Turkish State Railways: Central Network Management System improves Mobile and Fixed Data Communication
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Alongside its rail infrastructure network, the Turkish State Railways (Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Devlet Demiryolları, TCDD) operates a digital communication network infrastructure to ensure communication with and between trains. With the help of Huawei's technology, the TCDD has consolidated 18 individual Huawei projects into a central Network Management System (NMS).
Having an extensive rail network to cover the country, TCDD uses safety and communication systems not only in high-speed lines like Ankara İstanbul but also many conventional lines connecting other big cities like İzmir, Afyon, Balıkesir, Gaziantep etc. The most well-known of these communication systems, GSM-R, digital modules between the railroad tracks send the information to the train's driver's cabin so that the driver can adjust the speed accordingly. The train can also be informed quickly via digital communication channels if there is an obstacle or danger on the line. Digital systems such as ETCS modules (European Train Control System) in the rail bed or GSM-R (Global System for Mobile Communications - Railway) are standard in railroad operations and have also been used by Turkish State Railways for decades. Other important safety systems located along the rails are SCADA, CCTV, lineside telephony, and sensors for temperature, earthquake, wind, floods etc. In the case of TCDD, however, there was a need for optimization in the operation of these communication networks.
Turkish Railways operates a rail network of over 14,000 kilometres. Since 2011 TCDD has purchased various projects from Huawei for different line sections and each of these purchases deployed a separate system, which is used across 18 pieces of independent network management systems (NMS) due to the conditions of the time of the projects.
TCDD uses global standards for railway signalling such as ETCS L1 and L2. These standards require the latest technology and reliable mobile and data networks. These include GSM-R for mobile communications, SDH (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy), DWDM (Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing) and MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching) for data transmission. However, in case these networks were not centrally managed, they were not always up to date and not easy to manage and get alarms on time and inform the field teams. In addition, TCDD needed specialist personnel for the separate systems in each region. The large number of different systems and transmission technologies also meant that there were frequent problems with system maintenance.
As one of the long-standing digitalization and technology partners, Huawei worked with the TCDD to consolidate the 18 individual networks, which were deployed from 2011 to 2022 into a central NMS.
In cooperation with the local partner company Innova, Huawei deployed the hardware for central network monitoring in Ankara. All the products that are deployed through the span of 11 years are checked and upgraded to the compatible software versions with the newly deployed central NMSs. As a result, Huawei & Innova set up four main systems for the operation of the respective Huawei networks in the TCDD railroad network. The components relate to the GSM-R network (MAE), network router management (Huawei iMaster NCE-IP), servers and switches (Huawei eSight) and data transmission via fibre optical networks (Huawei iMaster NCE-T).
In addition to the installation, Huawei supported the TCDD employees in a two-year support phase in dealing with the new technology, for example how the employees should manage the devices and what measures they should take in the event of alarms. With the help of the centralized NMS, the TCDD can monitor around 600 GSM-R base stations, 450 SDHs, 50 DWDMs, 100 routers, 700 switches, 50 servers and 6 storage units that are used in the 18 projects throughout Türkiye.
Central network monitoring provides support for TCDD to communicate reliably with the deployed networks and signalling systems. This enables the company to respond to alarms and hazards as quickly as possible. Turkish State Railways can thus manage its wireless and fibre optical networks more efficiently and always remain up to date with the required technology standards of the systems. Huawei also supports the company with fast technical support for all configurations and commissioning.
“Huawei has been one of the major technology providers for TCDD for the last decade, providing wireless networks (GSM-R) for railway signalling and leveraging the safety of trains, providing fibre optical networks (SDH, MPLS and DWDM) and providing the communication between the train signalling systems, trackside sensors, IP cameras and central management offices, providing data centre equipment (server, switch and storage) to run TCDD corporate applications”.
Erhan Yavuzarslan, Transportation Director at Huawei Türkiye.
“As Huawei we are supporting TCDD not only by providing the state-of-the-art solutions that fit their needs but also being there when the need arises after the project deployment is finished and giving full support for maintenance and management of the networks provided. At the moment, by using centralized NMS for a total of 4,200km, TCDD railway can be monitored and managed to enable on time fault detection and take faster action to remedy the problems”.
Sibel Deniz İlhan, Solutions and Service Manager at Huawei Türkiye.
The State Railways of the Republic of Türkiye (Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Devlet Demiryolları, TCDD for short) is a state-owned institute responsible for the operation and maintenance of the railroad infrastructure in Türkiye as well as the planning and construction of new lines. TCDD has been in existence since 1856 and operates an extensive network of over 14,000 kilometres.
Founded in 1987, Huawei is a leading global provider of information and communication technology (ICT) solutions, infrastructure and smart devices. Huawei has 207,000 employees and operate in over 170 countries and regions, serving more than three billion people around the world. We are committed to bringing digital to every person, home and organization for a fully connected, intelligent world.