Confidential

TracksideWirelessBroadband
AmtraksNortheastCorridor
IntroductionandBackground
May13,2014

Amtrak
NationalRailroadPassengerCorporation
60MassachusettsAvenue,N.E.
Washington,DC20002

Table of Contents
1 Introduction...........................................................................................................................................1
1.1DefinitionofaTracksideWirelessBroadbandNetwork.......................................................................1
1.2BackgroundonAmtrak..........................................................................................................................1
1.3HistoryofAmtraksWiFi......................................................................................................................2
1.4TheAmtrakFleet...................................................................................................................................3
1.5NortheastCorridor................................................................................................................................3
1.5.1 AmtrakMajorMechanicalDepots............................................................................................5
1.5.2 AmtrakRightofWayAssets.....................................................................................................5
1.5.3 TunnelsandBridges..................................................................................................................6
1.6ExistingOnboardWiFiSystem............................................................................................................6
2 BusinessObjectives...............................................................................................................................8
2.1MarketplaceCompetitor.......................................................................................................................8
2.2EnhanceCustomerSatisfaction.............................................................................................................8
2.3ImproveOperationalEfficiency.............................................................................................................8
2.4CostEffective&Sustainable..................................................................................................................8
2.5ReducerelianceonCellularNetworks..................................................................................................8
2.6Deliverscalablebroadbandcapacity.....................................................................................................9

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fifteenstatesandfourcommuterrailagencies,suchastheCascadesserviceinWashingtonand
Oregon;andtheCapitalCorridor,PacificSurfliner,andSanJoaquinfortheStateofCaliforniawith
supportbyCaltransDivisionofRail.Amtrakcollaborateswithallstatepartnerswhenseekingto
establishnewstandardsforequipmentonboardtrains.
1.3 HISTORYOFAMTRAKSWIFI
InMarch2010,AmtraklauncheditsfirstWiFiservice,knownasAmtrakConnect,aboardAcela
Expresstrains.AmtrakhascontinuedtorolloutAmtrakConnectWiFitootherpartsofitsfleetand
nowcoversmorethan85percentofAmtraksridershipbase.WiFihasalsobeeninstalledonState
supportedservicesinCalifornia,Washington,Oregon,andIllinois.Onaverage,AmtraksWiFisolution
provides10MbpsdownloadspeedtotrainstravelingalongtheNECwithanaverageof142enduser
devicesconnectingonasingletrain,reachingpeaksofupto278devices.
WhilemeasurableimprovementsinWiFicustomersatisfactionhavebeenachievedthroughrecent
upgradesto4GLTE;factorssuchaspopulationgrowthintheU.SNortheast,projectedincreasesin
futuretrainridership,andanexponentialincreaseintheusageofdatahungrydevicessuchassmart
phonesandtabletsindicatethatbenefitsfromrecentimprovementscannotbesustained.Alongterm
dedicatedandexpandablesolutionwillberequiredtosupporttheexistingandfutureWiFidemands
ofourpassengers.
Addingtoourchallenges,airlinesandbusesareaggressivelyexpandingtheavailabilityandqualityof
theirpassengerWiFiservices,publiclypromisingfuturebroadbandspeedsthatexceedAmtraks
currentcapabilities.AmtrakscompetitorsareacknowledgingthatWiFihasbecomeanexpected
passengeramenity.
Tomeetdemand,Amtrakmustimproveuponthecurrentpassengerexperiencebyproviding
additionalcapacityandamoreconsistentInternetexperience.TherightTSNsolutionwilldelivermore
thanenoughbandwidthtoallowthestreamingofvideosandmusicwhilenotaffectingthecasual
Internetbrowser.
Amtrakconductedanextensivefeasibilitystudytoidentifyfuturecapacityneeds,andthemostviable
solutionforprovidingsuchanincreaseincapacity.Thisstudyincludedmarketresearchfindings,
competitiveanalyses,casestudiesofenhancednetworksolutionssupportingotherpassengerrail
providers,andatechnologyassessment.
ThefeasibilitystudydemonstratesthatAmtrakmustimproveuponitscurrentWiFisolutiontoremain
viableinatravelsectorthatisbecomingincreasinglycompetitive.Ensuringapositivepassenger
experiencewillrequirethemigrationtoadedicatedTSNsolutionthatisbetterabletomeetour
passengersdataandapplicationsdemands.AdedicatedTSNwillhavetheabilitytoprovidegreater
dataspeedsthanthecurrentcellularbasedsolution.
AdditionalinformationabouttheAmtrakfleet,theNEC,andtheexistingonboardWiFisystemcanbe
foundinthefollowingsections.

