Kapsch to implement two more railway communications projects in the Czech Republic

Kapsch CarrierCom has been awarded the tender for two more GSM-R projects in the Czech Republic. The specialist in railway communications will install state-of-the-art technology on two rail sections of 200 and 110 kilometers in length in the coming two years. For each of the rail sections, Kapsch will supply a geo-redundant GSM-R core network, expand the access network.

Communications plays a fundamental role in the operation of railways. It makes an important contribution to safety, forms the basis for cross-border interoperability due to the European Railway Traffic Management System (ERTMS) the European Union has agreed upon, and supplies the technical infrastructure for additional applications. Kapsch is responsible for outfitting more than 73,000 kilometers of rail track all over the world, and has already successfully implemented this technology in the Czech Republic on several sections of rail line. The most recent projects relate to the Kolín – Havlíčkův Brod – Křižanov – Brno line with a total of 200 kilometers and the region around Prague (a total of 110 kilometers for the Prague – Beroun – Králův Dvůr, Prague – Benešov and the Prague – Lysá nad Labem lines). “The Czech Republic is an important transit country for intra-European rail travel. We are therefore all the more pleased that SŽDC s.o. has again entrusted us with contributing to a modern European railway infrastructure with the latest technologies”, stated Kari Kapsch, CEO of Kapsch CarrierCom.

Core, access, and maintenance from a single source

An implementation time of 26 months is foreseen for the line Kolín – Havlíčkův Brod – Křižanov – Brno. Roll-out in the region around Prague is expected to be completed in only 21 months. In both areas, Kapsch will be setting up the GSM-R core network that has been designed to be completely geo-redundant. The radio network along the routes will also be extended and modernized.

EU standard for safe railway communications – worldwide

ERTMS (European Rail Traffic Management System) was defined by the European Union as the standard to ensure cross-border interoperability of the safety systems and a smoothly functioning international railway network. Railway communications systems consist of two key components – ETCS, a uniform signaling system, and GSM-R radio technology. Since 2005, the rail networks of the EU member states are gradually being equipped with this technology. The Czech Republic initiated its first pilot projects at the end of 2005 and has since then been successively outfitting its rail network to meet the European standard. Implementation of ERTMS is expected to be completed in large parts of the trans-European rail network by 2017. The European system has also already spread to other parts of the world. For example, Saudi Arabia, is incorporating GSM-R and the ETCS signaling system at sections of their rail networks.