LEO satellite operator Iridium Communications said on Tuesday that it has teamed with critical communicationss provider Satcom Direct Brasil to provide Brazilian freight train operator MRS Logística with satellite connectivity for its railway operations.
MRS Logística will use Iridium’s Certus 700 service to enable real-time L-band communication between train drivers and operation centres that manage locomotive traffic. The solution provides MRS Logística's locomotives with a data channel to exchange critical rail traffic control information in real time.
This setup enables precise train location management, which in turn increases efficiency and safety, said Fernando Martins Manzotti, railway specialist for telecommunications systems at MRS Logística.
"With Iridium Certus, MRS Logística can reduce the distance between trains and monitor exactly where each train is,” Manzotti said in a joint statement. “This represents a significant operational gain both in efficiency in the volume of cargo transported and in safety thanks to precise monitoring that allows more trains to operate.”
Iridium Certus – which was commercially launched in 2019 – is available in three speed classes, of which Certus 700 is the highest with maximum throughput speeds of 704 kbps.
Under the project, Satcom Direct Brasil is fitting MRS Logística locomotives with Thales MissionLINK 700 terminals to connect to the Certus 700 service. The terminals connect to the locomotive onboard computer and other devices essential for rail traffic management.
The Thales MissionLINK 700 terminals support functionalities such as internet connectvity, telemetry for more effective maintenance of trains, Radio over Internet Protocol (RoIP), and voice calls. The terminals can also automatically switch between satellite and cellular connectivity to maximise availability and manage costs.
MRS says its train network transports nearly 20% of all Brazilian exports and a third of the country's railway cargo.