A mesh network is going up along a 42-mile Southern California passenger railway as a way to provide security--not Internet access for passengers--for the second-most-traveled railway line in the U.S. So far the network, the first of its kind for a railway, covers 10 miles of the route between San Diego and Oceanside. The network was built using a $170,000 Department of Homeland Security grant.
The network, installed by Datel Systems using Strix Systems mesh equipment, is a challenge to build since it needs continuous coverage for trains moving at high speeds. The network consists of a series of solar-powered nodes spaced about seven-tenths of a mile apart and connected wirelessly to fiber-optic cable at the train stations to enable video surveillance. The Strix system provides throughput of 17 to 20 Mbps along the line, making possible closed-circuit TV transmission from inside the cars.
For more about the railroad mesh network:
- read this article from InformationWeek