Busan Transportation Corporation Temporarily Opens Line 2 LTE-R... Implementing Smart Urban Railway Environment

Replacement of Train Wireless Facilities on Line 2 This Year, Lines 3 and 4 by 2026
Two-way Operation with Disaster Safety Communication Network...
Enhanced Disaster Response Capabilities

The railway integrated wireless network (LTE-R) project, the world's first established in 2017, will be expanded to Lines 2 to 4 by 2026, ushering in the digital era of the Busan Metro based on LTE-R.

Busan Transportation Corporation (President Lee Byung-jin) announced on the 28th that LTE-R will be introduced and temporarily opened on Line 2 of the Busan Metro, following Line 1.

'LTE-R' is a wireless network optimized for railway environments using LTE (700 MHz band frequency), a 4th generation mobile communication technology. Unlike the existing VHF (Line 2) and TRS (Lines 3 and 4) communication networks that only support voice and text transmission, LTE-R supports video and large-capacity data transmission.

VHF (Very High Frequency) is a 1:1 wireless communication facility using the 150 MHz band frequency. TRS (Trunked Radio System) is a 1:many wireless communication facility using the 800 MHz band frequency.

This technology enables quick and efficient responses among train drivers, station staff, and control centers not only during normal times but also in various disaster situations, and allows proactive monitoring of safety hazards during train operation. It also reduces communication failures that could occur in the existing VHF system, enhancing the stability of railway operations.

The corporation has currently established wireless communication facilities along the 45.2 km main line section of Line 2, trains, 43 stations, and vehicle depots, and the LTE-R construction projects for Lines 3 and 4 are progressing smoothly. Upon completion of this project in 2026, the Busan Metro will become the first urban railway in the country to use a single high-speed data wireless communication network across all lines.

In particular, the corporation’s LTE-R can interoperate with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s disaster safety communication network (PS-LTE) based on the same LTE through two-way base station sharing technology (RAN Sharing). Utilizing this technology, independent networks can be operated by each agency during normal times, while in disaster situations, communication networks can be shared with related agencies such as police and fire departments to establish a unified on-site command system.

RAN Sharing is a system interworking technology that allows base stations of different networks to be shared and used as a single unified network.

Lee Byung-jin, President of Busan Transportation Corporation, said, “With the introduction of LTE-R, a unified wireless communication system will be established across all lines beyond Lines 1 and 2, enabling safer and more efficient urban railway operations. We will continue to lead the digital transformation of railways as a representative urban railway operator through continuous facility investments.”

Busan Transportation Corporation will temporarily open LTE-R on Line 2.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.