This reporter greatly favors trains over planes wherever possible, so it's with interest that we read recently of HUBER+SUHNER's work in on-train fiber optic wireless connectivity to provide Ethernet services for on-board communications.
Let's face it, on-board passenger entertainment, information, video monitoring, Internet and other needs such as train control systems are much more sophisticated now than ever. Trains need bandwidth as much as anyone else.
Which would seem to make fiber optics a no-brainer, but as a recent white paper from HUBER+SUHNER says, "The railway industry is generally still hesitant to make systematic use of this technology on board rolling stock," over what the paper says are perceived environmental issue concerns.
And okay, they have a point with inter-vehicle jumper systems. That's where the strains would be the most pronounced, yes. But as the paper contends, fiber technology can handle it.
And there are the obvious advantages of fiber optic technology to begin with. It's the medium with the highest bandwidth transmission capabilities, and as far as much of the electric-powered equipment aboard trains is concerned, the fact that optic fiber is immune from any interference has to be an advantage. Not to mention how much lighter they are than copper cables.
When picking cables for railway rolling stock, the paper notes that there are two major requirements to pay attention to: fire safety and environmental. The company notes that they already offer fiber optic cables meeting European standards for rolling stock, which are more stringent than anything in America these days, and that they are similarly compliant with all relevant environmental requirements with their RADOX fiber optic cables.
Connector technology is an area of concern for rolling stock, and here HUBER+SUHNER has developed cables combining the mechanical resistance needed with environmental constraints of shock and vibration, achieving what company officials call a "sustainable minimum signal attenuation" for high transmission bandwidth.
The main sticking point for leveraging this wireless connectivity option is the inter-vehicle jumper systems, which take ?the most exposure and punishment. In fact, company officials say they've tested extensively in this area and are confident in the quality of their offerings. They note that there are some installations of over ten years' time with no failure reports due to the transmission medium, so the expertise is clearly there and "fiber is reliable."
Edited by Jamie Epstein