A consortium of Czech companies Kontron Transportation s.r.o., AŽD Praha s.r.o. and Elektrizace železnic Praha a.s. signed a significant contract for the coverage of the main corridor with the digital radio standard GSM-R in the presence of the Minister of Transport Andrej Doležal and the Director General of ŽSR Miloslav Havrila.
The main content of the project is the construction of BTS-R base stations from Kontron Transportation on the line section from Varín, through Poprad, Košice to the state border with Ukraine at Čierna nad Tisou station. Here the coverage of the signal of the GSM-R unified railway radio standard will be guaranteed, which will ensure safe operational communication on the critical infrastructure of the state. The importance of this rail link between eastern and western Europe is also due to the large increase in passenger and freight traffic in connection with the situation in Ukraine.
The construction fully complies with the EIRENE (European Integrated Railway Radio Enhanced Network) specification, which ensures compliance with interoperability (TSI) in Europe. The GSM R signal on this section will not only be used for voice communication but will also be fully prepared for the future deployment of ETCS (European Train Control System) Level 2 and above. Although both systems were designed at the same time, the commissioning of the GSM R radio system will be significantly earlier than the ETCS L2 signalling system.
The GSM-R network is used to transmit the necessary data and voice information between fixed railway infrastructure and mobile train units, to send text messages and is gradually replacing older, mainly analogue radio systems on railway lines. GSM-R is currently the most advanced radio technology for wireless railway communication. The use of this uniform radio standard throughout Europe greatly simplifies international traffic and increases safety on lines so equipped.
