Radio Spectrum
One Industry, One Goal
National Approach to Rail Industry Spectrum
November 2010
Rail
Providing solutions for the future
Executive Summary
Australia is facing a number of challenges including significant population growth,
increasing urban congestion, the move towards a carbon constraint economy and
ensuring energy security. These challenges must be dealt with in a holistic manner
in conjunction with the Federal and State Governments’ wider policy objective of
achieving a sustainable and liveable community.
In addition to the effort to meet the above challenges, Australia also needs to
maintain its dynamic domestic economy and international competitiveness. The
Federal Government has identified transport policy as key to achieving this goal.
The focus on transport policy has in turn highlighted the increasing need to use rail
as a solution to national transport issues.
The Rail Industry delivers 724.7 million urban passenger journeys and moves 720
million tonnes of freight across the country each year. The demand for both
passenger and freight services are continuing to rise at a rapid rate. The past year
saw an increase of 47.6 million passenger journeys in urban services and the land
freight task is forecast to double by 2020, and triple by 2050 from 2006 levels.
The increase in rail passenger patronage and rail freight delivery will contribute to
the Government’s broader policy objectives by:
•
•
•
Reducing urban congestion - a single passenger train can remove up to
500 car journeys during peak times and a single freight train can remove
up to 150 heavy vehicles off our roads;
Decreasing the number of road fatalities and injuries - road accidents
cost the Australian economy up to $35 billion per annum. Rail transport
is up to 7-9 times safer than road transport and is the solution to
reducing the needless loss of lives and waste money resulting from road
accidents.
Minimising our transport’s carbon emissions and mitigating Australia’s
energy security risks - freight rail is 10 times, and passenger rail is up to 3
times, more fuel efficient than road transportation. Rail’s superior fuel
efficiency and continued move towards electrification are central to
ensuring Australia’s energy security through reducing our reliance on
imported oil.
The Rail Industry directly employs more than 44,000 people with a further
70,000 working in industries supporting rail.
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The need for spectrum
Due to the escalation in service demand, all rail services are under pressure to
increase capacity, improve service reliability and maximise efficiency.
Improvements to rail services are reliant on the uptake of advanced
telecommunication systems to deliver voice and broadband data.
To achieve this telecommunications capability, the Rail Industry needs access to
private and public networks supported by a nationally harmonised radio spectrum
allocation in the 400 MHz band and arrangements that assure an adequate level of
the 1800 MHz band. The use of these different networks and subsequent spectrum
requirement is dependent on the density of services, geography, existing
infrastructure, economic circumstances, business risk and the Australian Rail
Industry’s dependence on the adoption of international standards for train control
systems and safety certified telecommunications technology for the various rail
services and operational activities.
The Rail Industry recommends the following actions by the Australian
Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) in response to this submission:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Formalisation of the Rail Industry Only allocation in the 400 MHz band (it is
noted that the relevant embargo for the spectrum is in place).
Progression of negotiations to establish a spectrum license for the Rail
Industry only 400 MHz spectrum allocation.
Formalisation of the 450.050 MHz channel for the Rail Industry.
Aggregation of the current rail spectrum holdings in the 1800 MHz band.
Separation of the 1800 MHz spectrum currently held by rail from the
allocations for telecommunications carriers, as a Rail Industry allocation.
Provide certainty of tenure for the 1800 MHz allocation post 2013/2015 for
the maximum period allowed under the legislation; and
Provide the 400 MHz and 1800 MHz spectrum at a cost that recognises the
“public interest” value of the Rail Industry.
Adequate supply and long-term security of appropriate levels of both 400MHz and
1800MHz radio spectrum are key to establishing an efficient national rail network.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1
IMPORTANCE OF THE RAIL INDUSTRY ................................................................................ 5
The current situation ......................................................................................................................... 7
2
AUSTRALIAN RAIL SERVICES ................................................................................................... 8
3
RAIL TELECOMMUNICATIONS.............................................................................................. 11
Developments in Australia ............................................................................................................. 11
International Developments ......................................................................................................... 12
Proposed Environment ................................................................................................................... 13
Improving Rail Efficiency ................................................................................................................ 15
4
SPECTRUM REQUIREMENTS .................................................................................................. 17
What Spectrum is Required? .......................................................................................................... 17
Where is the Spectrum Required? ................................................................................................. 17
How Much Spectrum is Required? ................................................................................................ 19
Future demand for Rail Spectrum ................................................................................................ 19
Spectrum Sharing ............................................................................................................................. 20
How Long is the Spectrum Required for? .................................................................................... 20
Spectrum Costs.................................................................................................................................. 21
5
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ...................................................................... 22
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1
IMPORTANCE OF THE RAIL INDUSTRY
The Rail Industry is a key contributor to economic growth in Australia and the use
of rail is expected to increase exponentially over the coming years.
