Rail Antenna Vendors: Railway Rooftop Antennas for 5G, GSM, LTE, WiFi

This page provides information about Rail Antenna vendors and manufacturers, specifically those producing railway rooftop antennas for trains utilizing 5G NR, GSM (2G), GSM-R, UMTS (3G), LTE (4G), GPS, and WiFi (WLAN) technologies.

Rail Antennas for Trains

Rail antennas are designed for both indoor and outdoor applications. They are manufactured to comply with specifications outlined in the EN50155 standard, ensuring suitability for mounting on trains and other vehicles. This railway standard dictates various approval tests for rail antennas and other electronic equipment used on trains. These tests include performance verification across a wide temperature range (typically -40°C to +85°C), EMC testing, shock and vibration testing, and bump testing.

Image Courtesy: ANTONICS - ICP GmbH

Indoor antennas are primarily designed for WLAN frequency bands (2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz) to enable WiFi connectivity for smart devices. These antennas often also support various cellular bands, including 5G, LTE 700/800, GSM-R, GSM 900/1800, and UMTS (1885 to 2170 MHz).

Here are some generic specifications for indoor rail antennas used in WiFi applications:

• Frequency band: 2.4 or 5.8 GHz
• Polarization: Vertical
• Pattern: Omni-directional
• Gain: 9 dBi (2.4 GHz) or 10.1 dBi (5.8 GHz)
• Power/DC voltage: 50 W
• Efficiency: 97%
• VSWR: <= 1.5 typ.
• Antenna type: Patch
• Impedance: 50 Ohm
• RF connector: N (Female)

And here are some generic specifications for outdoor rail antennas used in cellular applications:

• Spectrum: 2m-band, GSM-R, GSM-900/1800, UMTS, LTE, GPS etc.
• Frequency: 146-156 MHz, 694-960/1710-2690 MHz, 1560-1606 MHz
• Polarization: Vertical/Horizontal, right-hand circular
• Pattern: Omni-directional
• Gain: 4 dBi (2m-band), 7.1 dBi (LTE-700), 9.2 dBi (GSM-900), 9.3 (UMTS), 5.1 dBi (GPS, GLONASS etc.)
• Antenna type: Ring resonator or high gain patch antenna
• VSWR: <= 1.8

Lists of Rail Antenna vendors

The following table lists some rail antenna vendors or manufacturers, along with their features and part numbers: