Metro Train Control System

Bombardier Transportation is the world’s largest company in the rail equipment manufacturing and servicing industry.  Bombardier manufactures and supplies complete transportation systems, from high-capacity urban transit systems to automated people movers.  In 2003 Bombardier Transportation contracted with Afar Communications to develop a wireless SCADA 2.4 GHz spread spectrum radio for  their Automated Train Control (ATC) system.  Our radios are now an integral part of Bombardier 's  CITYFLO train control systems and are being deployed at Heathrow airport,Madrid Metro, Taiwan, South Korea, the Philadelphia Light Rail tunnel, the cities of Schenzen and Tianjin in China to name a few.

The wireless system provides the control and monitoring link between the fixed basestation and the various trains moving in each section.  Where the trains move in tunnels the system uses a lossy-line ("leaky-feeder") along the center of the track that creates a controlled electromagnetic field to establish a reliable link with redundant radios on the trains.  With our custom firmware the trackside basestations can poll over 50 trains in a track every second.