Transport policy has been identified by the Federal Government as a central plank
in attaining the productivity growth needed to maintain Australia’s dynamic
domestic economy and international competitiveness. The focus on transport
policy has in turn highlighted the increasing need to use rail as a solution to
national transport issues.
The Federal Government faces many challenges including significant population
growth, increasing urban congestion, the move towards a carbon restricted
economy and ensuring energy security. These issues must be dealt with in a
holistic manner in conjunction with the Government’s wider policy objective of
ensuring safe, sustainable and liveable communities. The Rail Industry is a key
contributor in helping to resolve these issues.
The expected increase in Australia’s population will significantly increase the
number of passenger and freight journeys within Australia. The land freight task is
set to double by 2020 and triple by 2050 from 2007 levels.
Currently, congested roads cost Australia up to $15 billion per annum.1 With an
increasing population and increasing passenger and freight transport task, these
costs will rise significantly without appropriate transport policies. Government has
identified Rail as a solution to alleviate growing congestion - a single passenger
train can remove up to 500 cars during peak times2 and a single freight train can
remove up to 150 heavy vehicles off our roads.3
An additional challenge to the growing congestion issue is the scarcity of urban
land available for establishing new or widening existing transport corridors for all
modes of transport. A mechanism to increase capacity through more rail services is
the establishment of sophisticated telecommunication, information and control
systems to maximise the efficient use of existing rail corridors.
The move towards a carbon restricted economy to address greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions, increasing oil prices and the need to mitigate energy security risks from
oil supply disruptions will necessitate behavioural changes on a micro and macro
scale.
1
Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (2007), Estimating urban traffic and congestion
cost trends for Australian cities, Working Paper 71, Accessed at:
http://www.bitre.gov.au/publications/49/Files/wp71.pdf
2
Australasian Railway Association (2010), One Australia, One Set of Rules: The Rail Industry’s Federal Election
Brief 2010. Accessed at: http://www.ara.net.au/UserFiles/file/Submissions/ElectionBrief2010pdf.pdf
3
Australasian Railway Association (2010), National Freight Strategy, Accessed at
http://www.ara.net.au/UserFiles/file/Publications/National-Freight-Strategy-2010.pdf.
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The transport sector, including private transport, accounts for around 14% of
Australia’s total GHG emissions and is likely to account for more than 20% by 2020.
Rail is the lowest GHG emitter per passenger and per ton of freight and only
contributes around 2% of all Australian domestic transport emissions.4 Reductions
in these emissions will necessitate considerable behavioural change in the
transport sector by passengers, service providers and policy makers. The way in
which this behavioural change is implemented will have significant ramifications
on Australia’s GDP. Greater adoption of rail transport will reduce transport sector
GHG emissions. As such, rail will be central to reducing the carbon footprint of
transportation. Rail, especially rail passenger services, does have the potential to
move close to being emission free.
Freight rail is 10 times, and passenger rail is up to 3 times, more fuel efficient than
road transportation.5 Increasing oil prices and Australia’s growing vulnerability to
supply disruptions poses grave security risks to Australia’s economic wellbeing.
Rail’s superior fuel efficiency and continued move towards electrification are key to
ensuring Australia’s energy security through reducing our reliance on imported oil.
Over 1,500 people die on our roads every year, over 30,000 more are seriously
injured or permanently disabled.6 These road accidents cost the Australian
economy up to $35 billion per annum.7 With around 40 deaths per year8, a majority
of which are at level crossings, by passenger/tonne kilometre rail transport is more
than 7-9 times safer than road transport.9 Rail transport is the solution to this
needless loss of lives and waste of money.
