Railways to benefit from satellite navigation
A demonstration in Linz, Austria on 16 June is going to show how satellite navigation can make day-to-day rail traffic operations considerably safer.
In a project called Integrail, funded by the European Space Agency, Kayser-Threde (D) in partnership with Bombardier Transportation/Rail Control Solutions (D) and ifEN GmbH (D) have developed a system that uses satellite-based navigation information for railway traffic management and signalling.
This navigation data will come from the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) to enable autonomous and reliable determination of train position, velocity and heading under practically all environmental conditions. It will also support railway traffic management.
A 19” mobile unit is installed on board a train. This unit includes a Global Positioning System (GPS)/EGNOS satnav receiver, standard interfaces to the train’s power supply and odometer, supplemental sensors which allow dead-reckoning positioning when GPS/EGNOS is masked, a digital track database, a communication unit, a processing unit and software.
The system will be demonstrated live at LogServ/CargoServ’s premises in Linz, Austria on Monday, 16 June 2003, from 10:00 to 14:00. Those interested in attending are invited to contact ESA.
