HUF 27.7 billion EU grant for development of Hungarian railway systems

Global System for Mobile Communications – Railway (GSM-R) will be deployed along a 935 km railway network by the end of 2015, by which development the state owned MÁV (Hungarian State Railways) will join the European Rail Traffic Management System. The Hungarian HQ of the new railway system opened on Tuesday in Budapest, hvg.hu reported.

GSM-R is used for voice communication with the traffic controller, and for data communication between the train and the Radio Block Centre (RBC). This works as follows: when a train passes over a transponder, its exact speed and location are automatically transmitted to the control centre. The control centre then sends back to the train a permission to enter the next track, as well as the allowed maximum speed. This makes trackside signals redundant.

The system is used today throughout Europe, Asia, North-Africa, and Australia, replacing dozens of legacy standards. It guarantees performance at speeds up to 500 km/h, without any communication loss.

The first phase of the construction will be finished by the end of the year, and will be supported with HUF 23.7 billion European Union grant, said Ferenc Agárdi project manager. The new 935 km section of the railway network will be the part of two big European railway corridors.

In the longer term, a second GSM-R tender is proposed for other lines as well. This second phase of the development, which includes GSM-R deployment along a 2500 km railway network, is scheduled to be finished by 2020.

GSM-R is a requirement for joining the European Union-supported unified European Rail Traffic Management System aimed at enhancing the cross-border interoperability of train control, and command systems.

based on the article of hvg.hu
translated by Gábor Hajnal

Photo: mav.hu

Source: hvg.hu