Old cables no problem for Massachusetts railroad

The Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad (MBCR) is an organisation that is responsible for maintaining and dispatching trains and tracks over more than 800 km in the Boston area. It reports to the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (MBTA), which owns the passengers and commuters line.

The Worcester line, previously under CSX dispatch and maintenance responsibility and used as a shared commuter and freight line, has recently been reassigned to the MBCR as a result of increasing passenger patronage in the area, along with too many delayed trains and the resulting pressure to improve on-time performance. The Worcester line is also located in a high lightning potential area nicknamed ‘Lightning Alley’, which means any new equipment installed requires an extreme level of robustness.

The line is now carrying between 15,000 and 20,000 passengers each day across a distance of approximately 71 km into Boston. As part of the infrastructure upgrades, MBCR needed to make some updates and install telephone lines along the trackside as well as 15 interlocking points — with backup for each of them — for a total of 63 lines. Two alternatives were available: the phone company, which charges a high installation cost and a monthly fee for each leased line, or Westermo’s robust DDW-225 redundant ring Ethernet extenders, which allow effective Ethernet networks to be created over long distances at data rates up to 15.3 Mbps. The SHDSL technology makes it possible to re-use many types of pre-existing copper cables, which can lead to considerable financial savings and, depending on cable characteristics, distances up to 15 km can be achieved.

Indeed, MBCR found existing wires along the tracks of the Worcester line — some laid 35 years ago in 1978 and varying from four to 25 pairs — that could be used with Westermo’s DDW-225 without having to install new cables.

The company installed two DDW-225s at each location, the first one being used as primary and the second one as the redundant unit, along with a triple redundancy due to the unit’s cellular modem backup capability.

Prior to the installation of the Westermo DDW-225 Ethernet extenders, each control point had been connected via various systems: DSL, cellular, satellite and frame relay. Each system required replacement hardware and the knowledge of how to install and configure the equipment during failures. Repairs typically involved multiple technical personnel and coordination before repairs could be implemented. With this new installation completed, MBCR technicians have a minimal number of repair parts to stock and a single configuration style to understand. With the quick repair times, and with the redundant configuration of the system, dispatchers are typically unaware of a system failure. MBCR dispatchers now have real-time information and are expecting a significant improvement toward their goal of 100% on-time train arrival.