Interoperable Rail Communication System

The chapter heard a presentation about the Interoperable Rail Communication System (GSM-R) from Hans Garstenauer, Nokia Siemens Networks, in March. Historically, Garstenauer pointed out, railways usually are still public-owned transportation enterprises employing country-specific communication and signaling technologies. This has resulted in 35 different railway communication systems in Europe alone. GSM-R was established as the European standard for railways in 1996 for strategic planning of future European high-speed train corridors. GSM-R is based on the worldwide mobile telecommunication standard GSM. The standard was supplemented by railway-specific functions and security add-ons to compose GSM-R, Garstenauer explained. Also at the meeting, the chapter reconfirmed the old board for two more years. Markus J. Reigl, chapter president, noted that although the chapter is competing with other similar interest groups, he is confident the number of individual members and corporate sponsors can be kept stable. The chapter thanked departing board member and founding chapter member Gerd Müller for his faithful service over the last 20 years.

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