FRMCS/5G Data Communication

Back to the overview

The FRMCS (FRMCS), based on the 5G Mobile Communications Standard, creates the necessary Connectivity for Digital Future Technologies

Due to the digitalization of the railway system, real-time data transmission between train and track through a high-performance mobile radio network is becoming increasingly important. In addition to rapidly clocked control information through the use of the European Train Control System (ETCS) in conjunction with e.g., Automatic Train Operation technologies, the data collected by sensors and cameras must also be processed and transmitted. This leads to increasing data rates in railway operations. In addition, systems for the prevention and management of disruptions require low latency times and high reliability of communication. The prerequisite for this is a high-performance mobile radio network based on the new 5G mobile network standard. The 2G-based mobile network standard GSM-R from the 1990s currently used in the rail system is not sufficient for the technologies of the future. Therefore, the FRMCS (FRMCS), based on 5G, will be used in the future for a digital rail infrastructure throughout the entire rail network.

Real-time data transmission between train and track is becoming increasingly important due to digital technologies.

The Advantages at a Glance

FRMCS meets high demands of future data rates, latency, availability and encryption. The design of FRMCS follows two important guard rails: First, decoupling the communication platform from railway-specific applications. Second, using standardized, off-the-shelf components wherever possible. The first aspect ensures that in the event of different life cycles of platform and application, both sides can be updated largely independently of each other. The second aspect enables cost-efficient, train- and infrastructure-side FRMCS equipment by using off-the-shelf components that are also used in other industries

The Technology in Action

Digitale Schiene Deutschland has set up a mobile network infrastructure in a test track around 10 kilometers long in the "Digital Railway Testbed" in the Ore Mountains. There, it is possible to see how the integration and validation of applications of the digital rail system based on FRMCS/5G and cloud technology works in practice. Further, the large-scale rollout of the new technology is examined. This is the basis for testing FRMCS/5G and cloud equipment from various manufacturers.

To gain practical experience with FRMCS and 5G, DB teamed up with Siemens, S-Bahn Hamburg and Nokia in the Digital S-Bahn Hamburg project in 2018 to demonstrate how fully automated switching (GoA4) can be implemented over 5G. In this setup, which is one of the world's first 5G standalone implementations, safety-critical information was exchanged between the train and the infrastructure in real time as part of a fully automated turnaround. This was successfully demonstrated at the ITS World Congress 2021.

In the 5GRAIL (5G for future RAILway mobile communication system) project, funded by the EU under the Horizon 2020 program, 18 European partners are working together to validate the first FRMCS/5G specifications. The focus is on the development and testing of prototypes of the future railroad radio standard both on the train and along the tracks.