Clear CinCom-Cellular Network Services

This week, Clear CinCom benchmarked the Galician High Speed Line from Ourense to Santiago de Compostella in Spain, by request of Italy’s Comtest Wireless, Austria’s Kapsch and the Spanish Railway Authority ADIF (Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias). The 88 km line in the north west of Spain has recently been upgraded with full GSM-R compatibility and Clear CinCom was asked to independently verify the key performance indicators of the cellular radio network.

Clear CinCom is often called on by larger consultancies and suppliers who need to independently demonstrate the security and reliability of their networks by request of governments and railway operators. Says Martijn Kuijpers, director of Clear CinCom: “GSM-R requires very specific expertise that many of the larger telecom consultancies simply do not possess. From cell planning along a railway track and site surveys at very high speeds to independent audits and benchmarks, the people of Clear CinCom have worked extensively with GSM-R since the standard was first finalized in the year 2000”.

The Spanish government plans to extend the high speed corridor in the north of the country to Olmedo, which would directly link it to the capital Madrid. Plans are in the making to connect the railway to Porto in the north of Portugal along the Vigo international axis. The GSM-R standard ensures the reliability of communications between trains and railway regulation control centers at speeds up to 500km/hour, without any data packet or communication loss.