Overview

Due to congestion, pollution concerns, and the ever-increasing costs of fuel and parking, millions of people are getting off the roads and opting for trains as an alternative mode of transportation. For many passengers, their daily commute has translated into additional work time, and as a result they need to be reachable and able to communicate. Furthermore, on-board operators and riders alike are concerned about safety in the moving train; therefore, wireless connectivity is mandatory.

Ensuring cellular connectivity for passengers and train workers raises many challenges for operators of railways and for the manufacturers of railcars. Naturally, trains travel through a variety of terrains, including tunnels and metro areas, and they roll into underground stations. All of these environments can impede wireless signals. Passenger cars need technologies that not only provide coverage in any location, but also are conservative on power and space, highly reliable under thousands of hours of operation, and resilient to vibration. As commuters move into stations they expect their connections to be maintained for phone calls, SMS messages and more; therefore, both in carriage and in station solutions are a must. Fortunately, new innovations provide answers for these environments. Both manufacturers of passenger rail carriages and rail operators have excellent options to create a cost effective solution for commuters.