A tentative design of operating environmental monitoring and warning system of high-speed trains based on a Wireless Sensor Network

An operating environmental monitoring and warning system of high-speed trains is designed tentatively based on a Wireless Sensor Network (WSN). The system mainly includes five parts: ground gathering nodes (GGNs), train-ground communication nodes (TGCNs), ground transmission nodes (GTNs), train-supervisory control terminal (TSCT) and remote control center (RCC). In order to realize comprehensive real-time monitoring and warning of the operating environment of high-speed trains, the TSCT receives sensors' information along areas that covering the railway line (namely, the GGNs' information). The RCC receives the GGNs' information and train running state information by a WSN and a wired network, realizes remote monitoring and warning of the trains' operating environment, and consequently ensures driving safety of the high-speed trains. The TGCNs and GTNs in the system can realize information connecting among the ground, train and the RCC. This paper proposes an operating structure of a monitoring and warning system of the high-speed trains' operating environment based on a WSN, and establishes a simplified system model, and further realizes some part functions in the key link of the train-ground communication and ground transmitting. By making some on-site verification tests in the test field between Datong and Xi'an, the feasibility of the system operation is proved preliminarily.