Skip to main content

First trial of 4G LTE technology in a mass transit system

French public transport operator Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens (RATP) and Nokia have successfully completed the first trial of 4G LTE technology on a portion of the Paris Metro line 14. According to RATP, the trial demonstrated that a single 4G LTE network can be used for all operational train communications, which are currently supported by different channels – a mixture of wi-fi, digital radio and 3G/4G networks. The test demonstrated that a single LTE mobile network can replace tradition
August 9, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
French public transport operator Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens (4223 RATP) and Nokia have successfully completed the first trial of 4G LTE technology on a portion of the Paris Metro line 14.

According to RATP, the trial demonstrated that a single 4G LTE network can be used for all operational train communications, which are currently supported by different channels – a mixture of wi-fi, digital radio and 3G/4G networks.

The test demonstrated that a single LTE mobile network can replace traditional wi-fi networks and manage data transmissions from multiple applications simultaneously, including a simulation of train control (CBTC simulation based on pre-recorded real data). It also included video on trains and platforms; operational voice communications; multimedia passenger information on trains and platforms; and maintenance and supervision services.

This trial marks a significant contribution to start of the standardisation process required before any operational rollout of 4G LTE technology in transport systems and associated customer services.

The trial was carried out under the R&D SYSTUF (SYStème Télécom pour les Transports Urbains du Futur) project, which aims to demonstrate that it is possible to use a single telecommunication technology, such as LTE, that is able to meet both critical and non-critical applications of future public transport systems.

Related Content

  • February 3, 2012
    Cooperative infrastructure systems waiting for the go ahead
    Despite much research and technological promise, progress towards cooperative infrastructure system deployment is still slow. Here, Robert Cone and John Miles take a considered look at how and when it might come about. From a systems engineering viewpoint it looks logical and inevitable that vehicles should be communicating between themselves and with the road infrastructure. But seen from a business viewpoint the case is not proven.
  • April 9, 2014
    Buses services benefit from seamless Wi-Fi data transfer
    Ted Bowser explains how the almost total Wi-Fi coverage at Ride-On’s new bus garage is providing big benefits for the operator and passengers alike. The ability to download and upload data to and from the various systems on board buses has become central to mass transit operators’ business model. So when Ride-On, the public transportation system in Maryland’s Montgomery County, was moving one of its three depots into a bigger and purpose-built facility, connectivity was a key consideration.
  • July 31, 2012
    Developing an integrated WIM/ANPR enforcement system
    The weigh in motion market remains especially buoyant and technological development continues to reflect this. Although there are major differences in operating philosophies, particularly between developed and developing countries, both the numbers of countries using Weigh In Motion (WIM) technology and the numbers of systems that they deploy are on the increase.
  • January 23, 2012
    Future traffic management needs new thinking, new technology
    One of the biggest problems facing US ITS professionals, says Georgia DOT's Hugh Colton, is the constrained thinking which is sometimes forced upon those making procurement decisions. It is time, he says, to look again at how we do things. In the November/December 2010 edition of this journal, Pete Goldin interviewed Joseph Sussman, chairman of the US's ITS Program Advisory Committee. Amongst other observations that Sussman made was that, technologically, ITS in the US is 10 years behind that in the world-l