Satellite navigation for trains / ESA TV Exchanges / 30-04-2004
The next transmission of the ESA TV Service will be:
30-Apr-04 08:30 – 08:45 GMT
Satellite navigation for trains
ESA TV Exchanges
Background information on the transmission:
Replay I: 30 April 18:45-19:00 GMT
Replay II: 1 May 09:15 – 09:30 GMT
Trains could soon be safely guided and controlled by satellites and trials are now being run on the Belgian state railways SNCB. Over the past weeks, satellite-guided trains have regularly been plying on lines near Brussels.
Ensuring that the system is safe is an absolute priority. But the scheme also allows cost reductions. Its first implementation will be on low-density lines which are more expensive to run.
Frequent maintenance and new signalling with extensive cabling is a major cost aspect on local lines. Much of this can be dispensed with when using a satellite navigation system.
The train guidance system is making use of EGNOS, which is paving the way for Galileo, the European counterpart of GPS.
Today’s transmission includes images and soundbites recorded during one of the tests, in March 2004, together with new 3-D graphics of Egnos.
The programme includes an A-roll of four minutes (split audio – English voiceover) and a B-roll of 8 minutes with clean international sound.
The script will be on-line as a PDF document under http://television.esa.int/photos/EbS34XXX.pdf
A preview Media Player File is online under http://esa.capcave.com/wmp/egntrain_27042004_wmplow.wmv
This ESA TV Exchanges feed is transmitted by the European Commission’s “Europe by Satellite” (EbS) service. You can find the complete transmission schedule and download scripts and shot lists, also for ESA TV items, from the EbS Web site at http://europa.eu.int/comm/ebs/index_en.
More background information can be found on http://www.esa.int/export/esaCP/SEMCJ957ESD_index_0.html.
Transmission details:EUTELSAT HOT BIRD at 13° East (DVB/MPEG-2)
Horizontal, F=12,476 MHz (MCPC, Europe by Satellite)
SR=27,500 MS/sec, FEC=3/4
For further information, visit our website at http://television.esa.int. For other enquires, contact Claus Habfast, Tel +31 71 565 3838, Fax +31 71 565 6340, e-mail claus.habfast@esa.int.
