RFS Supplying GSM-R Equipment to Chinese Rail Tunnel

­RFS (Radio Frequency Systems) says that it has won a GSM-R contract to provide in-tunnel wireless coverage for China's prestigious Ningbo-Taizhou-Wenzhou Railway (also known as the Yong-Tai-Wen railway).

The project builds on the success of a similar wireless coverage scheme deployed by RFS on the Hefei-Wuhan high-speed rail link, which opened to passengers earlier this year.

For this project, RFS supplied 106 kilometers of RADIAFLEX radiating cable - as well as a range of equipment that support wireless network coverage within the tunnels along the entire length of the Yong-Tai-Wen railway.

The railway is more than 260 kilometers long and, with trains running at speeds of up to 200 km/h - plus plans to increase this speed to 300 km/h over time - this means that it will be possible to travel from Ningbo to Wenzhou in around 90 minutes when the line opens.

The technical problems facing engineers installing the in-tunnel wireless communications technology were considerable, including the fact that the high speed trains cause severe turbulence in the tunnels.

This issue was solved by RFS supplying heavy-duty and high quality clamps capable of withstanding the extreme air disturbances caused by passing trains.

RFS' clamps, says Gou, were designed to handle the air turbulence caused by trains travelling at speeds of up to 300 km/h or even more meaning that, as train speeds are increased in the future, the in-tunnel wireless coverage systems will be ready to withstand the hurricane-like wind forces involved and cope with unexpected emergency situations.

Posted to the site on 14th October 2009