The 5G-RACOM Project: 5G for Resilient and Green Rail COMmunications

Abstract The German-French innovation project 5G-RACOM is investigating solutions for the efficient, reliable and sustainable use of the Future Railway Mobile Communication System (FRMCS) and the associated frequency spectrum. FRMCS is foreseen to be the successor to GSM-R and will ensure high-performance and real-time wireless communication between trains and infrastructure based on 5G technologies. FRMCS will deliver the basis for the digitalization and automation of railway operations and is, hence, fundamental to increase rail network capacity. 5G-RACOM has three objectives for a spectrum-efficient, a resilient and a robust FRMCS system design: (1) radio channel modeling studies at 900 MHz and 1900 MHz in different railroad operational scenarios including high-speed lines, tunnels, rural areas, (2) evaluation of the coexistence of GSM-R and FRMCS at 900 MHz and prototype development for technology migration, and (3) solutions for hybrid FRMCS networks in which the private FRMCS network is complemented by public mobile networks, e.g., as a fallback layer or capacity enhancement.