Its rapidly-growing high speed rail system will rely on tried-and-proven TETRA technology to boost efficiency, emergency readiness and safety.
Rail services are vital to Taiwan’s economy, reaching more than 90% of the island’s population and attracting more than 60 million passengers each year. The popularity of rail travel continues to grow in Taiwan and earlier this year the rail service carried its 600 millionth passenger. According to industry analysts, the global high speed rail market will grow at a CAGR of 5.54% over the next five years.
In line with the growth, Taiwan has leveraged the latest tech to upgrade its High Speed Rail Service with the latest mission-critical voice technology based on the TETRA (Terrestrial Trunked Radio) digital radio standard. The project involves the integration of complex systems as well as ongoing operational, maintenance and support services to be delivered over the next two-and-a-half years.
Enhancing and modernizing its communication infrastructure is part of the rail operator’s continuous efforts to ensure passengers reach their destinations swiftly and safely.
What is TETRA?
Trusted by emergency services across the world, including police agencies and firefighters, TETRA brings strong levels of coverage, reliability and resilience, and is built to withstand the worst of conditions, making it an ideal mission-critical solution for various sectors, especially transportation and railway operators.
With trains travelling at speeds of up to 300km/h and running more than 130 services every day, instant and reliable team-based voice communications are essential to keeping staff and passengers safe, and services running smoothly.
In case of any emergencies—for example if a by-stander were to fall onto the tracks—ground personnel can swiftly alert incoming trains, the command center, and other emergency personnel using TETRA with instant, group-based communication and without having to switch between multiple devices. Combined with noise cancelling and suppression, the technology extends crystal clear communications in noisy environments such as train stations.
A tech precedent in APAC
Steve Crutchfield, Vice President and Managing Director of Motorola Solutions’ Asia Pacific—the vendor supplying the upgrade, said the upgraded voice communication system will ensure that rail service continues to deliver the highest levels of safety, reliability and customer service on every journey. “Having worked with Taiwan High Speed Rail Corporation for more than a decade now we have developed a very clear understanding of their rail workers’ daily workflows and the organization’s wider operational needs. Our highly skilled teams will deliver a comprehensive refresh of their communications system without disrupting essential daily rail services,” he said
Over the past 40 years Motorola Solutions has supported more than 120 rail projects in the Asia Pacific region, supplying TETRA systems to over 120 countries since 2000. It claims to be the first in the world to implement TETRA for high speed rail through its partnership with the Taiwan operator.