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1.4 THEAMTRAKFLEET
ThissectionprovidesanoverviewoftheAmtrakownedfleetandrelationshipswithotherrail
partners.AmtrakownedequipmentincludesAcelaExpresstrainsets,Amfleet,Superliner,andother
railroadpassengercarstotaling1,540units.Amtrakalsoistheoperatorforstatesupportedcorridor
servicesin15statesandfor4commuterrailagenciesinwhichthestatesowntherollingstock.
Amtrakhas113WiFiCommunicationControlUnits(CCU)activewithintheNEC.Twentyofthoseare
ontheAcelatrainsetswhichisafixedconsist
1
,and90areinstalledincafcarsandafewcabcars
whichcanmovefromonetrainconsisttoanother.
ThefollowingtrainstravelforextendedperiodsoftimeoutsidetheNECanddonothaveWiFibut
mayinthefuture:SilverMeteor,SilverStar,LakeshoreLimited,Crescent,Piedmont,TheCardinal.
WiththeexceptionofAcelaExpress,Amtraktrainsdonotoperatewithafixedconsist.Additionally,it
iscommonforcarsofdifferenttypestobemixedtogetherinaconsist,anditispossibleforcarsfrom
onetraintobesplitapartandusedondifferenttrains.Itisalsopossibleforaconsisttobesplitapart
duringitsroute,andtohavedifferentcarsfromtheoriginalconsisttravelonseparateroutes.
1.5 NORTHEASTCORRIDOR
Amtrakoperatesonthe457mileNECbetweenterminiatWashington,DCandBoston,MA.TheNEC
lineisafullyelectrifiedsystemusingvoltagesof12.012.5kVateither25Hzor60Hz.Thecatenary
thatcarriesthispowerisnotavailableforusebyTSN.Figure2showstheownershipoftherightof
wayandwhichStatesupportedtrainsalsousetheNEC.TheNECishometooneofthebusiestand
mostcomplextrackstructuresintheUnitedStateswithover1,800operatingtrainseachweekday,
includingslowfreighttrainstravelingatspeedsof3050mph,commutertrainsthattravelatspeeds
upto125mph,Amtrakregionaltrainsthattravelat110or125mph,andAcelaExpresstrainsthatcan
reachspeedsof150mph.
LocationsontheNECareidentifiedbyMilePosts.Therearetwostartingpointswhichareartifacts
fromtheearlydaysfortherailroadPhiladelphia(PHL)andNewYorkCity(NYPthePisforPenn
station).FromNYPnorthtoBostonisMP0toMP229.0.MetroNorthhasitsownMPdesignationfor
thesectionthatitowns,whichAmtrakincludesthatmileageinitsMPs.
SouthfromNYPtoPHLareMP0toMP88andfromPHLtoWashington(WAS)areMP0toMP134.6
2
.
UseoftheMilePoststothetenthofmilewillhelpidentifytheexactlocationofAmtrakassetssuchas
huts,powerfeeds,bridges,andtunnelsintheNEC.
Theamountofwaysideavailableforusevariesbylocationandwillbedeterminedbestbysitesurveys.
Sotoo,willdeterminingthetypeofground:sandysoil,rock,vegetation,andheightofgroundwater.
BelowaretwoimagesthatdepicttheownershipandlocationofsomeoftheNECstations.

1
Thetermconsistisusedtodescribethegroupofrailcarswhichmakeupatrain.
2
MilePostsarerecordedintenthofamile.TheNYPtoPHLsectionactuallyends1.5milesbefore30
th
street
stationatthePhiladelphiaZoo.

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Figure2Amtrak'sNortheastCorridor

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Figure3Amtrak'sNortheastCorridorstations.
1.5.1 AMTRAKMAJORMECHANICALDEPOTS
AlongtheNEC,AmtrakhasmajormechanicaldepotslocatedinWashington,D.C.,Wilmington,DE,
Philadelphia,PA,NewYork,NY,andBoston,MA.TheIvyCityMaintenanceYardinWashington,D.C.
shallbetheprimaryyardforanyontrainworkthatthetechnologysolutionrequires.
1.5.2 AMTRAKRIGHTOFWAYASSETS
ThedeploymentofanytechnologysolutionalongAmtraksrightofway(ROW)shallleveragethe
existingphysicalinfrastructuretominimizethecost.Assetsincludepowersources,protective
cabinets,backboneinterconnection,andotherneeds.Amtrakhasconductedahighlevelassessment
ofallexistinginfrastructurealongtheNECbelongingtoAmtrakandvariousthirdparties.Whilenota
completeandindepthassessment,itprovidesinformationonwhatisavailabletobeused,andat
whatcost,andwhetherthereareanyrestrictions,covenants,orotherimpedimentstoitsuse.
Thefollowingphysicalassetswereresearchedintheassessmentnotedabove.
RailwaystationsStationsatwhichAcelaExpressandNortheastRegionalservicesstop.
HutsandbuildingswithintheROWthathouseandservefibercommunications.
HutsandbuildingswithintheROWthathostradiocommunications.
Thirdpartytower/mastlocationswithin2milesoftheROW.
FiberOpticCableAvailabilityTherewillbecapacityonafiberbackboneforusealongtheentire
NEC.

