As part of the EU-wide award process for the “Gefo Reinvest” project, Deutsche Bahn (DB Netz AG) has signed the framework contract with Kontron Transportation Deutschland GmbH for the construction of a state-of-the-art communication system that meets the requirements of modern DB operations management. The contract volume over the term of approx. 6 years is expected to amount to 90 million EURO.
DB Netz AG operates the telecommunications for railway communication and ensures secure and reliable voice transmission between the train dispatchers in the station or in the dispatcher centre and the train drivers with the corresponding infrastructure. With “Gefo Reinvest”, the communication system based on outdated ISDN technology, including 3,500 Gefo (GSM-R stationary telephones), will be replaced by a state-of-the-art communication system in the next few years under the leadership of Kontron Transportation Germany.
The new system is based on the next generation of communication systems for mission-critical networks and will interoperate with the existing GSM-R network (Global System for Mobile Communication-Railway). The system offers open and standardised interfaces and is already an investment towards FRMCS (Future Railway Mobile Communication System). The integration into the existing GSM-R system of the DB guarantees an easy migration in the future.
The technical core of the system is an IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) based switching platform as well as the MCx (Mission Critical Services) application of Kontron Transportation, which is implemented on a NFVI (Network Function Virtualization Infrastructure) from the Kontron subsidiary Iskratel. Long Live Carrier Grade Server from Kontron will be used for this purpose. Furthermore, the obsolete TDM (Time-Division Multiplexing) based data network infrastructure will be replaced by a modern IP/MPLS (Internet Protocol / Multiprotocol Label Switching) transmission network for networking the central components and the new IP Gefo, which is part of the contract.
