Abstract

As high-speed railways continue to expand and the speed of trains increases, the wireless transmission of train control signals and mobile internet access needs to be done in a reliable and timely manner. The demands for these needs, along with other requirements, are causing the mobile communication systems for railways to evolve from the traditional GSM-R-based narrow-band systems to more advanced broadband options. The narrow band systems like GSM-R do not include newer real-time features offered by LTE-R and 5 G-R systems, such as multimedia video surveillance, dispatching IoT-enabled railways, and multimedia support. The paper starts by explaining the existing GSM-R system, which is straightforward, but highlights the shortcomings of the system. The focus is drawn to new user requirements of enabling data services and further evolving user demands to outline the most important benchmarks for future railway communication systems. The developments in wireless technologies and network structures suitable for railway mobile communication systems are also studied. Then, advanced systems are analyzed to meet the challenges of future technology and mobile communication needs. The paper covers all these points and provides a conclusion based on the findings, which the readers can access directly