A long-term vision for next generations
Posted: 6 April 2011 | | No comments yet
GSM-R is a big area of the railway industry. Many railway operators worldwide are integrating and upgrading their systems to ensure that they are running their networks as best as possible. In an interview with Craig Waters, Editor of Global Railway Review, Kapsch CarrierCom’s Vice President of GSM-R, Michel Clement, talks openly about the history of Kapsch and also discusses recent projects they have been involved with plus what the future may hold for the company.
Part of the Kapsch Group, Kapsch CarrierCom can rely on 30 years’ experience in the railway business. Originally a partner with Nortel, Kapsch CarrierCom initially worked to introduce technology in central and southeastern Europe. However, with the acquisition in 2010 of parts of Nortel’s Carrier Network Division, Kapsh CarrierCom quickly transformed itself from a regional supplier into a global leader in GSM-R.
GSM-R is a big area of the railway industry. Many railway operators worldwide are integrating and upgrading their systems to ensure that they are running their networks as best as possible. In an interview with Craig Waters, Editor of Global Railway Review, Kapsch CarrierCom’s Vice President of GSM-R, Michel Clement, talks openly about the history of Kapsch and also discusses recent projects they have been involved with plus what the future may hold for the company. Part of the Kapsch Group, Kapsch CarrierCom can rely on 30 years’ experience in the railway business. Originally a partner with Nortel, Kapsch CarrierCom initially worked to introduce technology in central and southeastern Europe. However, with the acquisition in 2010 of parts of Nortel’s Carrier Network Division, Kapsh CarrierCom quickly transformed itself from a regional supplier into a global leader in GSM-R.
GSM-R is a big area of the railway industry. Many railway operators worldwide are integrating and upgrading their systems to ensure that they are running their networks as best as possible. In an interview with Craig Waters, Editor of Global Railway Review, Kapsch CarrierCom’s Vice President of GSM-R, Michel Clement, talks openly about the history of Kapsch and also discusses recent projects they have been involved with plus what the future may hold for the company.
Part of the Kapsch Group, Kapsch CarrierCom can rely on 30 years’ experience in the railway business. Originally a partner with Nortel, Kapsch CarrierCom initially worked to introduce technology in central and southeastern Europe. However, with the acquisition in 2010 of parts of Nortel’s Carrier Network Division, Kapsh CarrierCom quickly transformed itself from a regional supplier into a global leader in GSM-R.
“Kapsch CarrierCom was always a critical partner of Nortel,” explained Mr. Clement, “but when Nortel collapsed, Kapsch CarrierCom had a great opportunity to take over their GSM-R technology – after all, our company’s history has always been very much involved with the railway industry.”
Over their 30 years of experience, Kapsch CarrierCom have supplied a large range of railway applications tailored to meet any customers’ needs. Starting with the Analogue Train Radio System (UIC 450Mhz) and continuing with the dispatcher system KS72, KS2000 and a GSM-R Cab-Radio, Kapsch CarrierCom can offer end-to-end solutions for their customers and becoming a partner with the railways is extremely important to them.
With an extensive customer reference including railway organisations such as ÖBB (Austria), SŽDC (Czech Republic), Network Rail (UK), Adif (Spain), RFI (Italy), RFF (France), SNTF (Algeria) and LG (Lithuania), Mr. Clement says that the Deutsche Bahn (DB) is without doubt the largest railway operator that Kapsch CarrierCom is working with. “Our GSM-R solution was selected for the national GSM-R network in Germany and represents the largest and most significant project with this technology to date with a total coverage of about 24,500km,” explained Mr. Clement. Kapsch CarrierCom is now a strategic partner for Deutsche Bahn supporting and providing endto- end GSM-R solutions.
It is clear that many other countries are relying on Kapsch CarrierCom’s GSM-R expertise and PKP/PLK, the Polish rail infrastructure company, has recently chosen Kapsch CarrierCom as a partner for its first GSM-R pilot project. “We are extremely proud to have won this order in Poland, it is a big and strategic market for us,” says Mr. Clement. “Poland will be positioned on the north-south corridor as well as the east-west corridor, so it is a country that definitely has a strategic plan of evolution for the railways, including of course high-speed.” The order was valued at approximately €11 million and Kapsch CarrierCom will deploy GSM-R base stations and additional data transmission equipment on an 84km section of the pilot line. This order also provides an excellent opportunity for Kapsch CarrierCom to win future follow-on orders and thus continue to expand its global GSM-R leadership.
By continuing to push technological boundaries, Kapsch CarrierCom is looking to further grow its share of the market and become the major GMS-R player in new areas in the years to come. “There are different things in different domains which sets Kapsch CarrierCom apart from our competitors,” explains Mr. Clement. “The first element is that we belong to the Kapsch Group which is totally family owned. Our long-term vision is to transfer the Group to the next generation. Our competitors are somewhat shorter-minded. We are monitoring GSM-R and taking care of our customers and our main strategy and core focus is GSM-R and GSM-R evolution. Our railway customers know by far that they are our prime customer.”
Mr. Clement agrees that the GSM-R industry is big business and that the future is important. “We are renewing our portfolio to make it even more focused on railways and are thinking about long-term tools for our customers to improve their operations, plus looking forward to the next generations.”
