Kapsch granted approval by the Office of Rail Transportation for the first GSM-R system in Poland
Posted: 27 May 2014 | | 1 comment
The President of the Polish Office of Rail Transportation has granted the approval for the operation of the GSM-R system implemented by Kapsch CarrierCom on route E30 on the Bielawa Dolna – Węgliniec – Legnica route…
The President of the Polish Office of Rail Transportation (UTK – Urzędu Transportu Kolejowego) has granted the approval for the operation of the GSM-R (GSM for railways) system implemented by Kapsch CarrierCom on route E30 on the Bielawa Dolna – Węgliniec – Legnica route.
The authorization by UTK recognizes, for the first time in Europe, that the implementation of the GSM-R system has been completed in compliance with the new Technical Specifications for Interoperability (TSI) for the Control-Command and Signalling Subsystem (CCS). “We are excited about the certification, it proves that Kapsch has met all of the new technical specifications set out by the European Union and that we can provide the best solutions possible to our customers “, says Rainer Lasch, Head of Railway Regulatory Affairs at Kapsch CarrierCom. The European Union’s TSI have to be met on all trans-European conventional and high speed railway lines. The technical specifications for interoperability lay down the functional and technical requirements to be met by the subsystems of ERTMS and the interfaces vis-à-vis other subsystems. The GSM-R system installed by Kapsch meets these requirements and is compatible with other subsystems. GSM-R is part of the ERTMS system being implemented in the European Union.
European Rail Traffic Management System(ERTMS) isan initiative backed by the European Union to enhance cross-border interoperability and the procurement of signaling equipment by creating a single Europe-wide standard for train control and command systems.
Modernization of Railway
The project completed by Kapsch was officially referred to as “Modernization of railway route E 30, phase 2. Pilot Implementation of ERTMS/ETCS & ERTMS/GSM-R in Poland on stretch Legnica – Wegliniec – Bielawa Dolna”. It comprised the following services: design, construction, equipment delivery, launch, functional configuration, testing and certification of ERTMS/GSM-R infrastructure for the purpose of railway radio transmission and ETCS level 2.
The project was carried out within the framework of an Agreement signed in April 2011 by PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe S.A. (PKP PLK) with the consortium of companies Kapsch CarrierCom Sp. z o.o. and Kapsch CarrierCom AG. It was completed on schedule as required by PKP PLK.
These are welcomed news, however not yet reflecting the state-of- the-art as achieved track-side so far. GSM-R in Europe indeed is part of the ERTMS system, successfully having been implemented in most of the European countries and neighbours of Poland such as in Lithuania, Germany and the Czech republic. As far as GSM-R (PL) is concerned however it has to be noted that without having any MSC to MSC interconnection and thus no possibility for roaming to any of the neighbouring European systems so far, the Polish GSM-R at the moment is just a stand-alone communication system for domestic traffic (as far as the Polish trainsets on that line are equipped with adequate cab radios and SIM cards. Border crossing trains on the other hand, to be equipped with SIM cards from one of the existing GSM-R networks outside of Poland ongoingly are bound to use the incumbent radio and signalling systems in Poland, respectless if running on the GSM-R (PL) equipped line in Silesia down to Legnica or in the rest of the Polish network. Due to the selling out of the former TK Telekom subsidiary of PKP holding with its existing digital and FO network, PKP PLK as infrastructure manager in Poland can no longer make use of this network without having to pay extreme leasing rates which by part would exceed the income generated by path fees. Consequently it will take some further years, before interoperability of the Polish GSM-R and ERTMS will be achieved in track-side reality.