A new TES™ satellite system from HNS is now supporting the Transgabonais Railway network in Gabon, West Africa. The rail network plays a vital role in the economic life of Gabon and the surrounding region as well.

Railway infrastructure is critical to Gabon’s economic growth

Gabon’s rail network was originally constructed in 1975 to transport timber and manganese, the country’s most important export products after oil. With no paved roads from west to east, and heavy materials to transport, rail has been the optimal solution to bring these products to market.

The network consists of 22 stations including the central station in Libreville, the capital. Because it is a single-track system, with passing tracks every 30 kilometers, providing accurate, timely updates of train arrivals and departures for coordination is critical to maintain safe operations.

As the Transgabonais network grew over the years, its original terrestrial communications system was no longer able to cover the entire network or meet the increased demands for reliability. The railway management called upon Gabon Telecom, its local provider, to specify and install a new system.

Meeting the need for increased reliability with satellite

Gabon Telecom had already been successfully operating an HNS satellite telephony network to provide telecommunications services throughout rural Gabon for 10 years, and had extensive experience with and confidence in the technology’s performance and reliability. So recommending an HNS satellite solution for the railway’s new network was a logical choice. The solution, a TES system, includes a hub earth station as well as C-band remote terminals.

The TES solution was chosen because it supports simultaneous transmission to several stations in a mesh configuration, it is flexible and easy to install, and its transmission costs are not sensitive to distance or number of installations.

Installation began in late 2003, and the network has been accepted and is operating well. “The HNS satellite solution has already improved both security and the movement of trains throughout the network,” commented Mr. Hervé Ossamy, Administrateur Directeur Général/CEO of Gabon Telecom. “And its flexibility opens the door for possible future services such as messaging and reservations for ticketing.”