Rail also makes a substantial direct contribution to the Australian economy. Rail
carries more than $180 billion of Australia’s exports. The Rail Industry directly
employs more than 44,000 people10 with a further 70,000 working in industries
supporting rail.
In recognition of rail’s increasing role in addressing the broader policy goals in
relation to congestion, climate change, safety, energy security and social inclusion,
the Federal Government has invested $10 billion over six years in expanding rail
capacity across Australia. In addition, during the 2010 Federal election all political
parties committed to further increase expenditure on rail.
4
Ross Garnaut (2008), The Garnaut Climate Change Review: Final Report, Accessed at
http://www.garnautreview.org.au/pdf/Garnaut_Chapter21.pdf
5
Australasian Railway Association (2010), above n 3.
6
Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government (2009), Road Deaths
Australia 2008 Statistical Summary, Accessed at:
http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/safety/publications/2009/pdf/rsr_04.pdf
7
LECG Consulting (2010), The cost of road crashes, published by the Australasian Railway Association,
Accessed at: http://www.ara.net.au/UserFiles/file/Publications/TheCostofRoadCrashesReport.pdf.
8
Australian Transport Safety Bureau (2010), Australian Rail Safety Occurrence Data 1 January 2001 to 31
December 2009, Accessed at: http://www.atsb.gov.au/media/1506904/rr2009007(2).pdf
9
Australasian Railway Association (2010), above n 3.
10
Australasian Railway Association (2010), Rail Industry Report 2008, Accessed at
http://www.ara.net.au/UserFiles/file/Publications/ARA%20Industry%20Report%202008.pdf.
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The current situation
All rail services are under pressure to increase capacity, improve service reliability
and maximise efficiency. Improvements to these services are reliant on the uptake
of train control systems based on advanced telecommunications.
The increasing demand for rail passenger services in Australia has necessitated the
move towards metro services for major capital cities, in particular Sydney and
Melbourne. A metro service requires train regularity, performance and service
reliability that is not achievable using the traditional trackside signalling and
operational procedures.
A metro service requires precision digital
telecommunication and signalling technology that is heavily reliant on the use of
radio spectrum.
Sydney and Melbourne are in the process of transforming their metropolitan urban
services to metro services. This transformation is expected to occur over the next
10 years.
Brisbane is rapidly reaching the density that requires a metro service.11 Adelaide
and Perth currently remain urban services, however, rapid population growth may
also see these cities move to a metro service.
National and state based freight services are already working to improve the
harmonisation of operations, including digital telecommunications, to facilitate
more efficient, integrated mixed mode transport services, as the demand for rail
freight increases.
The Australasian Railway Association (ARA) has been central in facilitating
harmonisation and standardisation within the Rail Industry. The ARA is a memberbased association that represents the interests of the Rail Industry in Australia and
New Zealand. The ARA has over 150 members covering the entire Rail Industry
including rail service providers, track owners, suppliers, engineering and business
consultancies. This submission represents the views of the Australian Rail Industry.
11
Queensland Government (2010), Connecting SEQ 2031 http://www.connectingseq.qld.gov.au/ &
http://www.connectingseq.qld.gov.au/Libraries/Publications/Draft_Connecting_SEQ_2031.pdf
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2
AUSTRALIAN RAIL SERVICES
The Australian Rail Industry is characterised by different service sectors: metro,
urban, regional and interstate passenger services, and intrastate and national
freight services. Understanding the telecommunication needs and subsequent
spectrum needs of the different services can be best explained in the first instance
by density and the consequence of disruption. The Rail Industry’s service densities
are defined as follows:
Density
Description
Low
Low capacity, infrequent service,
typically with single track and located in
rural/remote locations on a point-topoint or transit basis. Freight and
passenger services are applicable and
typically characterised by the population
density of the area under consideration.
Medium Medium to High capacity, typically
operating between country towns on a
High
point-to-point or transit basis or over a
star-based rail network (hub/spoke) with
multiple nodes (stations) radiating out
from a central point. Passenger services
are applicable and are characterised by
the population density of the area under
consideration or services to large
country towns and outer urban areas of
metropolitan cities. Freight services are
applicable and include high capacity
mineral and intermodal traffic lines.
