České dráhy signed a framework agreement with a consortium made of ČD – Telematika and Kontron Transportation for the supply of and installation of 5G mobile technology in Pendolino, railjet and InterPanter trains.
The installation of the technology in the selected trains should be completed by the end of 2025 and will cost CZK 132 million (EUR 5.2 million) excluding VAT. České dráhy will use funds obtained under the Czech Telecommunications Office subsidy to finance this technological modernisation.
“With this specific project, we are contributing to increasing the comfort of rail passengers, which, in addition to increasing safety, is our other long-term goal in the field of rail transport. Thanks to extensive testing, we have verified in practice that the repeaters will significantly improve the availability of data and voice services on our fastest trains. The technical parameters must be optimised for the conditions of each vehicle to avoid unwanted interference with the external environment. In addition, everything must be approved by the railway authority,” Jan Hobza, Chairman of the Board of Directors of ČD – Telematika, said.
The installation of 5G mobile technology (so-called train repeaters) will take place in all Pendolino and InterPanter units and 6 railjet trains. The supplier will ensure not only the delivery and installation of the system in vehicles, but also the submission of all necessary documents for the approval of the new installation and operation of such equipped vehicles to the railway authority.
The railjet trains will be the first to benefit from the installation of the digital system and ČD expects that the new technology will be installed on 200 railcars in the future.
“The solution of Kontron Transportation is purely European. We have a development centre for this technology in Switzerland. Our technology is already used by most neighboring countries, especially Deutsche Bahn in Germany, ÖBB in Austria and PKP Intercity in Poland,” Petr Vítek, CEO of Kontron Transportation, said.
A train repeater is a technical device capable of transmitting the signal of mobile operators to the train, or individual wagons, and possibly amplifying the output power of the signal. This eliminates the signal attenuation caused by the car body.
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