Systra has secured a new assignment in the UK to help bring railway telecommunications into a high-performance era, supporting the nationwide rollout of the Future Railway Mobile Communication System (FRMCS) in partnership with the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB).
The initiative, led by Systra UK & Ireland, will provide strategic support to the RSSB—an independent body committed to improving safety, efficiency, and sustainability on Britain’s railways—as the country prepares to replace its legacy GSM-R system with FRMCS, a next-generation telecoms platform designed to meet the future needs of rail operations.
Guiding the transition to FRMCS
Systra’s role will involve developing a set of strategic options and a proposed roadmap to guide the industry through the transition. These materials will then be reviewed by the RSSB and relevant stakeholders, including the Department for Transport, the Office of Rail and Road, Network Rail, London St Pancras Highspeed, train operating companies, and telecoms suppliers.
Drawing on expertise from earlier deployments of FRMCS-like technologies in Australia and continental Europe, the company plans to ensure that UK-specific challenges and stakeholder needs are fully addressed.
International expertise at the core
The project will be delivered through collaboration between Systra UK & Ireland and Systra Australia & New Zealand, supported locally by JF Rail Consulting. The work will also benefit from the company’s wider experience, particularly in France and Denmark.
Key deliverables will include a strategic outline, an industry-facing presentation to frame the transition, and a report detailing the migration strategy for the FRMCS rollout.
Amine Triki, Project Director and Bid Manager at Systra UK & Ireland, highlighted the value of the firm’s international experience in securing the assignment: “The key to our success lies in our ability to mobilise the best of Systra’s international expertise in railway telecommunications systems. This has allowed us to make a difference in winning this contract. This win will position Systra as a leading industrial partner for digital transformations and the digitisation of systems in the UK.”
He added that the win complements Systra’s existing work on the ERTMS migration for the HS1 line, currently underway for London St Pancras Highspeed (formerly HS1 Ltd).
FRMCS is being adopted across Europe as the successor to GSM-R, providing higher capacity, better security, and greater flexibility to accommodate the evolving needs of digital railway operations. Its implementation is central to the future development of rail services, including increased automation and enhanced safety measures.
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