#7 – Conversation with Rodrigo Alvarez

Doc Frank chats with Rodrigo Alvarez from Perth, Australia, who is one of Australia’s top experts for modern railway telecommunications. Rodrigo has been my go-to person for telecommunications over many years, and you will see in this conversation why this is the case. A deep yet very understandable talk about the requirements for client-provided railway radio, the difference between carrier and dedicated railway radio networks, and how a new telecommunications system can be introduced to an already utilised frequency spectrum. A true masterclass for railway communications with many important insights.

Show notes for better understanding:

1. Information about training courses for advanced signalling technologies that are proven to work for railway professionals regardless of their prior extent of signalling knowledge, including the CBTC Kickstarter and ETCS Kickstarter trainings, can be found on https://docfranktraining.podia.com. 
2. In the London Underground example discussed, the Jubilee and Metropolitan lines do not share tracks but run in parallel. However, the differences in the CBTC solutions between both lines lead to operational constraints as trains can no longer be re-routed from one line to the other.
3. The acronym FRMCS which is discussed towards the end of this episode stands for the Future Rail Mobile Communications System.