The railway communication project FERCOM will pave the way for SNCF Réseau to transition to the Future Railway Mobile Communication System (FRMCS). France's national state-owned railway company, SNCF Réseau, has selected Frequentis to develop and supply a customised communication system for the entire French rail network, as part of its strategic development plan to transform its network by 2030. SNCF Réseau is responsible for the rail network in France and Monaco – including the highspeed rail network TGV. The aim is to drive performance through digital innovation.

“We are pleased to be working with SNCF Réseau on this project, supporting them with their phased transition from GSM-R-connected legacy systems, and to prepare for its future communication and incident management needs in line with the FRMCS standard. As an active player in shaping FRMCS, Frequentis is a key participant in setting industry standards and supporting customers with their goalsfor a fully digital railway,” says Tom Karl, Frequentis Vice President Public Transport.

Frequentis will provide its IP-based Fixed Terminal System, FTS 3020, as the base for voice and data communication. The system is proven to support GSM-R, which partially covers the French network, as well as to support public mobile network coverage. Frequentis has evolved FTS 3020 over the past few years to become a multi-bearer solution which allows its simplified rail communications application to operate with not only GSM-R (Global System for Mobile Communications-Railway) but also TETRA and LTE (Long Term Evolution) wireless communications networks, therefore providing bearer independence and unifying the experience for the operator at the same time. The project will also include maintenance services until 2036.

The Frequentis FTS 3020 is used by many of the world’s major railways as a component of theoperational communication system. The new digital platform within the FERCOM project will provide SNCF-Réseau with increased situational awareness for the controller and geo-redundancy, with large HD screens allowing operators to see more information displayed at a glance.

In addition to the Frequentis France office in Toulouse, with a strong air traffic management competence, Frequentis will open a new location in Lille dedicated to the public transport market.