The Mayan Train will have the same radio communication technology as the New York and Buenos Aires subways

Teltronicwith corporate headquarters in Zaragoza, Spain, is the winning company of the contract to provide radio communication technology to the operations of the Mayan train in its eight sections and the 1,460 kilometers of extension that cross five states of the South-Southeast of Mexico.

The company presented an attractive offer proposing to use up to 20 MHz radio frequencies in the 400 MHz band for train communications with stations on the ground and during routes, and with assembly, in addition to up to 110 radiobases throughout the laying of tracks, which translated into money meant a saving of at least 15 million dollars, about 300 million pesos, for the Mexican government, at a time when all the infrastructure work of the Mayan Train has increased by 38,000 million pesos from its original budget of 141,000 million pesos estimated in 2019.

Oscar Fernandezdirector of the Mexican subsidiary of Teltroniccommented that the contest to choose the radio communication technology of the Maya Trend Five brands of international relevance were presented, but due to criteria such as technological interoperability, the use of proprietary software and the proposals of using the 800 MHz band for train communications, which in turn meant a greater outlay of money for the Mexican government for a greater deployment of antennas, was that Teltronic technology was chosen.

Teltronic develops products with technology LTE and move towards applications of 5G for different private and government entities that manage critical infrastructures such as airports, ports, trains or industries. The company, said his director, is currently the supplier of the technology that ensures optimum radio communication in the metro trains of Buenos Aires, New York, Rio de Janeiro, Santiago y Sao Pauloin the case of the entire American continent, and in Mexico it is also in meters of Monterrey, Guadalajara and the new Line 1 of the CDMX metro.

The Terrestrial Trunked Radio (Tetra) is the technology that Teltronic will apply to the Mayan Train. It is a technological standard that is open-minded and also focused on critical communication needs for public safety and emergencies, which is why some four million public and private entities and all kinds of industries use this technology in their own operations.

Fernández indicated that Teltronic’s Tetra is backed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute o ETSITherefore, the Mayan Train will have radio communication technology used by various trains in the European Union.

“We have presented five companies, all with different technology and in the end the technology that the Mexican government decided to use was Tetra, which on average is 50% cheaper compared to other technologies that were also competing for the contract (… ) We obtained it, because by proposing to use a radioelectric band with powerful coverage, such as the section from 380 to 400 MHz, there are substantial savings with the displacement of antennas, in addition to the fact that we have a technological convergence with all the companies that are working on the works of the Mayan Train and if that were the case, there are many technical meetings so that everything is very fine, compatible”, said Óscar Fernández, director of Teltronic Mexico.

The company must coordinate with companies such as Alstomthe manufacturer of the Mayan Train convoys, and also with the civil works builders, such as companies. For example, in section 1 it will be coordinated with Mota-Engil MexicoOperator CICS e ICAwhich have been awarded contracts in various sections of the train network.

Teltronic advances with its deployment of infrastructure in stations and track laying, as the primary works of the train also advance in the different sections, with the planting of poles and repeater antennas 40 meters above the ground, which are the ones that receive, send and they replicate the communications of the trains to the stations and terminals, fixed and in motion.

Óscar Fernández indicated that since the Mayan Train is a critical infrastructure for the country, the authorities and the Army could at some point of emergency, such as that caused by a natural phenomenon, use Tetra’s radio communication, but ruled out that this could happen because that action would compromise the very communication and safety of the trains.

“This is a radio communication system only for the Mayan Train. Since this is a very large land and this is an important infrastructure, the Army or another authority would protect it, as they do with an airport, but it does not mean that the security forces will use the technology of the Mayan Train for their cellular coverage, because it would mean a breach for the security system of the Train, in addition to the fact that they already have their own networks in 800 MHz bands”, said Óscar Fernández.

We are preparing the Mayan Train, as far as Teltronic is concerned, so that it has efficient radio communication equivalent to trains in European countries, and to grow it and connect it with other tracks, when the current route of the Mayan Train connects with other trains. We are on the trains of New York, Santiago, Monterrey, Buenos Aires, Lima… and on Line 1 of the Mexico City Metro, which is why we know how to guarantee communications and guarantee that the laying of the antennas would be finished in April of next year. ”.

The Mayan Train project, with nearly 1,500 kilometers of tracks, promises to connect the Yucatan Peninsula, from tourist plazas to rural areas, to bring development.

The Mayan Train project is made up of eight sections of track:

• Section 1: Palenque – Escárcega (228 km approx).
• Section 2: Escárcega – Calkiní (235 km approx.)
• Section 3: Calkiní – Izamal (172 km approx.)
• Section 4: Izamal – Cancún (257 km approx.)
• Section 5 North: Cancun – Playa del Carmen (49.8 km approx.)
• Section 5 South: Playa del Carmen – Tulum (60.3 km approx.)
• Section 6: Tulum – Bacalar (254 km approx.)
• Section 7: Bacalar – Escárcega (287 km approx.).