Ten-year contract comes as rail controller looks to digital services
Telstra’s rail freight reach in this country now extends for another decade.
Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) has signed a multi-million dollar, 10-year with the communications behemoth to provide ongoing telecommunications to the national rail freight network.
The deal, the exact value of which was not disclosed, encompasses the security of supply, maintenance and enhancement to the ARTC’s Telstra-powered National Train Communications System (NTCS).
ARTC CEO John Fullerton says the NTCS was essential to ensuring future rail freight success, with a solid digital platform in place to exploit for safety, efficiency and capacity benefits.
“The Telstra-based NTCS will provide a platform for many of the new and exciting innovations being developed by ARTC,” Fullerton says.
“Using the Telstra NextG network, applications such as safe travelling distance technology (proximity alerting), real-time locomotive tracking, sophisticated track and wayside monitoring technology, situational awareness systems and the next generation of train management – the Advanced Train Management System (ATMS) – all become possible.”
“Today demonstrates the strong relationship between the ARTC and Telstra, which is helping drive further innovation, standardisation and interoperability within the national rail freight sector.”
The announcement follows ARTC ditching its analogue telecommunications network in December to operate a single nationwide platform.
This includes freight trains operating on other rail networks not managed by ARTC, making it easier for train operators to do business across the country, according to the corporation.
It also means a single network for communications between train control, trains, trackside workers and wayside equipment.
The ARTC says its move to Telstra NextG is the first time a rail access provider has moved from a private to a public telecommunications network for railway operations in Australia.
The NTCS communications infrastructure uses Telstra NextG coverage along its routes.
This includes more than 70 base stations built specifically for ARTC, supplemented by a Telstra satellite solution powered by Iridium.
“Together, with the ARTC’s vision for rail innovation and Telstra’s agile communications network, we have co-created a mobile and cloud-based solution that will help move the national rail freight sector forward,” Telstra chief customer officer, global enterprise and services Martijn Blanken says.
“The communication network is built on our world class Telstra NextG network and supported by our satellite offering, so ARTC has the peace of mind that we can provide redundancy for any black spots along the rail corridor.
“We have also transitioned into a private cloud environment, built on VCE Vblock, which will significantly reduce the resources it needs to host the applications the NTCS runs on.”