GSM-R modernisation Lithuania concluded

After 15 months of modernisation works by Kontron Transportation, the GSM-R system on trains in Lithuania is updated again.

LTG Infra, the company managing the Lithuanian public railway infrastructure network, ordered the modernisation of the railway’s radio communication system for 16 million euros in early 2021. The project was implemented by a consortium of Kontron Transportation Austria and Kontron Transportation, which won an international public tender. The consortium will also provide warranty technical support services for another nine years.

The GSM-R standard is a type of mobile communication for railways used for train traffic management. “It is an investment in the future, as the updated system will be able to fully serve the needs of the future Rail Baltica”, says Karolis Sankovski, CEO of LTG Infra. According to Sankovski, the advanced system used for train traffic management in Lithuania will significantly reduce the company’s IT costs.

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The works included modernising the Network Switching Sub-system (NSS) equipment, making modifications for the existing Base Station Subsystem (BSS) and implementing a new Fixed Dispatcher System (FDS) system.

In 2010, Belam-Riga and Nortel (now Kontron Transportation) installed the GSM-R radio communication system in locomotives and other self-propelled vehicles in Lithuania with 136 base stations, 281 fixed control panels and about 600 radio stations. The modern GSM-R system meets the extremely strict requirements for reliability and availability of the radio communication network. The now upgraded equipment ensures more reliable operational communication and automated system management.

Want to know more about the latest developments regarding the next generation of railway communication, FRMCS? Guillaume Gach of the FRMCS Design Authority at UIC will give an update on the current status and challenges at the RailTech Europe conference on 21 June. Click here for more information.