Very
Very High capacity, peak 2 minute
High
services operating over a mesh style
network.
Typically characterised by
metropolitan city services utilising a
dedicated fleet (e.g. passenger trains
only) operating over tracks with no
mixed traffic.
Consequence
of Disruption
Minimal, as very few trains
affected and section
distances are long allowing
time for responses
Moderate to Major, as many
trains may be affected
Extreme, with outages
causing serious societal
disruption
Density of service directly correlates to the requirements of the train control
systems employed to deliver the service. The train control system includes both
telecommunication and signalling capabilities. The performance and complexity
of these systems increases in line with the density of the service.
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Transporting freight across vast areas using low density train operations has
significantly different demands to that of moving thousands of people across
relatively short distances using high density train operations. The complexity
caused by these differences is compounded when the various services intersect.
The voice and data requirements for the various densities of rail service are
presented in the table below:
Density
Low
Medium
High
Very High
Voice Requirements
Data Requirements
Long range, with local
channel
Short to Long range with
group working, with local
channel
Short to medium range,
with group working, with
local channel
Always-on broadband
data
Always-on broadband
data
Always-on broadband
data
In addition to the identified services, there are a number of national and localised
operational activities that are dependent on wireless telecommunication and
spectrum. These activities include:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Yard Operations – telecommunication to support local train operations
within train yards and shunting areas including train-to-train, train to track,
train to control centre telecommunications;
Trackside (Wayside) – telecommunication alongside rail tracks to support
construction, maintenance and other off-train activities in localised areas;
Train Management – telecommunication to support the management of
trains and tracks through monitoring and feedback, e.g. end of train and
train health telemetry systems;
Local Train Radio – nationally standardised local train to train
telecommunication;
Station Services – telecommunication to support station operation; and
Security Services – telecommunication to support security operations for
the protection of patrons, staff and infrastructure.
In addition to the density of services, the following attributes also determine the
telecommunication requirements of each service:
•
•
•
•
Operator’s service sector requirements, including the type (metro, urban,
regional and interstate passenger services or intrastate and national freight
services), size of operation and operational diversity.
Geographic properties, including location, terrain, and operational area.
Existing infrastructure, including pre-existence of appropriate
infrastructure and the life cycle status of existing infrastructure.
Economic circumstances, including the presiding procurement cycles, the
cost effectiveness of the given circumstances, the prevailing commercial
opportunities and the operator’s economic status.
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•
•
Business risk, including operational, safety and financial risks.
Standards, Australian Rail Industry’s dependence on international
standards for train control systems and safety certified telecommunications
technology for the various rail services and operational activities.
The combination of these attributes may result in operations that have similar
service densities, requiring very different telecommunication solutions, particularly
during the current transformational phase of the industry. The Rail Industry has,
however, refined its use of spectrum to just two segments 400MHz and 1800MHz,
supported by the use of public telephony networks to address the diverse needs of
the Australian Rail Industry.
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3
RAIL TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Effective telecommunications are paramount to the future efficient operation of
rail.
Voice radio telecommunications were introduced into rail operations during the
seventies. Today, telecommunications are an important operational safety function
and many rail services are not permitted to enter service if the train's voice
telecommunications are inoperative. In the event of voice telecommunications
failure during train operation, separate train control systems continue to ensure
the safe operation of the train but with reduced efficiency.
To facilitate productivity improvements, new train control systems are totally
reliant on mobile telecommunications. With these train control systems, trains
cannot operate if telecommunication systems are not functional.
If rail is to provide the solutions to Government policy objectives, ensuring the
most efficient rail system is of utmost importance. Security of spectrum allocation
is essential if the rail sector is to make the substantial investments needed to
develop a harmonised national telecommunications capability to support future
national rail services. Uncertainty surrounding spectrum availability will severely
impact investments in innovation that would further improve the efficiency,
environmental and safety performance of these rail services.
Developments in Australia
In the past, rail operations in Australia used a variety of analogue private two-way
radio systems for operational communications.
There was little, if any,
coordination of the development of rail telecommunications in each State until the
early 80’s when common 400MHz spectrum was informally allocated for rail use.
