Thales taps Huber+Suhner for NYCT work

Huber+Suhner said Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2014 it has been tapped by Thales to supply the latter company "with a range of trackside and on-board antennas and cables to support the CBTC (Communications Based Train Control) system of New York City Subway."

Under a contract with Thales Canada Transportation Solutions, SENCITY® SPOT-M Yagi antennas and rolling stock SPOT-S antennas, together with Radio Frequency (RF) cable assemblies of Huber+Suhner will be used to provide the train-to-track radio network for trackside and rolling stock on MTA NYCT’s No. 7 (“Flushing”) Line, running from Times Square in Manhattan east to Main Street in Flushing, Queens.

The No. 7 line is MTA NYCT’s second such line scheduled to be equipped with CBTC; NYCT’s L Line, linking Manhattan, with up-and-coming Brooklyn neighborhoods, was the first line to be upgraded.

Huber+Suhner said the on-board SPOT-S antennas will be installed in the front of the car of each train and linked with RF cable assemblies with an access point on the train. The SENCITY® SPOT-M Yagi antennas are used in tunnels, where directional functionality and high gain is required to support the wireless communication systems that Thales deploys globally. All these products meet the railway-specific environmental requirements as per EN 50125-3 and fire safety requirements as per EN 45545-2.

The Yagi antenna was chosen because of the ability for a higher gain antenna to give better RF coverage and therefore achieve better network reliability, Huber+Suhner said, adding, “It is also a perfect shape and design for tunnel installations including between narrow tracks, since space is always an issue in such environments. The construction of the antennas protects them against water penetration and moisture, optimizing the performance of the antenna.”