Constant connectivity: the power of mobile broadband satellite solutions in rail freight

What are some of the main remote activity challenges that rail freight operators face? 

A reliable transportation system is in high demand as our world continues to evolve through digital transformation and supply chain difficulties. That’s why it is critical for cargo and freight trains to have access to a dependable connectivity network that can meet high-speed data requirements to ensure critical operations and rail communications are carried out successfully.

With 45 per cent of rail maintenance unplanned, demand for real-time monitoring and intelligent networks is growing, leaving rail operators looking for affordable, seamless, always-on data transmission capability. This is a core necessity to manage rail fleets effectively. 

Connectivity dark spots where terrestrial coverage isn’t available render locomotives and trains invisible to control centres and hinder critical analytics and monitoring.

Without high-speed network coverage and technological advancement, rail freight operations will face the following:  

Operational efficiency challenges: 

• Lack of obstacle detection and situational awareness: unable to remotely investigate events/hazards ahead of time
• Lack of operational visibility, monitoring, and fleet management: unable to promptly capture diagnostics data from sensors on rail cars and transmit them to NOC
• Lack of Positive Train Control (PTC) system and telemetry data: not able to access speed, the distance between trains, heading, location, weight, wind speed, gate crossings information in real-time
• Lack of fuel management tools: not able to use data acquired from train and track sensors/systems, so operators can’t utilise big data strategies to analyse and act on insights to realise efficiencies
• Lack of preventative maintenance: not able to access systems data to keep locomotives in service; not able to use advanced algorithms analyse track geometry (alignment) data – to reduce analyses time from teams of people taking months to a few hours.

Operator and crew safety and security challenges: 

• Lack of crew and passenger safety protection: communications failover (e.g., sending out emergency notifications)
• Security limitations: not able to provide video surveillance for behaviour analysis, pattern matching, and facial recognition 
• Lack of regulatory and compliance reporting: not able to automate maintenance and inspection data to create consistent useful reports
• Lack of driver monitoring: unable to leverage computer vision and machine learning to ensure the driver is safely operating the train.

Rail freight operators need high-throughput satellite (HTS) network connectivity as a complement to existing terrestrial wireless services to gain the communication redundancy, flexibility, and simplicity necessary to ensure crew safety and improve operational efficiency, while scaling operations where and when needed most quickly.

How can satellite communication technology provide solutions to these challenges?

Intelsat FlexMove, a 2021 and 2022 Mobile Satellite Users Association (MSUA) award winner for Outstanding Leadership in Use of Mobile Solution¹, delivers a global HTS network ready to integrate and complement existing terrestrial broadband rail connectivity solutions. It offers robust, high-throughput broadband connectivity that rail companies worldwide can rely on. FlexMove is a ubiquitous, always-available infrastructure with 99.95 per cent network uptime, and it can support unique digital solutions aimed at conditional and predictive maintenance.

With enhanced rail communications powered by the Intelsat’s FlexMove network, rail freight operators can capture and leverage more data across the value chain to facilitate automation and streamline operations, provide chain of custody transparency, track cargo movements in real-time, decrease downtime, implement predictive maintenance for rolling stock and infrastructure, and support video-on-demand situational awareness for the operator and crew.

What are some of the main advantages and disadvantages of traditional communication solutions?

Legacy networks for land mobility, including mobile satellite services (MSS) and terrestrial cellular/LTE services, lack the capacity and coverage footprint to meet evolving customer demands and requirements.

Terrestrial communication networks are designed to cover high population areas, so they lack reach into many remote and rural locations. Meanwhile, incumbent low-data rate satellite services are simply unable to scale to meet the demands of many data-hungry, mission-critical applications and devices commonly used on freight trains that require a truly broadband connection, including on-demand video.

Why should rail freight operators be excited about FlexMove? 

Intelsat FlexMove delivers a global HTS network ready to integrate and complement existing terrestrial broadband rail connectivity solutions. It offers robust, high-throughput connectivity that rail companies worldwide can rely on. Intelsat FlexMove can play a vital connectivity role in enabling specialty rail industry and corporate data applications that help operators address the priorities of improving operational efficiencies, safety, and customer engagement. 

FlexMove meets cargo rail-connected needs in the following ways:

• Land mobile broadband service optimised via Intelsat’s network of high-throughput satellites (HTS)
• Ubiquitous, always-on connectivity
• Reaches beyond terrestrial networks for continuous service
• Delivers secure, real-time data, voice, and video communications
• Global service footprint – one device, one rate – anywhere
• End-terminal managed service sold by the gigabyte (GB) 
• Data speeds up to 20x faster than mobile satellite service (MSS) L-band solutions and at a fraction of the cost
• Communications-on-the-Move (COTM): data rates up to 5 x 2 Mbps
• Communications-on-the-Pause (COTP): data rates up to 10 x 3 Mbps
• Portfolio of qualified terminals.

The common use cases where FlexMove can deliver high value include:

• Capture/leverage more data across value chain to facilitate automation and streamline operations
• Chain of custody transparency
• Track cargo movements in real-time, decrease downtime
• Implement predictable maintenance for rolling stock and infrastructure
• Heavy reliance on asset and fleet management software, telematics
• Leverage SW apps across entire fleet
• Enhance driver and crew safety, security
• Support video on demand situational awareness.

Which rail freight operators are using FlexMove, and what feedback have you been given?

The Intelsat FlexMove land mobile solution is sold through a network of FlexMove Solution Partners under a wholesale business model. Intelsat does not sell directly to end-customers. Therefore, Intelsat is not able to comment on specific names of freight operator users. Intelsat has conducted, in partnership with our FlexMove Solution Partners and their end-customers, FlexMove comms-on-the move (COTM) demos and trials onboard trains, including in South America and Africa.

What would you say to an operator to convince them that they should invest in mobile broadband solutions for their rail freight activity?

Imagine the total cost impact to the rail operator of a freight train locomotive going out of service due to unplanned maintenance that is far away from the closest repair depot and unable to report it due to no terrestrial communication accessibility. Cost impact? Time, money, and unhappy customers. This greatly hinders operations, productivity, and growth.

The digital transformation demands new capabilities for global, ubiquitous, and affordable connected mobility and portable connectivity. The rail freight transport sector is on the move into the future, toward an era of highly connected multi-modal operations.

Intelsat builds upon a network of networks, a hybrid solution incorporating HTS connectivity into existing services, offering rail operators and crews the redundancy and easy-to-deploy communication options needed to scale operations where and when needed quickly.

Intelsat FlexMove plays a vital role in enabling applications that help rail operators address priorities: improving operational efficiencies, safety, and customer engagement. 

Reference:

1. Intelsat FlexMove won the 2021 and 2022 Mobile Satellite Users Association (MSUA) award for Outstanding Leadership in the Use of Mobile Solutions. Although the MSUA award was not focused on rail, it demonstrates that FlexMove is a trusted solution by our partners.