Seven Challenges for Communication in Modern Railway Systems

Abstract

To meet the increasing demands for passenger data rates, modern railway communication networks face significant challenges. The advent of 5G communications after the long-term evolution (LTE) and LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) systems provides several technological advances to address these challenges. In this paper, after reviewing the main 5G communication aspects for modern railways, we describe seven main challenges faced by train connectivity, and discuss appropriate solutions. Specifically, we elaborate on techniques for ensuring connectivity and energy efficiency for the passengers' user equipment (UE) through the use of mobile relays (MRs) on top of the train wagons in conjunction with intelligent resource allocation.