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press release
(Newcastle upon Tyne, 22 September 2016) Nomad Digital, the world’s leading provider of passenger and fleet connectivity solutions to the rail industry, has successfully designed and deployed an innovative wired Ethernet ‘Digital Train Line’ (ND DTL™) solution.
It marks the first time a robust, flexible and standardised multi-Gigabit-capable connectivity system has been installed for a major train operator on a “dynamic” train consist. The deployment of ND DTL™ has helped to create a national standard for the US rail industry, with approval from FRA for rail applications and also meeting EN50155 standards.
ND DTL offers rail operators the following benefits to support their passengers:
- Significant improvements in connection reliability compared with wireless allowing the infrastructure to be used for several high bandwidth applications simultaneously
- Infrastructure capable of up to 40Gbps end-to-end through the train which is a significant improvement over current wireless technology that practically limits to 300Mbps in ideal conditions or 1Gbps for most wired applications
- Future-proofed backbone capable of integrating applications such as TV and video-on-demand
- Providing an open backbone to aggregate several services and data from diverse systems to enable the train operator to improve maintenance and availability of trains.
Reinforcing Nomad’s “networked train” philosophy, the launch of the ND DTL solution has been the result of a collaborative product development approach, involving a number of Nomad’s key customers and partners, where Nomad has led the design and development of the product, coupled with the configuration, installation and management of the overall solution.
The ND DTL solution has been successfully deployed across a large North America fleet, involving a mixed consist, comprising both bi-level and single-level cars. The new technology has been seamlessly integrated into the existing operational and vehicle maintenance regimes with minimal change to current practices. Other rail operators and rail technology partners have completed initial tests and are planning to use ND DTL as a standard technology solution to improve their fleet connectivity.
Nomad Digital said “Providing a highly stable connectivity platform offering a reliable, high-bandwidth passenger WiFi experience is extremely challenging with a dynamic train consist. This ground-breaking solution has great versatility and can be scaled up to offer customers a whole host of additional applications to future-proof their requirements.
“We’ve seen this successfully working in North America. Our innovative R&D, combined with our on-the-ground resource in America, has enabled us to deliver this successfully and there is huge scope for wider roll out internationally.”
Nomad said “This is another great success where in collaboration with our customers and partners across the industry, Nomad has pioneered the creation of a highly innovative solution, which delivers significant benefits, including performance improvements to our customers, and ultimately their passengers.”