This has been extensively used by the Rail Industry and was anecdotally known as
the Railways of Australia (RoA) band. While many of these analogue systems are
still in use, the Rail Industry is transforming itself through the establishment and
adoption of national standards and the introduction of advanced
telecommunication technologies.
Coordinated activities under the ARA over recent years have led to significant
progress in transforming the Rail Industry’s past disparate approach to
telecommunications. These activities include industry interoperability and
standards development forums and working groups, including a
telecommunications standard development group and a national rail radio
spectrum working group, that endeavour to not only align the Australian industry,
but to ensure the Australian industry leverages international standards and
developments to advantage.
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Increased collaboration within the Rail Industry and with other industries has also
significantly contributed to progress, resulting in:
•
•
•
•
agreement on a national approach to Rail Industry spectrum;
increased awareness of and interaction with each State’s National
Coordinating Committee for Government Radiocommunications
representation;
greater awareness of the telecommunications plans for the energy and
other utility sectors; and
the drafting of spectrum sharing agreements with the energy sector.
International Developments
The Rail Industry around the world is moving to next generation train control
systems to increase the utilisation of existing rail infrastructure, which will provide
capacity increases to support rising demand and improve service reliability.
Vendors and rail organisations are well underway in developing appropriate
standards and technologies to achieve this aim.
As previously indicated and as noted by the Australian Communications and Media
Authority (ACMA),12 Australia is a ‘standards taker’ and as such the Australian Rail
Industry has to adopt appropriate international standards to ensure the ability to
leverage international products and developments.
The Australian Rail Industry is actively involved in international developments and
where appropriate, influences international standards and product specifications
for rail telecommunications.
In adopting international standards, the Australian Rail Industry has a choice
between European and North American standards.
European
The International Union of Railways (UIC) has led the development of a standard
for train telecommunications based on an adaptation of the GSM technology,
known as GSM-R. The UIC has been instrumental in obtaining specific spectrum
allocations for GSM-R rail telecommunication systems. Although the UIC had
standardised the use of 900 MHz, the severe restrictions on availability of this
spectrum in Europe, has resulted in the UIC moving to include 1800 MHz into the
GSM-R standard as an alternative to 900MHz.13
The UIC has also led the development of the European Train Control System (ETCS)
since 1996. ETCS uses the GSM-R technology as its approved telecommunications
system. ETCS is currently being implemented throughout Europe to replace the
12
Chris Chapman (2010), Develop a nationwide approach to smart grid spectrum, accessed at
http://www.acma.gov.au/webwr/_assets/main/lib311407/chaprman_smart_grid_speech-24_mar_10.pdf
13
UIC Implementation Report #0090 to include 1800MHz in the GSM-R standard was accepted on 10/9/2010. Refer
to UIC pre qualification meeting #7 minutes – item d.
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many incompatible safety systems currently used by European railways, especially
on high-speed lines.
ETCS involves traditional trackside signalling equipment being replaced by in-cab
signalling that is communicated to the train cabin by wireless telecommunications.
This approach offers significant cost savings due to minimisation of trackside
equipment and permits higher train control system performance and tolerances
which allow more efficient rail operations.
Work is also proceeding in Europe to incorporate both the railway functionality and
the ETCS train control data capability into 3G and 4G carrier technologies via the
appropriate standard specification initiatives. This could offer the Rail Industry a
viable progression from the current GSM-R technology in the future. It must be
noted that these developments are in their infancy and will not be available for
many years14.
North American
The United States Congress has mandated that Positive Train Control (PTC) be
implemented across most major United States railways by 201515. PTC is a system
of monitoring and controlling train movements to provide increased safety.
While the North American PTC train control system does not have a specifically
identified telecommunications platform, it allows flexibility in the ability to operate
from a number of different telecommunications platforms, including the GPRS and
EDGE extensions of the GSM-R technology.
Proposed Environment
While voice telecommunications will remain an important component of an
Australian rail operation, the main driver for the selection of a future
telecommunication system will be the need to support data based information and
control systems.
GSM-R, using 1800MHz spectrum, has been selected as the preferred
telecommunications to support very high density metro operations being
implemented in Melbourne and Sydney. The Australian Rail Industry recognises
the maturity of the GSM-R technology. However, it must be recognised that it is
the only telecommunication technology certified for use with the ETCS, and is
an integral element of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS)
specification.
