FRMCS enters critical lab testing phase

The FP2-MORANE-2 consortium has published its first unified system test cases for Europe's future railway communications platform.

GSM-R, the radio standard used by European trains for more than two decades, is approaching the end of its technological life. Its successor, the Future Railway Mobile Communication System (FRMCS), must preserve the same operational safety while running on 5G.

Without shared testing protocols, equipment from different suppliers could fail to work together once deployed on live networks.

At its mid-term conference held on 30 June 2026 at the headquarters of the International Union of Railways (UIC) in Paris, the consortium confirmed that laboratory testing has begun across three integration facilities, hosted by Ericsson, Nokia and Kontron.

Engineers there are testing cab radios, dispatcher systems, 5G networks, mission-critical applications and GSM-R interworking functions. Also under evaluation are voice communication, the Railway Emergency Call, the European Train Control System (ETCS), automated train operation (ATO) and onboard train control and management systems (TCMS).

What's confirmed as of today

The published test cases are based on FRMCS version 2.2 specifications and cover onboard systems, trackside systems and system interfaces.

In parallel, infrastructure managers Adif (Spain), DB InfraGO (Germany), ProRail (Netherlands) and Trafikverket (Sweden) are preparing field trials, building masts, installing onboard equipment and deploying mission-critical 5G systems. These operational tests, which will include cross-border scenarios, are scheduled to begin from 2027. The 34-month FP2-MORANE-2 programme, led by UIC, aims to feed validated specifications into future European Technical Specifications for Interoperability (TSIs).