Telia began preparing for the end of a 2G-based rail communication system by teaming with Ericsson and the Swedish Transport Administration to test a 5G alternative.

The operator, vendor and government unit plan to trial the Future Railway Mobile Communication System (FRMCS), a 5G-based standard expected to fast-track critical railway communications.

Testing will take place on a 40km stretch of railway running between two towns in central Sweden.

Telia explained FRMCS offers greater automation options than the GSM-R system currently used in Europe, which is set to be phased out by 2033.

The trial forms part of FP2-MORANE-2, a €13.5 million European Union (EU) project to test FRMCS in real-world conditions and a trio of laboratories running from this year until 2027.

Telia explained FP2-MORANE-2 goals span conventional and high-speed rail lines.

The project will form part of the European Rail Traffic Management System, which the EU Agency for Railways explains is a single “signalling and speed control system”, with goals around cutting equipment costs and boosting train speeds, network capacity and overall safety.

Staffan Akesson, head of Infrastructure at Telia Sweden, emphasised the role of Europe’s rail modernisation plan in delivering “a more sustainable transport system”, adding the trial would also feed into the operator’s work on critical communications for “other essential societal infrastructure”.