- Failure of the UK’s aging GSM-R rail communications system, based on the outdated 2G standard, has caused widespread train delays
- The 5G-based Future Railway Mobile Communication System (FRMCS), designed to improve data capacity and enable railway digitization, is planned to replace GSM-R starting in 2025
- FRMCS aims to enhance automation, predictive maintenance, and security applications, but won’t fully roll out until around 2030
The aging radio system used by train drivers and signallers across the United Kingdom is the cause of a major disruption for rail commuters nationwide Friday — another sign of the UK's failing infrastructure.
Services out of major transport hubs in London, Manchester and Southampton were affected, the BBC said. Trains to and from London’s major airports were roiled by delays. Great Northern, ScotRail, Southern and many other lines were also impacted.
National Rail blamed the delays on a failure of its specialized GSM-R rail communications system, which is based on the 2G Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) standard. The system facilitates communications between train drivers and rail control centers, supporting group communication, location–dependent addressing, priority levels, railway emergency calls and shunting communication.
Yes, you did read that right, GSM-R is based on a 2G cellular standard. GSM-R, which operates between 876 MHz and 925 MHz, is suitable for limited voice communication and sending SMS text messages but nothing more than that. No support for video.
The rail system hasn’t been exactly speedy in adopting digital systems. The railway-specific 2G-plus standard was finalized in 2000, and the system was first installed in October 2013, over 20 years after 2G was deployed as a cellphone radio system. GSM-R infrastructure has been installed on 210,000 kilometers or about 130,500 miles of track.
5G to the rail
The GSM-R standard will roll along in the UK, mainland Europe, China, India, Africa, and Australia until around 2030. However, beginning in 2025, a 5G-based railway standard is intended to replace GSM-R.
The Future Railway Mobile Communication System (FRMCS), based on the standalone version of the 5G NR spec, was completed by the end of 2022. Nokia provided the 5G technology for one of the world's first FRMCS test installations in the Digital Rail Test Field in the Ore Mountains in Germany, the set-up and evaluation of which was completed in the second quarter of 2023. Huawei has also started its FMRCS journey in China, Mozambique and Berlin.
This isn’t about providing 5G coverage for train passengers, although Huawei has been doing plenty of that too. FMRCS is about providing train crews with much more data capacity and transfer speeds than GSM-R can provide, as well as allowing more applications in train cabins. These applications include enabling predictive maintenance for the rolling stock and providing security telemetry and CCTV.
The main aim of FMRCS is to digitize the railways, leading to much more automation on the line. But sadly for the commuters of Old Blighty, that day is still far away.