The GSM-R technology may not be economically viable for all rail operations. As
such, the Rail Industry must support lower cost, private telecommunication
network options for urban and regional rail operations, as currently found in
14
Nokia Siemens Networks refer
http://www.banebranchen.dk/bbdocs/konf2009/Jernbanen_paa_vej_mod_2020_Peter_Tiberg.pdf
15
Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 available at http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Public_Law_110-432/Division_A
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Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. At present, the passenger demand pressure is not as
great in these cities, however, Brisbane is rapidly approaching the density of a
metro service.
The Australian Rail Industry continues to use substantial levels of 400MHz
infrastructure to provide reliable telecommunications coverage along crucial rail
corridors that are not adequately served by any other telecommunications systems
or services. This infrastructure represents significant investment by the industry
with many of the assets, such as buildings, towers and backhaul systems still some
way from end of life. As such, these network and non-network based
telecommunications facilities are expected to continue for at least the next 5 to 10
years.
The Rail Industry believes that in many areas the ongoing use of these private rail
telecommunications facilities operating in the 400MHz band offers the most cost
effective solution.
The Rail Industry is considering standards based spectrally efficient systems such as
P-25, Tetra and DMR for providing voice and low speed data requirements for train
services in these areas. Such systems are able to provide the functionality that is
currently not available on the public telecommunications networks such as
immediate Press To Talk (PTT), group working, prioritisation and recording.
The development and roll-out of a telecommunications solution based on public
telecommunications networks by Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) has the
potential to provide the Rail Industry with another telecommunications solution to
support low and medium density operations over a wide geographic area. Future
enhancements of public telecommunication networks may include features such
as group working, priority calling and grade of service provisioning that may allow
this solution to be given greater consideration.
Local Train Radio is a simple localised, non-network reliant, safety
telecommunication capability used to communicate between trains and other
operations in the rail corridors across Australia typically at 450.050 MHz. The Rail
Industry confirms that this capability must be retained in the future.
Other railways functions such as shunting, station operations, crowd management,
and worksites will also use radio systems to maximise productivity and safety by
allowing the worker to be in constant communication with signallers and worksite
supervisors.
Railway telecommunications follow international trends in terms of technology
and bandwidth. Rail bandwidth needs have been exponentially increasing as
standards and new technology allow more information to be carried for timetables,
signalling, voice communications and increasingly high bandwidth data and video.
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Rail wireless telecommunications has also grown exponentially. Initially voice
communications allowed the driver and signaller to communicate, but increasingly
there is a need for train telemetry, video monitoring, passenger safety and
passenger information to be communicated between the control centre and each
train.
New developments to increase the capacity of existing train infrastructure, such as
ETCS, eliminate the need for fixed line-side signalling allowing trains to proceed
safely with minimal inter-service distance. By not being limited to fixed location
signalling, more trains can run at higher speeds and closer together.
Improving Rail Efficiency
Over time it is expected all areas will transition to standards based mobile
telecommunications systems in line with existing investment cycles and business
requirements. Moving to standards based solutions in both the 1800MHz and
400MHz bands will lead to the following benefits:
•
Use of standardised equipment. Australia and the Rail Industry will be able
to benefit from the economies of scale stemming from the mass production
of rail telecommunications equipment.
•
Support a competitive environment for vendors. Multiple vendors
(Australian and international suppliers and contractors) will be able to
provide competitive pricing and services to support the Rail Industry. More
competition in the provision of capital equipment will significantly reduce
costs for rail operators. Use of the 1800 MHz and 400MHz spectrum will
ensure the harmonisation of Australia’s approach with international
standards.
•
Foster technology innovation within Australia. A move towards
international standard equipment using common spectrum will create
more incentives for local technology suppliers. Currently, equipment
developed for the Australian market cannot be sold on the international
market given differences in standards. A move towards the 1800MHz and
400MHz spectrum will open up international markets for train equipment
for local suppliers.
With the provision of Australia-wide 400MHz and 1800 MHz spectrum, the Rail
Industry will be able to support the initiatives of:
• Spectrum harmonisation;
• Interoperability;
• Innovation in industry;
• Lower industry cost;
• Investment/manufacturing certainty;
• Broadband applications; and
• Next generation train control.
