UIC launched this morning its 2nd Global FRMCS Conference taking place today and tomorrow 8 June 2023 at the UIC headquarters in Paris welcoming 300 participants from 30 countries.
The UIC FRMCS Programme is currently entering a new important phase of development with the harmonisation of radio frequencies for railways in Europe, the achievement of FRMCS V1 Specifications being finished and the delivery of the first prototypes for FRMCS products being delivered.
More than ever, it is clear that FRMCS will be the railway system’s next big development over the decade to come, as it will be key in progressing railway digitalisation and paving the way for train modernisation, by directly serving new technology like automatic train operations (ATO) or the Train Control and Monitoring System (TCMS). Not only this but FRMCS will improve security for railway services, increase cost optimisation for railway assets, as well as boost capacity and service performance.
On this occasion, Jean-Michel Evanghelou, UIC Director Telecom, Signalling and Digital Applications, introduced the conference by highlighting the fact that all the FRMCS “doers” that are present come from either the railways, associations or the supply industry.
François Davenne, UIC Director General, highlighted the fact that “FRMCS demonstrates that we are mature enough to develop worldwide specifications. It also shows that railways are powerful when they work together”. He underlined that FRMCS is a good example to show how it is important to have a productive community. In gathering competencies, FRMCS is becoming the strong backbone of railways. Moreover, the team of experts are based at UIC, which is the forum for these exchanges.
“Through FRMCS we will change the way the industry is looking to its network. It’s a proof of concept showing we can achieve a very significant step together”.
The third keynote speaker Keir Fitch, Head of Unit Rail Safety and Interoperability DG MOVE, European Commission, underlined that FRMCS is the key to the future of the railways. He said that GSM-R, which was developed by UIC, was a global success – a standardised product across the world – and that the aim is to reproduce the success of GSM-R through FRMCS.
To do this, it is important to take full advantage of the advancement in technology such as automation and digitalisation, so that railways can become more cost-efficient, flexible and reliable, and it is through digitalisation that this can be achieved.
Mr Fitch added that it is important to collaborate not only with industry partners but also everyone else in the community to ensure that the transition from GSM-R to FRMCS can take place. Moreover, UIC’s collaboration with the European Union is also essential to ensure that a clear migration process and strategy can be developed. UIC has already accomplished a significant amount of work to enable this transition and we are going the right way to meet this challenge.
Josef Doppelbauer, Executive Director, ERA, gave a keynote speech during the closing session of the first day, explaining the state-of-play of FRMCS and its historical background, followed by an outline of the key milestones and challenges for the migration of GSM-R to FRMCS. In particular, he underlined that the migration is not just a technical issue, but requires investment planning for onboard and trackside, as well as organisational and resource issues to be taken into account if everyone migrates at the same time. Moreover, this work is being carried out in a spirit of mobilisation and cooperation, with real commitment from UIC and the community.
During the two-day event, the following topics will be presented and discussed:
- The status and plans of the UIC specification stream
- The status of 3GPP and ETSI standardisation
- The regulatory situation
- Spectrum activities
- FRMCS Ecosystem prototyping
- Railway Strategies & Plans
- Supplier Industry Strategies & Plans
- ETCS and ATO Readiness for FRMCS
- Coexistence with GSM-R
Moreover, there will be opportunities to talk with all of the FRMCS Programme leaders and contributors and to get an in-depth understanding of the new telecommunication framework which is driving developments in the railway sector.
Special thanks to our Platinum Sponsor Kontron and our six Gold Sponsors: VIAVI Solutions, Funkwerk, Nokia, Frequentis, Huawei and Ericsson.
Also special thanks to our Media Partners: Railway Gazette International, IRJ, Railway Pro, Via Libre, Eurail Press, Fer Press.
During these two days, participants have the opportunity to visit the sponsor booths in the Exhibition Area, along with two other exhibitors: Siemens and RideOnTrack.
