Trai seeks views on allocation of more spectrum to Railways for safety

Telecom regulator Trai on Wednesday sought stakeholders' views on the assignment of additional spectrum to Indian railways for safety and security applications.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) in mid-2023 had informed Trai that Indian Railways has requested for an additional 5 MHz of paired spectrum in the 700 MHz band to be allocated for enhancing its safety and security systems.

The DoT had requested Trai to examine and provide its recommendations on the matter.

"The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has today released a consultation paper on the assignment of additional spectrum to Indian railways for its safety and security applications," the regulator said in a release.

In the consultation paper, Trai sought stakeholder views on whether an additional 5 MHz (paired) spectrum in the 700 MHz band should be assigned to Indian Railways (IR) for its requirement related to safety and security applications, and whether spectrum harmonisation is needed to make the radiowaves assigned to Railways, and NCRTC and other RRTS/ Metro Rail Networks contiguous.

"Should a uniform spectrum charging methodology be adopted for Indian Railways as well as for NCRTC and other RRTS/ Metro rail networks," Trai said, adding if so, what spectrum charging methodology should be adopted.

The various options it gave included one on Auction Determined price (ADP) as recommended by it in the case of the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) for a train control system for RRTS corridors.

Trai has given a deadline of March 6 for written comments on the consultation paper, and counter-comments have to be submitted by March 20, 2024.

Radio-communication for railway operations is considered as 'mission critical' for train operations and management of train emergency situations. The Railway Radiocommunication System between Train and Trackside (RSTT) provides improved railway traffic control, passenger safety and improved security for train operations.