Network redundancy is a critical factor in ensuring passenger safety and journey reliability in onboard railway communications for both intra-consist and inter-consist Ethernet networks. In addition, railway operators are looking for ways to more efficiently allocate resources and serve passenger demands. For example, metropolitan rail services may want to run trains with fewer consists during off-peak hours but longer trains with more consists during rush hour. Railway operators can also serve multiple markets and conserve track assets by connecting multiple consists with different destinations into one train if they will travel along the same route for at least part of the journey.
This white paper describes how Dynamic Ring Coupling helps railway operators provide seamless onboard Ethernet redundancy with both rapid recovery times and automatic Ethernet switch configuration even when consists are rearranged mid-journey.