5G is changing mobility industry
5G will bring communication, rail infrastructure as well as rolling stock to a new level. It opens new prospects for passengers and operators alike. And it drives the future of mobility.The role of 5G in sustainable mobility solutions
Driven by megatrends such as urbanization or digitalization, the demand for mobility will continue to increase rapidly. At the same time, there is an intensifying need to mitigate climate change, as well as the depletion of natural resources, to shape a sustainable and livable future.
Innovative technologies, like 5G (and 6G+), will make a huge difference for sustainability. By boosting operational efficiency and upgrading existing technology, 5G will enable lower investment and life cycle costs. By making on-site hardware virtual using 5G, fewer network cables will be needed. This includes radio and other trackside installations. The result: signaling will be moved to the cloud.
5G creates the necessary connectivity that future digital technologies require.
What 5G will enable
What are the benefits of 5G in the mobility industry?
5G brings a lot of well-known parameters, but on a whole new level: data transmission, response speed (or latency) and connectivity are fundamental for optimizing rail and road infrastructure, reducing hardware and providing secure and safe operations for everyone. Real-time information and reaction as well as automated driving are just a few areas that will benefit from 5G.
• Enhanced intelligent automated operation
• Optimized utilization of infrastructure & use of public networks
• Low latency providing instant information/data/video transmission
• Ensuring connectivity in tunnels
• One radio network for a variety of applications
• High data rate for improved transparency on operations
• Less installation of hardware in the field & fewer commissioning and maintenance costs
• Optimized travel and commuting experience without waiting too long for connecting means of transport
• Enhanced services for trip planning
• Real-time information during the journey to enable rapid reaction to changes
• Improved internet connection onboard (video streaming or working on the train)
How are we using 5G in the mobility sector?
Discover the feasibility of seamless 5G, cloud environment integration for data exchange and real-time communication with our use cases from several fields of the mobility industry.
Enabling digital solutions for enhanced passenger experience
5G can boost passenger experience by enhancing services for trip planning. Real-time information during the journey enabled fast reactions to changes. With the improved connection onboard it will be able to stream videos or work on the train.
Collecting and using real-time data in Mainline
The dual mode Vectron is equipped with diesel and electric drives. In the future, test and transfer trips are supposed to be carried out with onboard 5G equipment. Different use cases are being tested, such as simple data transmission along the route, GPS data transmission or 5G readiness for future Automatic Train Operation (ATO). With this reference design, which can be used for Mainline and Mass Transit purpose, we will get the right answer and opportunities regarding how we can use 5G and also future cellular generation in the rail business. Our test set-up operates under real live conditions on public routes of DB.
5G supporting the train-to-track communication of Mass Transit systems
As a common platform for all stakeholders – operators, maintenance personnel, infrastructure owners and, of course, passengers – the 5G network provides the optimal prerequisite for several applications in Mass Transit radio communication. Alongside Passenger Information Systems, CCTV and remote maintenance, the focus is mainly on track-to-train communication. Here, 5G strengthens the CBTC signaling system and related services.
5G for track-to-track communication in Mass Transit
The first 5G Proof of Concept project in Quanzhou, China was started in 2019 with a test track for Mass Transit and provides pioneer foundations to demonstrate the benefits of 5G on signaling. 5G data transmissions are fully realized for communication from train to track and security transmission for track-to-track via unprotected public networks in a secure manner.
Efficiency of electrified railroads paired with flexibility of trucks
Imagine a huge number of moving vehicles, infrastructure and operation devices being connected as reliably and powerfully as by cable. 5G promises a lot for transportation via roads. Our eHighway test bed in Munich Perlach serves as a very encouraging example of an efficiently running system based on a private 5G network. With the core innovation of the active pantograph and usage of large amounts of sensor data, the eHighway system enables trucks to use renewable energy and therefore help reduce CO2 emissions.
