17 Apr. 2017 Korea Rail Network Authority held a
demonstration of the world’s first high speed rail LTE-R communication network
installed on Wonju-Gangneung HSR, Korea’s newest high speed rail which will be
opened later this year. Wonju-Gangneung
HSR site at Pyeongchang, Centralized Traffic Control Center in Seoul and KRNA
conference room in Daejeon where the demonstration was being held were
successfully connected by LTE-R communication network for voice and video calls
as well as transmission of high capacity data during the calls. High speed rail communications depended on
foreign technologies where users had to carry around three separate wireless
communication devices, but the 4^th generation LTE-R technology
optimized for railway environments makes mobile communication much, much more
efficient yet much less cumbersome. Kang
Yeong-il, KRNA Chairman & CEO, in a speech given at the demonstration said,
“LTE-R is expected to bring about an enormous innovation in the 118-year
history of railways in Korea with railways joining the era of smart technology
and KRNA, as railway specialist, will play a role in bringing about this
momentous change by acting as the key player in the 4^th industrial
revolution.”