Applicability of 5G Technology for a Wireless Train Backbone

The migration of TCMS communications to a Wireless Train Backbone (WLTB) is one of the main goals of CONNECTA-2 and Safe4RAIL-2 projects of Shift2Rail initiative. In this paper the suitability of 5G technology for a WLTB is analyzed, both for infrastructure-based and V2X networks. Obtained results indicate that 5G technology is suitable for a WLTB, but in order to cover a large number of consists either high-end 5G configurations need to be used (e.g. 4x4 MIMO in millimeter waves) or the requirements for the WLTB need to be scaled down.