OXFORD, United Kingdom-Having languished in the market for many years, GSM-R technology has received fresh impetus following a decision by Network Rail in the United Kingdom to order cellular infrastructure to provide coverage for 16,000 kilometers of railway across the country.
The 32 million euro (US$34.5 million) contract, which was awarded to AMEC, calls for the introduction of a secure wireless system (GSM-R) and unified optical network for transmitting voice, data and signaling information across the railway system.
This move, according to AMEC, is part of the program of work being undertaken to meet new European standards relating to rail communications and safety. The intention is to eventually interconnect the European rail network using GSM-R, enabling trains to travel and communicate wherever they are in the European rail network. However, implementing GSM-R Europewide would require more than 50,000 base stations, 100,000 in-train systems and 1 million handsets for use by drivers and signal controllers.
