Nokia to upgrade PTA’s railway communication system in Perth

The Public Transport Authority of Western Australia (PTA) has selected Nokia to upgrade its railway communication system with private wireless and IP/MPLS technologies over the next decade in Perth, the latter announced on Tuesday.

The project package includes designing and building and 5 years of maintenance for the PTA's communications system, with options for two additional lots of 5 years of maintenance.

"We are thrilled to partner with PTA for this prestigious project to design, build and maintain the next-generation railway communications network. Powered by Nokia's private wireless network solution, the new railway communication system will help enhance the accuracy of the system leading to improved experience and safety. Nokia is at the forefront of supporting railway networks accelerate digital transformation for more efficient operations while delivering greater value to the passengers," said Rob McCabe, Head of Enterprise for Oceania at Nokia.

As a critical element of the METRONET infrastructure and public transport program and as part of the agreement, more than 160 LTE/4.9G radio sites will be built to modernize the railway communication system that includes an additional 250 km of railway track and tunnels.

According to a press release, Nokia’s solution will be used to upgrade the current PTA’s narrowband rail radio systems, replacing the existing analogue technology with a high-tech 4.9G/LTE digital platform which is necessary for extremely reliable mission-critical voice, high-speed data and video services.

The partnership will see Nokia providing comprehensive solutions covering:

• Nokia private wireless solution, Microwave and Backhaul Transmission Network (BTN), mission-critical voice, data and video services, cyber security fabric, handheld radios, train radios, vehicle radios, dual performance monitoring systems, design verification services, system integration services, operational support, computer-aided dispatch consoles and subsystems, project management office, commercial, procurement and partner management suite of services and systems obsolescence and technology refresh program.