EUROPE: The ‘landmark’ FP2-MORANE-2 research project has been launched to test Future Railway Mobile Communication System technology under real conditions in Europe.
FRMCS is the emerging telecoms standard being coordinated by UIC and partners to enable railways to make better use of next-generation communications technology including 5G and satellite connectivity.
The 34-month FP2-MORANE-2 project will assess how FRMCS can be integrated into the ERTMS train control technology. Current ERTMS deployments rely for radio and data communications on the increasingly life-expired GSM-R standard, which is based on 2G telecoms technology from the mid-1990s.
The project will test and foster market-ready specifications for signalling technology across Europe’s busiest railway lines, ensuring that these specifications are ready to be incorporated in future revisions of the EU’s Technical Specifications for Interoperability.
A series of FP2-MORANE-2 prototypes will be tested in three European laboratories before being assessed under live railway operating conditions on both conventional and high speed lines.
The research forms part of the EU’s Horizon Europe programme and is being co-funded to €13·5m by Europe’s Rail and the European Smart Networks & Services joint undertakings. It formally began on December 1, and consists of six work packages; these are designed to validate the latest version of the FRMCS specifications set out by the European Union Agency for Railways.
The partners see the research project as an essential step towards achieving market-ready specifications for ERTMS. These will be incorporated in the next version of the Control Command & Signalling TSI in 2027.
FRMCS will support existing applications such as ETCS and voice, while also enabling new services including ATO GoA1/2/3/4, data and video services, and other essential telecom applications requiring enhanced quality, flexibility and capacity.
UIC is acting as the project coordinator, leading a consortium composed of European suppliers’ association UNIFE; various railways including ADIF, Banedanmark, Bane Nor, Deutsche Bahn, Infrabel, Network Rail, ProRail, RFI, SBB, Trafikverket and Väylävirasto; and suppliers including Alstom, CAF, Ericsson, Eviden, Frequentis, Funkwerk, Hitachi Rail GTS, Kontron, Nokia, RideOn Track, Siemens, Teltronic and Viavi Solutions. From the telecoms world come two mobile network operators, KPN and Telia.
FP2-MORANE-2 will also establish close co-operation with rail regulatory and standardisation bodies, particularly ERA. Co-operation agreements will be used to establish links with Europe’s Rail initiatives, which UNIFE and UIC say will ensure alignment and integration across the sector.
‘The FP2-MORANE-2 project represents a turning point for European railways, demonstrating our collective commitment to innovation and sustainability’, says François Davenne, UIC Director General. ‘By advancing FRMCS, we are not only ensuring seamless communication across the rail network, but also supporting the EU’s vision of a greener and more efficient transport system.’
UNIFE Director-General Enno Wiebe added that ‘the European rail supply industry is devoted to making FRMCS, as part of the overarching ERTMS roll-out, a full success. All actors must collectively ensure that the transition to FRMCS is timely and as seamless as possible. This project will support the development of FRMCS technologies, and aims to produce the first deployable FRMCS commercial solutions soon after the completion of testing and evaluation.’
- Go deeper: Read Railway Gazette’s White Paper on Overcoming the Barriers to FRMCS.