Additionaloperationaldatawillalsobeoverlaidwiththeassetdatatoindicatewheretrackside
infrastructureismosturgentlyneeded.

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Figure5CellularcoveragealongasectionoftheNECROW
Figure5showsanexamplefromtheAmtrakAssetDatabaseofcellularcoveragealongaportionofthe
NECrightofwaybetweenWilmingtonandPhiladelphia.Theverticalbarsdenotecellularsignal
strengthindBmwhilethecolorsdenotenetworkmodee.g.4GLTE,3GHSPAorUMTS,or2GGPRS,for
example.ThisdatahelpsAmtrakunderstandwherecellularservicesaremostchallengedanda
tracksideinfrastructurewouldbeofmostbenefit.

Figure6RadioplanningandavailableassetsalongasectionoftheNECROW
Figure6illustratesthepotentialuseoftheAssetDatabasefortracksidenetworkplanning.Assetssuch
asfiberaccesspointsalongtheROWcanbeshown,withpossiblesitesforwaysideradiobasestations
andcorrespondingcoverageoverlaid.
1.5.3 TUNNELSANDBRIDGES
TheNECpassesthroughatotalof17tunnels,someofthemorenotablebeingtheNorthRiverTunnels
(2.75miles)inNewYork,andtheBaltimoreandPotomacTunnel(1.6miles)inBaltimore.Theincluded
PDFdocumententitledAmtrakClearanceDiagram051355RevE,Appendix3,showsAmtraks
staticanddynamicclearanceoutline.

1.6 EXISTINGONBOARDWIFISYSTEM
ThefigurebelowprovidesanoverviewofthecurrentAmtrakConnectWiFisystemarchitecture.Each
trainconsisthasacommunicationscontrolunit(CCU)locatedwithinasinglecarintheconsist,
typicallythecafcar.Thiscarisreferredtoasthebraincarforthatconsist.TheCCUusesmultiple

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concurrent3Gand4GcellularlinkssuppliedbyallfourmajorUScarriers(Verizon,AT&T,Sprint,andT
Mobile)toprovideasmuchInternetcapacityaspossibletothetrain.Thisconnectionisdistributed
wirelesslytoWiFiaccesspoints(APs)locatedthroughoutthetrainsothatpassengershaveInternet
connectivityeverywhereonboardthetrain.Theaggregatedtrafficissentfromthetrainviaantennas
mountedontherooftopofthebraincaroverthecommercialcellularnetworkstoserversattheEast
Coastdatacenterwherepacketsarereassembled,white/blacklistingischecked,andthepacketsare
sentontotheInternet.Onreturn,largefiledownloadsarestoppedandallstreamingofvideoor
musicisremoved.

Figure7Amtrak'scurrentWiFisystemarchitecture
Asnotedabove,thecurrentonboardsystemreliesonthenetworksofthefourmajorcellular
providersforitsbackhaul.Thesearethesamenetworksusedbythegeneralpublicformobilevoice
anddataconsumptionbothonthetrainaswellastrainside.Thecontentionforconnections,andthus
bandwidth,isstrongandchangesdynamicallyfromminutetominute.Inaddition,cellularproviders
locatetheirtowersindenselypopulatedareasinordertomaximizetherevenuegeneratedforthe
investmentinthetowerinfrastructure.Thus,celltowersarenotnecessarilylocatedalongtheNEC.As
aresult,cellularcoveragealongtheROWisinconsistent.Duetothevariationinthequalityand
performanceoftheseconnections,theamountofachievablethroughputisneitherconsistentnor
predictable,andgenerallynotuptothetaskofsupportingatrue,reliablebroadbandexperiencefor
Amtrakscustomers.

TodeliveranevendistributionofavailablebandwidthtoitsWiFiusers,Amtrakhasadoptedvarious
measuresincludingcontentrestrictionandratelimiting.ThefirstinhibitssomeInternetactivities
knowntouselargeamountsofbandwidth,suchasstreamingvideoandlargefiledownloads.The
secondthrottlesInternetuseonaperuserbasis,limitingthroughputtomaintainanequitable
experienceforall.ThesetrafficshapingprocessesareessentialtoAmtraksabilitytoprovide
passengerswithaquality,basicWiFiservicethatenablesemailbrowsing,accesstosocialmedia,and
webbrowsing.

