- Nokia steams ahead with a 5G-based railway communication system
- In a world-first, Deutsche Bahn is testing the system out on tracks in eastern Germany
- Analyst Asad Khan noted a handful of 4G railway comms systems have been trialed elsewhere
Nokia is building up a head of steam behind its new railway communication system, with German national train operator Deutsche Bahn checking out the 5G edition in the east of the country.
The evaluation by Deutsche Bahn represents the first test 5G-based Future Railway Mobile Communication System (FRMCS) in the world. The 1900 MHz radio network system with a 5G Standalone (SA) core is running on live outdoor test tracks.
The 5G system is due to replace the aging 2G-based communications system used for trains across Africa, Asia, Australia and Europe. North American positive train control (PTC) still uses two-way radio to send stop messages to trains.
Jochen Apel, the VP of enterprise business at Nokia, told Fierce that Nokia expects that the FMRCS arrangement will start to be deployed on trains in 2027. “The first application will be voice because that's the basic service they always need in rail,” Apel said.
“The second one - and this comes in parallel - is called ETCS, the European Train Control System Level 2” he added. This enables automatic steering.
These first two applications are already supported by the Global System for Mobile Communications – Railway (GSM-R), he noted. It is necessary to ensure these basic GSM-R applications work first before train operators across the world and transport companies can move onto 5G-based applications.
After that, he said, the transport companies can bring in systems like predictive maintenance and video comms.
The 2035 timeline
"The initial emphasis on mission-critical voice communications in 5G-based FRMCS deployments within Europe is due to the need to co-exist with and eventually replace legacy, voice-centric GSM-R systems by 2035,” SNS Telecom & IT research director Asad Khan told Fierce.
Given the very long development and deployment times of 5G rail systems, though, there have been 4G LTE systems produced in the meantime.
“There are some pre-FRMCS LTE networks that support both voice and broadband applications,” Khan said. “For example, in France, SGP (Société du Grand Paris) has deployed a private LTE network – which operates in Band 38 (2.6 GHz) spectrum – to provide indoor and outdoor coverage for operational communications across all Grand Paris Express rapid transit system's stations, lines, and depots. There is an expectation that these types of deployments will eventually transition to 5G-based FRMCS in the future.”
There are also 4G projects in Australia, China and India, Khan noted. Indeed, Nokia’s Apel also said the company has worked with the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) in on a 4G LTE project in Delhi.