“Thank you for providing us with TETRA radios yesterday. It provided continuous and stable communication, which allowed us to work efficiently with staff in the various departments to tackle yesterday’s impossible mission.”

This was the message Motorola Solutions Inc. Systems Engineering Manager Joseph Cheong received the day after Typhoon Mangkhut hit Hong Kong in September 2018 from his counterpart at decades-long client MTR Corporation Limited (MTRC).

Joseph is very proud of how our Terrestrial Trunked Radios (TETRA) were able to help people be their best in the moments that matter. “The system had just been put in place that year and was immediately put to the test. The typhoon had caused damage to over a hundred locations throughout the MTR network. Maintenance staff relied on the radio system to help them efficiently carry out repair works.”

It is during a crisis that a radio system’s reliability is highlighted. TETRA’s digital technology provides superior audio clarity with immediate voice transmission, minimizing the risk of miscommunications. Its back-up system and public address capability also enhance operational safety.

Custom-Designed Solutions for Greater Efficiency & Safety

Joseph’s work involves supporting his team with system engineering, design, and delivery of customized solutions such as Asia’s first 800 MHz band TETRA system for Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC)’s West Rail Line to today’s TETRA  trainborne system used on the recently-launched Tuen Ma Line in summer 2021.

For the KCRC system, Motorola Solutions designed a customized train radio control interface and panel, which enabled instant voice communication between train operators and control center operators. 

Most recently, for Hong Kong’s longest line, running 56 kilometers from Tuen Mun to Wu Kai Sha, Motorola Solutions installed 21 Motorola MTS 4 TETRA stations. All trains have 2 Motorola trainborne radios installed with customized features that include control room to driver call, audio broadcasting to passengers, train-to-ground train management data transmission, and when the train driver is busy and cannot attend to a calling passenger that needs help, the call will be automatically transferred to the control center.

The key benefits of Motorola Solutions’ custom TETRA systems include:

• Enhanced Operational Efficiency & Safety – The systems are designed to ensure immediate communication between all the people involved in the trains’ operation and maintenance as well as with passengers. TETRA can be used in the control room as well as on-the-go, allowing maintenance personnel to stay in contact with the control room and trains as they move around the stations. They can even make station-wide or area-specific broadcasts on-the-go.
  
  
• Efficient Fleet Management – Integration of the TETRA system with the train signaling system enhanced fleet management. Ensuring all trains are running smoothly and on time is a computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system, which dynamically tracks the movement of trains and displays train location information on the radio console.

   

• Reliable Communications Ensure Safety – Radio communication offers superior audio quality, reducing risk of miscommunication between train personnel. A back-up system keeps the system up-and-running during an unlikely system failure.

It is during a crisis that a radio system’s reliability is highlighted. TETRA’s digital technology provides superior audio clarity with immediate voice transmission, minimizing the risk of miscommunications. Its back-up system and public address capability also enhance operational safety.

Team Loyalty Ensures Service Continuity & Reliability

Behind every good system are teams of professionals that keep it running smoothly. Having a team with decades of experience with one client provides continuity and a depth of institutional knowledge that allows Motorola Solutions to quickly and effectively respond to whatever critical situations may arise with the MTR lines.

Joseph, who joined Motorola Solutions in 1990, has been on the front line of all the technological and organizational changes. Both Motorola Solutions Inc. & MTRC have come a long way since Motorola Solutions was first awarded the contract to replace MTRC’s aging radio system in July 1992. By then, MTRC’s radio system was already over a decade old in serving the Tsuen Wan, Kwun Tong, and Hong Kong Island Lines, which were the entire MTR network at the time. 

“What Motorola Solutions had offered in the MTRC contract was a solution that had been proven in the Channel Tunnel project where a link was built to connect the U.K. and France by railway. It uses the same technology and products. The MTRC Project Manager visited the Channel Tunnel project in the U.K and was impressed with our in-house testing system that exemplified Motorola Solutions’ investment in R&D,” explained Joseph.

Fast forward to today, Joseph has worked on many other MTRC lines, including the merging of KCRC’s lines. He also supported railway radio projects in Singapore, Shanghai, and Taiwan. Most recently, he was excited about working on East Rail Line’s cross-harbour extension. The team was working on improving the interface between Motorola Solutions’ systems and the new signaling system just before Chinese New Year. “We have just provided a new design solution five weeks ago. It is a software change that has made the connection between the two systems more compatible.”

It is no easy feat to cultivate a long-term relationship that endures decades, but that’s exactly what Motorola Solutions’ long-serving sales and engineering teams have done. Over a career spanning 30 years, Joseph works alongside MTRC through times of crises as well as expansion. It is this integration of deep client knowledge and technical innovation that has laid a solid foundation for decades of growth and collaboration.