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Security of spectrum is a necessity for the Rail Industry as it is relied upon to ensure
properly functioning telecommunications, signalling and train protection systems.
Without security of spectrum, passenger and freight rail operations would be
severely hampered, repeating the “broken gauge” problem that afflicted the
Australian Rail Industry during the first century of operation.
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4
SPECTRUM REQUIREMENTS
What Spectrum is Required?
The Australian Rail Industry has identified two core spectrum segments that are
required to support rail operations going forward.
•
•
1800 MHz to support mobile broadband services. This will ensure that
current and increased future demands for high density metropolitan
passenger rail services will be met. Additionally, this spectrum will also
support future broadband applications that may be specific to the Rail
Industry; and
400 MHz to support legacy systems as well as future medium and low
density narrowband arrangements and operational activities.
Note: The use of public telephony networks does not require dedicated railway
spectrum.
In relation to 1800 MHz, the Rail Industry prefers dedicated spectrum for rail only.
However the industry would consider access to spectrum under alternate
arrangements, subject to allocation prioritisation with the protection of rail
corridors from interference.
In relation to 400 MHz, the Rail Industry requires formalisation of the Rail Industry
only allocation with access to additional spectrum from the government,
commercial and shared segments. In addition, formal recognition is required of
the currently used 450.050MHz frequency to support the Local Train Radio
requirements.
Where is the Spectrum Required?
The 400MHz spectrum is required nation-wide to cover current and future rail
corridors. Figure 1 shows the current rail corridors across Australia.
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Figure 1: Current National Rail Corridors
Currently, the geographical limits of the 1800 MHz spectrum licenses adequately
provide spectrum for the greater metropolitan areas of Melbourne, Sydney, Perth
and Adelaide.
The Brisbane metropolitan rail operational area extends from the Gold Coast to
Gympie. The currently held 1800 MHz license adequately covers the Eastern,
Southern and Western limits of the Brisbane metropolitan operational area, but
falls significantly short of the northern limit, finishing at Landsborough approximately 100km south of Gympie.
As part of the analysis currently being undertaken for the implementation of next
generation train control systems, some extension of GSM-R into regional centres is
being contemplated. However, there is currently no provision for 1800 MHz
spectrum availability outside the metropolitan areas to address any extension of
high density services into regional areas. In the mid west of WA, Oakajee Port and
Rail is seeking 1800 MHz spectrum for the proposed Oakajee railway.
For future requirements the Rail Industry requires a nation-wide allocation of
1800MHz spectrum. The Rail Industry supports sharing this spectrum with other
entities.
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How Much Spectrum is Required?
400MHz
The ACMA has identified 2 x 400 kHz of core interoperability spectrum for rail in the
current 400 MHz band. This allocation will not be sufficient in all areas of the
country. Access will be required to additional spectrum from the government,
commercial or shared segments. However, the Rail Industry has significant concern
about feasibility of obtaining additional spectrum from these segments, due to the
high level of competition and cost for spectrum in these segments.
In addition, the single 450.050MHz channel is required nation-wide to support the
Local Train Radio.
1800MHz
The Australian Rail Industry requires Spectrum Licenses for 30 MHz (2 x 15MHz) of
1800 MHz spectrum.
Due to the safety and operational criticality of rail telecommunication networks,
resiliency to system failures is required. To support operation during times of
failures all sites have duplicated equipment with limited distance between sites to
provide overlapping coverage16. New train control systems require a continuous
connection to every train on the network. These requirements significantly
increases spectrum requirements for rail telecommunications compared to public
carrier networks.
Future demand for Rail Spectrum
Railway spectrum requirements are expected to follow national and international
trends and, like public mobile carriers, rail needs spectrum to expand into with
certainty of tenure.
The railways of Europe 'grew' into their initial allocation over a period of about 6
years and as networks and GSM-R use increased, the pressure on the reserved rail
spectrum became apparent and additional spectrum had to be found. Based upon
the expected spectrum demand in Australia17 and the European experience, the
Australian Rail Industry expects to grow into current spectrum licences in the next
5 to 8 years.
