CHINA: As part of a ‘smart metro’ development programme, Shenzhen Metro and Huawei are testing the use of 5G for the rapid transfer of large volumes of data between trains on Line 11 and the control room.

The tests aim to transfer the 25 GB of data generated by a train during a typical 1 h journey to the control room in around 150 sec, avoiding the need to manually download data from a train’s hard drive at the end of journey.

The operator envisages that enhanced data communications could support applications including the use of high-definition CCTV to provide automated lost luggage alerts and searches. In an emergency, the fast data transfer could be combined with facial recognition and intelligent behaviour analysis to identify dangerous activities.