A hybrid vector parabolic equation/ray-tracing propagation modeling technique for rail transportation systems

The deployment of modern communication-based train control (CBTC) systems along a guideway requires a careful study of the radio-wave propagation characteristics of the corresponding wireless channel. Carrying out this study via experimental means can be both expensive and time consuming, considering that current rail transportation networks extend over tens to hundreds of kilometers. Hence, research on numerical techniques that can assist and accelerate, though not replace, the experimental survey of a guideway as a communication channel, is as timely as ever, notwithstanding the large volume of pre-existing work on the subject.