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2 BUSINESSOBJECTIVES
2.1 MARKETPLACECOMPETITOR
Amtrakisseekingamethodoftraintogroundcommunication(TracksideNetwork)thatis(a)superior
totheexistingcellularsysteminstalledontheAcelaandNortheastRegionaltrains;(b)ofsufficient
technicaladvancementtodeliverconsistent,uninterruptedconnectivitywiththebestpossiblespeed,
quality,andreliability;and(c)willscaletomeetuserdemandinthefuture.
Thetracksidenetwork(TSN)willcreateasecure,faulttoleranttraintogroundlinkbetweenthetrain
andthefiberbackhaultotheInternet.ThisnewTSNwillallowAmtraktobecompetitiveforthe
travelersdollarsinthetightNortheastmarket.
2.2 ENHANCECUSTOMERSATISFACTION
AmtrakwishestoprovideriderswithanimprovedAmtrakConnectWiFiserviceofthehighestpossible
qualityduringrailtravel,makingtheirjourneymoreproductiveandenjoyable.Researchhasshown
thattheridingpublicwillplaceasignificantandgrowingdemanduponanontrainInternet
connection.
2.3 IMPROVEOPERATIONALEFFICIENCY
Amtrakhasavarietyofongoingprogramsthatwillincreasinglyrequireareliable,realtimelink
betweenontrainequipmentandbackofficesystems.Suchprogramsinclude,butarenotlimitedto,
onboardpassengerinformationsystems(OBIS);IPbasedvideosurveillanceforpassengerandrolling
stocksecurity;eticketingandconcessionpointofsale;andconditionbasedmonitoringofIPenabled
traincomponents.TheTracksideNetworkwillimproveAmtraksabilitytoeffectivelymonitorontrain
systems,helpreducecost,andimproveoperationalefficiency.
2.4 COSTEFFECTIVE&SUSTAINABLE
AmtrakhasmadesubstantialinvestmentsinphysicalinfrastructurealongtheNECRightOfWay
(ROW).Anysolutionshallleveragetheexistinginvestmentstominimizethecostandavoidany
duplicationofinfrastructurealongtheROW.Wirelessdatasolutionsandstandardsaredevelopingat
anextremelyrapidpace.Anysolutionshouldbedesignedanddeployedinawaythatwillenable
efficientupgradestothehardwareandsoftwareovertime.
2.5 REDUCERELIANCEONCELLULARNETWORKS
TodaytheAmtrakConnectWiFiserviceusescommercialcellularnetworksfortraintoground
communications.ItisakeyobjectiveoftheTSNtodeliverasufficientlyimprovedandscalablelevelof
servicetoallowAmtraktophaseoutuseofcellularnetworksastheprimarytraintogroundmethod
ofcommunication.Whilecellularnetworksmaybeusedasasecondarymethodforredundancy
and/orforconnectivityinlocationswhereconstructionoroperationofatracksideinfrastructureisnot
feasible,Amtrakaspirestohavecontrolovertechnical,operational,andbudgetaryaspectsofall
communicationssystemsaboarditsfleetinthefuture.

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2.6 DELIVERSCALABLEBROADBANDCAPACITY
AmtrakisrestrictedintheperformanceandqualityofitsAmtrakConnectserviceduetothetechnical
andcommercialnatureofcommercialcellularnetworks.Amtrakhastocontendwithotherusersof
thesamecelltowers,andthosetowersarenotoptimizedforcoverageoftheNECtracks.TheTSNwill
provideadedicatedinfrastructure,thesolepurposeofwhichistodeliverhighcapacityconnectivityto
Amtraktrains.TheresultwillbefasterInternetforpassengers,greaterbandwidthforoperational
applications,andmostimportantlyaconnectionthatwillscaleatAmtrakssolediscretiontomeet
demandforthroughputinawaythatisnotpossiblewithcommercialcellularnetworks.
2.7 PROOFOFCONCEPT
Amtrakhasselectedanapproximately10milelongsegmentoftheRightofWayonthesouthendof
theNECinDelawarefortheProofofConcept(POC).Thefollowinglinkprovidesanoverviewofthe
POC:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/sr5ralgbsr3k82r/amtrak_PoCvideo_0514_large_HD.mp4
ThepurposeofthePOCwillbetotestouttheconceptsanddesignofthetracksidenetworktoensure
thatitmeetsthestatedrequirementsofdeliveringenoughthroughputcapacitytoallowvideo
streaming,musicdownloadsorstreaming,andotheractivitiesthataresimplyoutofreachtodayat
intercitytrainspeeds.