The 4th GSM-R Pre Qualification Group meeting took place on 29 of July, in Paris, UIC HQ.
The Pre Qualification group is an expert group, with members from ERA, CER, EIM and UIC, where Changes Requested against the actual GSM-R Specifications, EIRENE (European Integrated Railway Radio Enhanced Network) FRS 7 (Functional Requirement Specification) and SRS 15 (System Requirement Specification)are evaluated.
The main task of the group is to evaluate the problem which triggered the so called Implementation Report – the form by which such a Request can be made, to see if the issue is a general or local (national) one, the impact on the operations, on interoperability, or on the system, and to validate accordingly the issue to be treated in the CR Process (or reject it).
Secondly, when a draft solution is available, the group is tasked again to check the solutions consequences, and to validate it as principle (or reject it).
When the Change Request process is started for such an issue, deriving from an Implementation Report, a log in a dedicated database is opened, where together with all the documents related to the Change Request itself, a form edited by ERA is regularly completed.
This will allow that when the Change Request is ready, all the data needed for the Impact and the Cost Benefit Analysis made by ERA CCM Process is gathered; therefore the time needed to assess the CR is considerably reduced.
The Group was created in January 2009, and already 8 Implementation reports were treated.
The GSM-R Functional Group no 36 meeting took place the second day, after the Pre Qualification Meeting. When the Pre Qualification meeting validates an issue to be sent in the CR Process, next day it is already evaluated in the Functional Group.
The GSM-R Functional Group is tasked to maintain/update the EIRENE FRS. This is an experts group, with members from DB, JBV, OBB, NRIC, SNCF, ERA, UIC, dealing with the operational issues related to the Railway Telecommunications, trying to keep the specifications as technologically independent.
The meeting dealt with subjects like the Border Crossing – the blackout period while changing networks, Authorization Processes, Dispatcher Terminal behavior while involved in a Railway Emergency Call, enhanced Local Depending Addressing (eLDA), Cab Radio behavior while dialing an LDA from the keyboard.
Next meeting for the two WGs is foreseen on 26 and 27 of October.