16
The GSM-R specifications mandates 95% coverage certainty at -98 dBm for voice and non-critical data and 95%
coverage certainty at -95 dBm for ETCS. Using normal RF planning tools this translates to about -83 dBm and -80
dBm RF levels at cell boundaries.
17
Spectrum, what’s next; Andrew Kerans; 2010
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Spectrum Sharing
The Rail Industry, in recognition of the need to ensure use of spectrum rises to the
highest public benefit, is open to collaboration and sharing of spectrum resources
to the benefit of all. As the Rail Industry only requires spectrum in rail corridors,
there is opportunity for sharing of spectrum outside the rail corridors, providing
there is no detrimental impact on the Rail Industry.
The Rail Industry is willing to work with other entities, including government and
utilities, to achieve mutually agreeable outcomes for the sharing of the 400 MHz
and 1800 MHz spectrum to maximise its efficient use throughout Australia.
Discussions associated with the exploration of options have already commenced
between individual organisations (e.g. RailCorp and Energy Australia as well as QR
National, Queensland Rail and Ergon Energy). Discussions have also taken place
between the ARA and the Energy Networks Australia (ENA). Through these
discussions, it has been established that while the use of 1800 MHz spectrum to
support future electricity networks is one of a number of options being considered
by the energy sector, there is unlikely to be any widespread use of 1800 MHz
spectrum by the energy sector prior to 2015.
How Long is the Spectrum Required for?
There is a strong requirement by the Rail Industry for security of tenure of
spectrum.
Planning timeframes for rail infrastructure of 20 plus years is not unusual. As such,
tenure of at least 15 years is being sought for both 400 MHz and 1800 MHz
spectrum.
The Rail Industry is seeking protection from a lack of surety for the availability of
the required spectrum. Lack of surety will have a significant impact on future
investment in next generation train control systems and on the ability of the
Australian Rail Industry to fulfil the expectations of national policy.
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Spectrum Costs
It is understood that the ACMA is seeking to maximise the value of spectrum as it is
a scarce resource and hence needs to be valued accordingly. The Rail Industry
agrees with this approach and believes it represents the highest public value use of
this spectrum.
However, the Rail Industry is seeking the cost of this spectrum to be minimal to its
members. The industry contends that the benefits to the industry and the
Australian economy outweigh the additional funds that could be received should
the spectrum be provided to others, such as the carriers.
The largest users of the spectrum are those rail entities that are government
owned. Therefore costs associated with the provision of the spectrum would
generally be recovered by simply passing them onto the community. This could be
viewed as an additional tax impost on the Rail Industry and community.
The Rail Industry is willing to negotiate and come to an understanding with the
ACMA on suitable pricing mechanisms that could be put in place with all relevant
players, including other entities who may be sharing the allocated spectrum.
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5
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Nationally harmonised radio spectrum allocation in the 400 MHz band and
arrangements that assure an adequate amount and tenure of 1800 MHz band is
crucial to support the Rail Industry telecommunication systems.
The criticality of telecommunications to a reliable and efficient Rail Industry is
evident from the information provided in this document. The Rail Industry must
have access and surety of tenure to the required spectrum. This will facilitate the
necessary planning and development of rail infrastructure and systems to support
the future role of rail in the Australian transport sector.
Should the required spectrum not be made available, the “broken gauge” problem,
which has afflicted the Rail Industry, will be repeated and the productivity gains
from an efficient land transport system for the movement of people and freight will
be lost.
The Rail Industry recommends the following actions by the ACMA in response to
this submission:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Formalisation of the Rail Industry Only allocation in the 400 MHz band (it is
noted that the relevant embargo for the spectrum is in place).
Progression of negotiations to establish a spectrum license for the Rail
Industry only 400 MHz spectrum allocation.
Formalisation of the 450.050 MHz channel for the Rail Industry.
Aggregation of the current rail spectrum holdings in the 1800 MHz band.
Separation of the 1800 MHz spectrum currently held by rail from the
allocations for telecommunications carriers, as a Rail Industry allocation.
Provide certainty of tenure for the 1800 MHz allocation post 2013/2015 for
the maximum period allowed under the legislation; and
Provide the 400 MHz and 1800 MHz spectrum at a cost that recognises the
“public interest” value of the Rail Industry.
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