1. Railway Traffic analysis for FRMCS
FRMCS ATwG, v0.3 draft, 19 April 2016
Jos Nooijen
Ingo Wendler
Joachim Eriksson

2. Objective
Determine the size of the required frequency band for FRMCS operation  traffic analysis is essential input
The size of the frequency band most notably depends on:
Supported functionality (traffic profile) and users
The traffic model (the aggregated traffic in dense railway area at the busy hour)
System characteristics (radio access technology) and the location of the frequency band in the spectrum
This document presents traffic analysis results for railway operation in The Netherlands, Switzerland and Sweden
The traffic analysis results are input for the ERM SRdoc which is the basis for acquiring FRMCS frequency spectrum
FW-AT 1004 Railway Traffic Analysis

3. Starting points and prerequisites
Mobile communication functionality (voice, data, messaging) is implemented using IP services of mobile networks
Traffic profiles (voice, data, messaging, video) are expressed in terms of packets per second and/or bits per second
Traffic for peak demand is calculated by considering a typical dense area of railway operation during the busy hour
FW-AT 1004 Railway Traffic Analysis

4. Traffic modelling method
The foundation of the method follows the procedures as outlined in ITU document M (in a simplified and abbreviated form)
Functional requirements as outlined in the FRMCS User Requirements Specification v1.4 are used as a reference (present and future use of applications)
Railway operation of a dense area (shunting yard including station area) is modelled for the busy hours
Conditions (e.g. speed in km/hr, in-train/outdoor coverage), usage frequency and traffic profile per function/application are determined for normal operation in bps for up- and downlink
Cumulative number and distribution of functions in the area (both train-mounted and trackside) are determined
Traffic is scaled for future growth and degraded operation
Aggregated traffic in the designated area during the busy hour is calculated as a final result
The model does not prescribe how to handle the traffic (e.g. number of cells per area, redundancy scheme, single or dual layer coverage, use of repeater systems)
FW-AT 1004 Railway Traffic Analysis

5. Traffic model scenarios
Several traffic model scenarios are considered:
Scenario 1: Railway basic communications only (ERTMS and current GSM- R based voice and data applications)
Scenario 2: Traffic as in scenario 1 + future use (not including e.g. video services (camera surveillance))
Scenario 3: Traffic as in scenario 2 + internet services for passengers and railway personnel + non-critical video services (camera surveillance)
Note: these scenarios are applicable for the Netherlands, scenarios of Switzerland and Sweden slightly differ: internet for passengers and video surveillance are denoted as outsourced RAN. Traffic models will be aligned later.
FW-AT 1004 Railway Traffic Analysis

6. Traffic analysis (Utrecht)
Utrecht station and shunting area
FW-AT 1004 Railway Traffic Analysis

7. Traffic analysis Utrecht
Area to be considered
Length [km] 1.2 (and 0.9 for shunting area)
Width [km] 0.25 (and 0.2 for shunting area)
Area [km2] 0,35
Summary traffic scenarios
Scenario 1
Scenario 2
Scenario 3
Application category
Applications used for railway operation. ERTMS + current voice and data applications
Applications used for railway operation. ERTMS + current voice and data applications + future use (not including non-critical video services, e.g. camera surveillance)
Applications used for railway operation. ERTMS + current voice and data applications + future use (including non-critical video services and internet for passengers and staff)
Area of operation
Utrecht station and Utrecht shunting yard
Number of traffic generating applications 10 27 31
Total number of users and/or trains
320
533
16802
Cumulative traffic downlink (Mbps)
0,85
1,71
145,73
Cumulative traffic uplink (Mbps)
1,67
153,80
FW-AT 1004 Railway Traffic Analysis

8. Traffic analysis (Zürich)
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FW-AT 1004 Railway Traffic Analysis

9. Traffic analysis (Zürich)
Area to be considered
Length [km] 2,766
Width [km] 0,364
Area [km2] 1,006824
Summary traffic scenarios
Scenario 1
Scenario 2
Scenario 3
Application category
Applications (used for railway operation) -ERTMS -In Operation (Voice) -Miscellaneous
Applications (used for railway operation while parts of them are operated using Public Provider) -ERTMS -In Operation (Voice) -Miscellaneous -Outsourced RAN
Applications (used for railway operation, new operational railway communication services and Public Provider Access) -ERTMS -In Operation (Voice) -Miscellaneous -Outsourced RAN -Future use -Not used
Area of operation
Zurich Main Station
Number of traffic generating applications (total 36) 10 15 36
Total number of users and/or trains
271
23.318
23.706
Cumulative traffic downlink (Mbps)
0,79408
202,34
203,92
Cumulative traffic uplink (Mbps)
376,43
377,95
FW-AT 1004 Railway Traffic Analysis

10. Traffic analysis (Stockholm)
FW-AT 1004 Railway Traffic Analysis

11. Traffic analysis (Stockholm)
Area to be considered
Length [km] -
Width [km] -
Area [km2] -
Summary traffic scenarios
Scenario 1
Scenario 2
Scenario 3
Application category
Applications (used for railway operation) -ERTMS -In Operation (Voice) -Miscellaneous
Applications (used for railway operation while parts of them are operated using Public Provider) -ERTMS -In Operation (Voice) -Miscellaneous -Outsourced RAN
Applications (used for railway operation, new operational railway communication services and Public Provider Access) -ERTMS -In Operation (Voice) -Miscellaneous -Outsourced RAN -Future use -Not used
Area of operation
Stockholm Main Station
Number of traffic generating applications (total 36) 12 14 35
Total number of users and/or trains
149
10.349
10.668
Cumulative traffic downlink (Mbps)
0,47338
57,61
59,12
Cumulative traffic uplink (Mbps)
0,46849
14,75
114,43
FW-AT 1004 Railway Traffic Analysis

12. Summary and conclusions
Cumulative traffic in a dense railway area at the busy hour ranges from 0.5 to 0.9 Mbps for basic railway operation including ERTMS (for up- and downlink).
If traffic for future use is considered (excluding non- critical video services) cumulative traffic increases to 1 – 2 Mbps.
If internet services and (non critical) video services are taken into account cumulative traffic increases to several hundreds of Mbps (100 – 500 Mbps).
Non critical video services (e.g. camera surveillance on trains) consume a significant amount of bandwidth (up tp 100 Mbps)
FW-AT 1004 Railway Traffic Analysis