Renfe High-Speed Train TV Service Runs on Belden Switches
Telefonica, with Belden’s long heritage and experience of train solutions, they were the obvious choice as the products are highly reliable.
Venlo, The Netherlands – Belden Inc., a global leader in signal transmission solutions for mission-critical applications, is supplying components for an updated multimedia network for Renfe’s high-speed trains, in a project led by Telefonica. Belden’s reputation, railway experience and proven technology combined to help win the contract.
Belden is part of a team working on the award-nominated PlayRenfe project managed by Telefonica to enable ‘TV anywhere’ on the high-speed train network of Spain’s national railway operator, Renfe. The new WLAN and Wi-Fi service, a cutting-edge project which is also shortlisted for the IBC 2017 award, will provide 19 million Renfe passengers with easy access to multimedia content.
A variety of cabling, connectors and switches are being supplied by Belden’s local partner, Colway, over the next four years. They include over 1100 units of its highly reputable OS30 Octopus switches. With rolling stock from three manufacturers, Belden had to tailor the system to match the different trains. “Being involved in this first-of-its-kind project in Spain is very exciting,” said Richard Weatherburn, vertical marketing manager for transportation at Belden. “Each train has unique requirements. Also, while the end-application is a broadcast system, it is an industrial implementation so the requirements for safety, robustness and a long operating life were very high.”
Belden industrial products have been used in trains for many years and their proven performance is one reason they were chosen for the project. According to Telefonica, with Belden’s long heritage and experience of train solutions, they were the obvious choice as the products are highly reliable. Belden has a lot of knowledge and experience in the railway market, so they could count on them to deliver a complete solution with the lowest maintenance requirements and longest operating life.
Certification plays an important role in component quality and Belden’s industrial products are qualified to meet the demanding environment of high-speed trains, where heat and vibration are among the challenges. For example, Belden’s railway approved Rail-Tuff Ethernet data cables have a special casing to mitigate risk of melting in the case of a fire.
Another key point in securing the contract was that the local Belden supplier, Colway, has CINP (Certified Industrial Network Provider) certification. This means that Colway’s technicians have completed Belden CINP training. This further enhances customer confidence in system quality as well as providing extended system warranty.
