Overview
The maintenance of the ERNST (European Railways Numbering Scheme for Telecommunications) database is an ongoing activity which has the primary objective to manage and keep the database updated. In the light of bettering the quality of service of the UIC IRTN (International Railway Telecom Network), the Telecom Panel of Experts (PETER) has operated and maintained the ERNST database in 2006/2007.
The database is hosted by the UIC web server in Paris and it is managed and kept regularly updated by a network of remote database administrators from 27 railways (the UIC PETER group). The database contains values from 27 Infrastructure Managers, Railway Operators and Railway Organisations in 24 countries.
The database currently contains:
• dialling codes of the fixed telephone network (country and town codes),
• information of operator assistance telephone numbers, operators,
• information of dialling and escape codes in GSM-R network,
• sources for printing a railway telephone directory in paper form.
For the “Administrators” a restricted area contains a complete inventory of national circuits which form part of international telecommunication lines, and routing tables of telephone switches. These pieces of information help telecommunication staff to operate and maintain the network.
Funding
Results
The activities in 2008 were developed in order to make the ERNST data base an indispensable tool for managing the IRTN network. Key results are following:
- Integration of numbering schemes following the on-going implementation of GSM-R.
- The access matrices according to EIRENE Functional Requirement Specifications were taken in account which define the possible calls between GSM-R users.
- Design tools were developed to enable to model the topology of the network and network behaviour in the case of the failure of an international telecommunication line. It was initially planned for the GSM-R network and it was extended to the fixed IRTN.
- Administration tools were developed in order to enable automatic values updating with mutual cross information between the remote database administrators.