2:2, and 3:1, based on service features.

LTE-R provides flexible network architectures, such as shared-site dual-network architecture and interweaving network architecture, and can also support hot standby of all boards on the BBU and hot standby of RRU hardware. The self-adaptability frequency compensation algorithm developed by ZTE based on scenario features ensures that there is basically no performance loss at the speed of 300 km/H. The super-cell algorithm developed by ZTE reduces the number of handovers between adjacent cells, thus guaranteeing the QoS level. Cloud Radio, a patented ZTE technology reduces inter-cell interference and improves the boundary throughput.

ZTE added advanced technologies and services while protecting customer investments by designing LTE-R to absorb and incorporate GSM-R technology. The core network can easily shift from a 2G network to a 4G Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network, as both share a hardware platform and service deployment. The radio access network satisfies design requirements of a shared G/L platform and shared module. Based on the advanced and reliable SDR platform and Advanced Telecommunications Computing Architecture (ATCA), ZTE’s new solution can support multi-layer backup mechanisms, such as a network-layer backup, link-layer backup and board-layer backup. These technologies guarantee the high reliability of a single device and avoid single-point faults in the network, creating a reliable and smooth railway network.

Since entering the rail transportation industry in 1999, ZTE has made continuous investments in the field of rail transportation and has developed diversified products including terminals, base stations, core networks and service applications, providing customers with excellent products and solutions. ZTE’s products support the latest broadband trunking standard B-TrunkC for the LTE network and lay a solid foundation for railway communications to evolve into the next generation.
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21:23

Railways’ IT Advisory Council to outline use of IT for Railways to improve Efficiency

Railways’ IT Advisory Council to outline use of IT for Railways to improve Efficiency

New Delhi: A panel set up by the Ministry of Railways is working on creating an IT Vision for the Indian Railways and identifying areas to leverage newer technologies such as Cloud, Analytics, Predictive Analysis and Geographic Information Systems and better Systems Integration to improve the efficiency of its vast and complex Railway network across the country.

Although Indian Railways has been effectively using information technology in areas such as passenger reservation and freight operations, the scope for further transformation is very large, said Som Mittal, former president of IT industry lobby NASSCOM, who is heading the 11-member information technology advisory council which was set up in May.

“The focus is to bring in more efficiency, build in more safety and integrate various operations of railways through technology,” he said. As part of its mandate, the council will “integrate and cover passenger services, freight services, asset management and train operations, safety and security as well as operations/enterprise management of the railways”, and give recommendations for strategy for implementation, capacity building and change management.

The final report of the council, likely to be submitted in the next five to six weeks after widespread consultations with industry and government bodies, will look at how existing and new technology platforms and applications can perform better by talking to each other.

“The council is looking at integrating existing applications, which were initially built for a specific need. Integrating applications will help make realtime information available. There is also a need to look at some apps where technologies are getting obsolete and may need to be rebuilt,” said Mittal.

A nearly 65,000 route km, the network generated revenue of nearly Rs 14 lakh million in 2013-14, of which about 26% came from passenger traffic and 67% from freight.

The focus, Mittal said, is on enabling a transition from management information systems to effective decision support systems, in addition to optimised use of assets and resources efficiency, moving from discrete at-a-time information to real-time information and a more integrated environment.

This real-time data could be obtained, for example, with GPS or GIS tech and using proximity sensors or RFID sensors to track locomotives and wagons. “Indian Railways uses information technology in various aspects of its working, including passenger services, freight services, asset management and back-office applications,” said Mohammad Jamshed, Additional Member (Computerisation and Information Systems), who is also part of the council. “A number of IT applications and systems are in progress and being planned,” he said.

Other members of the council include academics, IT experts, officials from the Ministry and the Centre for Railway Information Systems, which develops and manages IT applications of the railways, RailTel Corporation of India Ltd (a Telecom PSU arm of Indian Railways) and the Department of Electronics and IT.
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Monday, 18 May 2015

18:06

Role of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in future Railway operations – How Technology plays a central role in Railways

Role of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in future Railway operations – How Technology plays a central role in Railways

Operation of railway services has progressed a lot since the advent of the first locomotive. Railways is the most preferred mode of transport for more than 70% of the population. With changing times, railway operations and services have developed with better orientation towards customers. Management of railways, ticketing systems and availability of services are now developed to be stronger catering to the need of larger customers.

The need of railways has become impervious with growing population and especially in a country such as India, expansion as well as improvement of railways is a necessity. In Indian context, the existent railway infrastructure seems to be lackadaisical with number of inadequacies in service and satisfaction. Even though technological advancements are integrated in the system, ICT (Information and Communications Technology) is to be utilized more pervasively.

Information and communication technology has had a central role in railways right from its inception. Since the beginning, telephone and communication lines were carried along railway routes, as communication was crucial in railway operations. Even in modern times, improvement of railway services and operations is difficult without integration of strong IT systems. Railway systems have improved in various fronts with extensive usage of ICT. Some of the most important advancements are in fields of Security, Operations, Customer Services and access to railway services.

Security is paramount in railway operations; on it depends the lives of millions of commuters. There are examples of many tragic accidents of trains where thousands lost their lives, some of which happened because of communication lapse and technical glitches in the system. A secure network, aided by excellent communication systems, is indispensable to guarantee security in railway transportation. Utilization of high capacity digital technology with comprehensive set of functionalities has now become the heart of modern rail operations. New technologies such as high bandwidth systems and IP based networks are being developed for strengthening safety and security features in railways. Voice data and train control messages are critical for strong security. IP and Ethernet technologies are bringing in new aspects of secured railway networks.

These systems are the backbone of alarm systems, Video surveillance, and remote access monitoring and equipment telemetry. Advancement of ICT has developed the overall operations within railway management. Railway systems based on IP and MPLS Networks enables delivery of diverse modes of communication and traffic. Such system facilitates developed mode of operations within the system for better performance of railway traffic. The system can be integrated to improve various aspects such as site access control, Video surveillance, remote access monitoring and equipment telemetry and so on. Corporate LAN networks integrated with public address systems can be created using advanced ICT. RFID based freight consignment tracking can be implemented improving railway freight services.

One of the most important contributions of ICT in railways is in the domain of customer service and access to information. Railway systems are integrated with efficient and real-time frontend IT platforms for improvised customer services. Modern railway systems have to deal with massive commuters and an increasing transportation of goods. Moreover, the need of better services has increased with the requirement of more pervasive railway services. Real time information system is a crucial aspect of customer service. Passenger inquiry about availability of trains, arrival and departure schedules at stations and status of booked tickets are some of the aspects that serves as parameters of customer satisfaction of railway services. In fact, they are the most important facets for access to railway service. For a huge and complicated railway network system such as India, efficient use of ICT can certainly make a difference. Passenger ticketing and inquiry systems are being developed to be highly service oriented to provide an “ease of access” to customers. In present times, railway information systems are being integrated to mobile services. Adding to this, many web applications are being developed through which railway services can be accessed via mobile devices.

However, much is still desired and left to be done when it comes to information dissemination. Railways sit on huge reams of information that is either unorganized or not looked into at all. Much of the information is generated and consumed at local or station level and is still prone to manual errors as often seen in the ETA predictions. There is no single source of information and consumers often have to hunt for the information they are looking for.

The use of ICT is imperative in railways. Digital technology can make railway services more secure and safe. Customer oriented features providing a range of services can be developed to make access of railways simplified and comfortable. (Courtesy: M. Aparajita)
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