Practical approach to actual EMC/GSM testing in the Paris "Metro" subway and regional transit systems

In the perspective of the coverage of the Metro subway and the Regional Transit System with GSM cellular communications, the Paris Transportation Company (RATP) organized in 2001 a large scale, real world approach of in-situ EMC testing. The aim was to investigate the effect of wanted radio frequency transmission from GSM cellular phones of the public with safety electronic devices embedded in the trains or with the station electronic equipment situated close to the people. For this purpose, a test protocol with appropriate programmable mobile phones has been defined and a number of equipment in the trains has been tested carefully with various configurations of transmitters and electronic equipment under test.