On the use of GPS receivers in railway environments

This paper presents the electromagnetic interference effects on the performance of locomotive onboard Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers due to the railway environment. The evaluation of the maximum tolerated interferences around a train is presented by taking into account European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization and the International Electrotechnical Commission normative, Mobile Radio for Railway Networks in Europe, and experimental results. These interference levels are used to study the performance of a hardware GPS receiver operating at different modes and considering the possible levels of GPS signal L1 at the earth surface. From the obtained results, it is possible to conclude the reliability of a low-cost GPS receiver for train positioning even if the train equipment has been designed at the threshold of the current normative.