Testing GNSS receivers

for railway use

Testing GNSS receivers for railway use
1 Why use GNSS on railways?
The use of global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers in
railway applications might seem strange. After all, with a vehicle on
fixed rails, there is little scope for navigation.

But the availability of precise

positional information for each
train, or even each carriage, in a
railway system can enable new
levels of efficiency, safety and
improved information services
for passengers.

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2 Safety-critical applications
Many of the potential railway uses for GNSS navigation will involve
safety-of-life applications. These include:

• Positive train control, used either as a supplement to, or as a

replacement for conventional line-side signalling and
control systems
• Automatic door operation
• Train integrity and separation control
• On-train monitoring and recording
• Train protection and warning systems
• Off-train infrastructure protection (level
crossing operation, end-of-line stop limits)

SPIRENT eBook
3 Problems with the railway environment
Any GNSS receiver operating in a railway environment will face three
specific challenges to normal operation:

Signal obscuration – caused by tunnels, deep cuttings and overhead

structures such as station canopies.
Multipath effects – caused by signals being reflected by
trackside structures (particularly in urban environments).
Electromagnetic interference – from both
external “arcs and sparks” and from other on-
train equipment.

Any one of these phenomena can challenge

the accuracy and integrity of an unprotected
or uncompensated GNSS receiver.
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4 Multi-GNSS opportunities
The GNSS landscape is changing. In addition to the long-standing US-
controlled GPS, new systems are beginning to come online. These
include GLONASS (Russia), Galileo (European Union) and Compass
(China), and will be joined later by a new and improved GPS.

There are two implications for this expanding ecosystem:

· Multi-GNSS receivers capable of processing signals
simultaneously from multiple satellite systems
will offer improved global coverage and more
reliable performance.
· Some of the new systems, such as Galileo
and the modernised GPS, will offer higher-
integrity signals (for a fee) that will be
more suitable for safety-of-life applications.
SPIRENT eBook
5 The importance of testing
Regardless of which GNSS is chosen (and of whether the navigation
system is GNSS-only or augmented with inertial or other sensors) any
railway navigation system will require extensive testing to deliver the
confidence required.

This testing will be necessary throughout the lifecycle of the product,

covering:
· System testing from R&D to verification, production and deployment
· Performance assessment, both in nominal and
adversarial conditions
· System or unit calibration
· System verification and certification to
prescribed standards
· Repair and fault diagnosis for equipment in the field
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6 The problems with field testing
Although it might appear that the logical method for testing a GNSS-
based railway navigation system is to mount it on a train and test it
in the field using “live-sky” satellite signals, this approach has several
serious shortcomings, including:

High costs – the cost of obtaining rolling

stock and effectively shutting down a
section of railway line to perform testing
can be astronomical.

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No repeatability – there is little point in performing any test just once,
and no GNSS test is fully repeatable in the field (even if the same
motion profile could be replicated, the positions of the satellites used
will never be replicated).

Limited scope of testing – as there is no reliable way of recreating

abnormal or adversarial operating conditions, the receiver can never
be tested to its limits.

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7 The simulation solution
The alternative is to test the unit in the controlled environment of the
laboratory using an RF constellation simulator under software control.
Unlike live-sky testing, the simulation solution offers:

Reduced costs – with no need to source rolling stock or shut down

busy rail lines
Complete repeatability – as tests are performed under
software control, each one can be saved
and repeated, right down to the positions
of each of the satellites
Wide scope of testing – with unrestricted
ability to create abnormal test conditions,
receivers and systems can be tested to
the extremes of their performance
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8 Testing with a simulator
Today’s multichannel RF simulators are capable of simulating all
current and future defined GNSS signals, and so can be used to
develop and test tomorrow’s systems today.

Sophisticated software allows users to automate simple iterative

testing tasks as well as creating complex test scenarios, including
simulated motion, simulation of terrain effects and simulation of
obstructions, including multipath effects.

Simulators can be combined with other instruments, such as

interference generators, to create a variety
of abnormal operating conditions to test
GNSS receiver based equipment up to and
beyond its limits of performance.
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9 Railway qualification
While no specific standard yet exists for the use of GNSS receivers
in a railway environment, it is inevitable that when such a standard
is produced, it will mandate the use of RF simulation as the test
methodology.

New standards for the use of Galileo receivers are beginning

to appear, such as IEC 61108-3 Galileo – Receiver equipment –
Performance requirements, methods of testing and required test
results, which mandates the use of RF simulation in testing devices
for use in the maritime sector.

As a result, equipment manufacturers can base their development

on simulator testing using the same test methodologies that are
employed in the test standards. This means that their designs will be
much more likely to meet the requirements of the standards.
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10 The future
While the use of GNSS receivers in the railway industry is
still in its infancy, RF simulator manufacturers can have a
major role in helping to advance development, including:

•E  valuating real-world data on railway journeys in

order to create scenarios for use with
simulators.
• Comparing field-test results with
simulated results

And providing expertise to support

standards and certification development
for GNSS railway applications.
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We hope you found this Testing GNSS receivers for
railway use E-Book of interest.
We are continually adding new content to our website
on a regular basis. Bookmark this link:
www.spirent.com/positioning

Visit the Spirent GNSS Blog, there are currently

more than 90 posts with 2 to 3 new posts added
per week. Catch up on what’s new:
www.spirent.com/Blog/Positioning

Need more information?

gnss-solutions@spirent.com

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