Testing of rail applications for the European satellite navigation system Galileo at the DLR – coupling of static and dynamic testing

Abstract

The implementation of the new European satellite navigation system Galileo will perform new options for the usage of GNSS in the rail sector. Due to increasing accuracies, more reliable position information and a higher availability Galileo will become a more and more important technical solution for rail applications, especially for safety relevant applications, such as generating position information for track vacancy proving. Before a new system is set into operation, a certification process takes place. During this process, the overall system and every module of the system have to be validated according to the technical specifications. The easiest way of validation is a static test-period in a laboratory, such as the RailSiTe® of the Institute of Transportation Systems at the German Aerospace Center in Braunschweig. The RailSiTe® offers the ability to analyse, test and validate systems, subsystems and components of train control equipment. New or modified concepts – either technical or operational – can be investigated in order to achieve an optimised operation or to increase the operational safety. The test equipment of the RailSiTe® can easily be modified for the testing and validation of navigation systems and applications. This includes the generation of positioning information provided by a GNSS such as the Galileo system. By using such a test setup, only static position information is available. For the implementation of realistic test conditions it is necessary to generate dynamic position information. This cannot be provided only by a laboratory like the RailSiTe®. Therefore the Institute of Transportation Systems will build up a Road-Rail-Vehicle in the current year. The vehicle is equipped with several navigational sensors, such as a GNSS receiver, a radar sensor, an inertial platform and other sensors for the testing and evaluation of different sensor combinations. These two laboratories – the RailSiTe® and the Road-Rail-Vehicle – will be coupled for testing and validating rail applications for the Galileo system. In the RailSiTe® the application under test will be implemented and developed test sequences will be run through. The trackside infrastructure is given virtually by the RailSiTe®. In addition, the Road-Rail-Vehicle will be driven on an existing railroad while the onboard Galileo receiver is determining the position information. The position information is sent via radio to the RailSiTe® in Braunschweig where it will be included in the testing process. By combining the RailSiTe® and the Road-Rail-Vehicle during the test of a Galileo rail application it is possible to perform laboratory tests under nearly ideal conditions with real dynamic position information.