A European-based engineering company recently received the complicated project of implementing an integrated control and security system for the Electric Metropolitan Light Railway in Bergamo, Italy. This subway communication system is a good example of how optical fiber Ethernet can be used to centralise operations of a complex and distributed system.
The railway company had three major requirements:
- The remote control and security system must be reliable
- Redundancy must be built into the network structure
- The network access must be readily available to accommodate real-time control and monitoring from a central control centre
By using Moxa’s advanced networking solutions, also available from CrispTech , the integrated control and security system integrator was able to propose and implement a cutting edge solution to satisfy the requirements of the client.
As the 15 subway stations were 1 kilometer apart the subway line stretched for 15 kilometers, meaning the optical fiber network needed to run a total length of more than 20 kilometers. The speed and reliability of the communications were greatly enhanced by using a Gigabit Turbo Ring as the communication backbone. Using Gigabit speed also makes it feasible to set up a high quality integrated surveillance system, as well as a safe and reliable remote control system.
All of the 15 subway stations uses Moxa’s EDS-518A-T wide temperature Gigabit managed switch to connect a variety of devices to the communication network. The EDS-518A-T has two combo Gigabit ports making it possible to connect the switch to the Gigabit Turbo Ring with optical fiber, plus 16 fast Ethernet ports for connection to the devices located in the vicinity of the switch. The devices include 5 to 7 video servers for connecting surveillance cameras to the network, 6 PLCs for automatic control, and 2 to 3 voice-over-Ethernet telephones for communicating between subway stations and the control center. In the control center, there is an EDS-510A-1GT2SFP Gigabit Managed switch, which forms a Gigabit ring together with EDS-518A, providing high bandwidth solution for volumes of data, video, and voice transmission.