‘Next-gen high-speed broadband mobile phones could compromise railway safety’

LONDON - Lord Berkeley, chairman of UK’s Rail Freight Group, has warned that the next generation of high-speed broadband mobile phones that are due to be launched from 2014, could cause a rail crash by interfering with a train’s electronics and signalling.

The Telegraph quoted Berkeley as saying that it “could be a serious issue for the railways - it could cause accidents, ‘going through signals at red’ in the old terminology”.

He warned that there could be “serious problems of safety and operations” on the railways, adding: “It’s not much use if you have got super fast broadband which prevents super fast trains - or even ordinary trains - from running.”

He said that the planned 900MHz spectrum for mobiles was “quite close” to the recently-introduced digital radio system used on the railways, the paper said.

Lord Berkeley further stated that the problems of interference could occur within a distance of two and a half miles (four kilometres) of any railway infrastructure, and it could cost up to 100 million pounds to shield trains and trackside equipment to eliminate interference. (ANI)