Vienna/Berlin, September 5, 2012 – Kapsch CarrierCom, a leading provider of GSM-R solutions (Global System for Mobile Communications – Railway), will present a broad portfolio of solutions for railway communication from September 18 to 21, 2012 in Berlin at InnoTrans, the most important international trade fair for transportation technology. Kapsch CarrierCom will take advantage of this platform to advance issues such as the further development and standardization of GSM-R in the direction of IP communication.
On the basis of GSM-R, new applications will be created in the coming years that support the logistics processes of railway operators and secure communication between railway companies as well as benefiting their customers directly. In the area of railway communication, ERTMS (European Rail Traffic Management System) will be the main topic at InnoTrans 2012. This standardized system will eventually enable the management and control of train traffic on the trans-European networks.
70,000 railway kilometers with GSM-R
“Around the world, we have already equipped over 70,000 railway kilometers with GSM-R solutions. Last year, we were able to obtain our first customer in Africa. We have now supplied 1,000 kilometers of complex terrain in Algeria with our train radio,” explains Kari Kapsch, CEO Kapsch CarrierCom. He considers this the basis for continued developments in two directions: “On the one hand, we want to equip more kilometers of railway with GSM-R; on the other, we want to further improve the services and products for railway operators. At InnoTrans 2012, our goal is to present this solution within the overall context, present highlights and stimulate discussion.”
The future of railway communication
Both continued, long-term development of GSM-R in the direction of IP as well as partnerships to advance the use of GPRS in railway communication are important topics. While at the trade fair, the company is also taking the opportunity to introduce new product developments in the access and core area, which are both IP-capable as well as “future-ready”. Another focus lies on applications for expanding the possible uses of the existing GSM-R network and improving the safety of personnel and passengers as well as reducing costs. Kapsch also wants to publicize its end-to-end services and one-stop shop approach at InnoTrans 2012. The company has a broad spectrum of services on offer, ranging from railway communication on high-speed routes to integration and interoperability services on customer-specific GSM-R architectures and custom-tailored training for railway operators and industry partners.
Comprehensive solution competence
Kapsch has established itself in recent years as a partner to railway companies, providing comprehensive support to operators with state-of-the-art solutions. For example, Deutsche Bahn chose Kapsch for the modernization of its GSM-R “Core” network technology. By mid-2014, the world’s largest GSM-R network will have been upgraded to the new 3GPP release 4 technology. For Irish railway operator Iarnród Éireann – Irish Rail (IÉ), Kapsch is implementing a digital train radio system in the Dublin Area Rapid Transit (DART) region. The order includes GSM-R modernization of the railway with the innovative 3GPP Release 4 Voice “Core” network architecture on a pilot section of 48 km; the entire route amounts to 2,000 km. In Spain, Kapsch equipped the first high-speed route in the region of Galicia with the latest in train safety and radio technology. Despite the very mountainous nature of this region and the many tunnels along the route, the project was completed in less than one year. The complete solution consisting of the entire GSM-R system and the “Base Station Subsystem” (BSS) helped reduce the travel time between Orense and Santiago from 90 to 38 minutes. The Polish railways infrastructure company PKP/PLK also selected Kapsch CarrierCom as partner for its first pilot project in the area of GSM-R. Thus the leading system integrator installed GSM-R base stations on an 84 km-long section of track as well as additional data transmission equipment. The order volume was around EUR 11 million (PLZ 44.2 million).
Kapsch CarrierCom s.r.o. makes guest appearance at the SŽDC fair booth
Kapsch CarrierCom s.r.o., the Czech subsidiary of Kapsch CarrierCom, will inform visitors to the fair booth of the Czech infrastructure operator SŽDC about current projects in the area of GSM-R digital radio in the Czech Republic. Kapsch CarrierCom s.r.o. is currently carrying out the entire GSM-R installation of the railway routes Ostrava – st. hr. SR and Přerov – Č. Třebová. In addition to GSM-R technology, this end-to-end solution also includes all infrastructure and planning services as well as an intelligent maintenance system, the “GSM-R Smart Houses”.
InnoTrans 2012: Four days, 2,400 exhibitors from 47 countries
InnoTrans in Berlin is one of the most important international trade fairs for transportation technology. It takes place this year from September 18 to 21, 2012. Kapsch CarrierCom will be represented in hall 6.1, booth 122 and the Czech subsidiary Kapsch CarrierCom s.r.o. in hall 9, booth 215.
Kapsch CarrierCom is a global supplier and independent system integrator of telecommunication solutions for railway operators and providers of access, core and transmission networks. In eight R&D centers in Europe and Asia, Kapsch CarrierCom develops applications and services for next generation networks and innovative OSS / BSS solutions. In addition, Kapsch CarrierCom provides an end-to-end service spectrum, which ranges from consulting, designing, installing and integrating, to maintaining, operating and supporting entire networks.
With 70,000 track-kilometers covered by GSM-R, Kapsch CarrierCom is an internationally recognized specialist and partner for railway operators such as the French railway RFF, the German railway DB and Network Rail in the United Kingdom. In the public operator segment, Kapsch CarrierCom’s customers include service providers such as the companies of the Telekom Austria Group, eircom in Ireland and Chunghwa Telecom in Taiwan. Kapsch CarrierCom is part of the Kapsch Group and has its headquarters in Vienna. For further information: www.kapsch.net and www.kapschcarrier.com