Important milestones achieved on the path to standard-compliant implementation and interoperable testing of the Future Railway Mobile Communication System (FRMCS).

Funkwerk Systems GmbH has successfully demonstrated the achievement of important milestones on the path to standard-compliant implementation of FRMCS in development and in the laboratory. In July and August, extensive tests and demonstrations of the current state of development took place in the company’s own laboratory environment and at important railway partners in Germany and Belgium.

Important milestones for FRMCS include the implementation of the multipath protocol to ensure uninterrupted voice and data communication, support for railway-specific 5G frequencies, communication interfaces within the FRMCS components (e.g. application software, antennas, radio modules and gateways) and the provision of appropriate hardware components. To this end, the accredited laboratory area has been completely revamped in recent months to provide all the necessary test options in a modern working environment. In addition to a complete 5G test environment in the form of a dedicated campus network and measurement technology for measuring in the railway frequencies n100 / n101, this also includes a connection to the interoperable test environment of ETSI, to several development partners and to the test environment of Digital Rail in the Ore Mountains. This network will be significantly expanded as part of the MORANE2 project and will then include other important European and international partners.

In the course of the transformation to FRMCS, Funkwerk has already developed a whole range of products that allow the migration of existing equipment in various scenarios as well as the introduction of completely new approaches to communication that go beyond use in railways. These include plug-in modules to make existing train radio systems 5G-capable, additional self-sufficient 5G modems and gateways. Software applications are available that run on Android and thus also on current smartphones or tablets as well as on Linux. An FRMCS operating mode has already been implemented for the MESA®26 product. The FRMCS mode was the focus of the functional presentation in Belgium. Various call scenarios and rail-specific functions (e.g. ad hoc group calls and functional aliases, i.e. registering a train number) were successfully tested in front of invited railway representatives. The setup included components from a wide range of manufacturers and took place in the laboratory of our partner Ride on Track in Geel.

Another milestone was demonstrated with the multipath protocol function in Deutsche Bahn’s test environment, Digital Rail in the Erzgebirge. Here, it was shown that the Funkwerk gateway can serve several 5G networks simultaneously and handle the data stream without interruption and in an interoperable manner.

For the virtual coupling of freight trains, Funkwerk was also able to demonstrate, based on the gateway, that the secure transmission of control data between several vehicles in multi-traction works. Funkwerk has received approval for extended test operation. This involves equipping additional vehicles and training personnel. During this development, the cyber security requirements for the products were also tightened. The approval includes proof of compliance with these requirements. Funkwerk is thus on track to implement the requirements of the European Cyber Resilience Act (CRA).

Another function that Funkwerk was able to demonstrate in connection with the requirements of FRMCS and the gateway or gateway software was the OB_RAD  and OB_ANT interfaces. The requirements of the ETSI technical recommendation were demonstrated in collaboration with Huber & Suhner. Funkwerk is actively working on translating the recommendations into a new standard.

The Funkwerk Group is a leading technology provider of innovative communication, information and security systems made in Germany. With tailor-made concepts, Funkwerk controls and streamlines operational processes in the areas of mobility and digital infrastructure.