5G solutions for verticals is a well-defined European objective. This requires developing 5G infrastructures to address a wide range of applications adopting flexible architectures, offering converged services across heterogeneous technology domains with unified software control. However, vertical industries today can only verify use cases in small scales in commercial environments, before investing in large scale deployments. Through ICT-17 projects 5G infrastructures become available to verticals to test their applications, however large-scale trials are still not possible. 5G-VICTORI will conduct large scale trials for advanced vertical use case verification focusing on Transportation, Energy, Media and Factories of the Future and cross-vertical use cases. It leverages 5G network technologies developed in 5G-PPP Phase-1 and Phase-2 projects 5G-XHaul and 5G-PICTURE and exploits extensively existing facilities interconnecting main sites of all ICT-17 infrastructures i.e. 5G-VINNI, 5GENESIS and 5G-EVE and the 5G UK test-bed in a Pan-European Infrastructure. The project will provide enhancements of existing infrastructures towards integration of a large variety of vertical and cross-vertical use cases. 5G-VICTORI’s platform aims to transform current closed, purposely developed and dedicated infrastructures into open environments where resources and functions are exposed to ICT and vertical industries through common vertical and non-vertical specific repositories. These functions can be accessed shared on demand and deployed to compose very diverse set of services in a large variety of ecosystems. 5G-VICTORI’s uniquely strong consortium brings together major players form ICT including operators, equipment vendors academic and research organisation and SMEs as well as main players from vertical industries including nationwide rail and electricity operators, rail technology vendors, media content delivery players and a number of SMEs focusing on advanced vertical services.

The Future Railway Mobile Communication System (FRMCS) will be the 5G worldwide standard for railway operational communications, conforming to European regulation as well as responding to the needs and obligations of rail organisations outside of Europe. The work on functional & technical requirements, specification & standardisation in 3GPP as well as regarding harmonised spectrum solutions is currently led by UIC, in cooperation with the whole railway sector. A major challenge is the update by European Railway Agency of the Technical Specifications for Interoperability of Control Command and Signalling (CCS TSI) by the end of 2022 with a full description of FRMCS with respect to interoperability functions. Therefore, the 5GRAIL project aims to verify the first set of FRMCS specifications and standards (FRMCS V1) by developing and testing prototypes of the FRMCS ecosystem. The validation of the latest available railway-relevant 5G specifications will be achieved through cross-border emulation trials covering significant portions of railway operational communication requirements and including the core technological innovations for rail expected from 5G release 16 and pre-release 17. The project will first define functional tests and then work towards the development and evaluation of prototypes, for both on-board and infrastructure, including vital (ETCS, ATO) and essential (voice specific services, TCMS and video) applications. Prototypes will be then tested in simulated and real environments, with pilots in labs and in the field rolled out in various European sites (France, Hungary and Germany), to ensure compliancy and validation for FRMCS specifications, standards and performance, and consequently guarantee the time to market for FRMCS deployments, planned for 2025 as per European timeline. 5GRAIL will finally deliver test report conclusions to potentially update FRMCS V1 specifications and to identify technical constraints related to implementation issues.

The expected obsolescence of GSM-R and the need to enable digitalisation in train operations has led the European railway sector to set a global plan for the definition of a new radio system, the Future Railway Mobile Communication System (FRMCS), as presented in the EU-Rail System Pillar Report on FRMCS V2 and V3 Scope and Planning (ref. SPG-STG-D-SPG-076-01). A key part of this plan is the delivery by UIC, in the frame of its FRMCS Program, of the FRMCS V3 specifications, also named “FRMCS 1st Edition”, corresponding to the first implementable version of the new system, for their inclusion in a new CCS-TSI in 2027. Starting from the final UIC FRMCS V2 Specifications & V3 target requirements, expected by December 2024 as a result of the ERA EECT process, there will be consequently a need to verify, complete or amend these V2 Specifications & V3 target requirements through a full testing of FRMCS functions and system, leading then to market ready V3 Specifications. This operational testing is precisely the objective of FP2-MORANE-2 (MObile radio for RAilway Networks in Europe). The first step of the testing activities will be achieved in 3 different labs, run by Ericsson, Nokia and Kontron. They will be followed by 5 different field tests, operated on two railway tracks from ADIF, one from DB, one from TRAFIKVERKET and one from PRORAIL. 4 of these lines are conventional, the 5th, in ADIF network, being a high-speed line. The PRORAIL line will welcome a MNO, KPN. The FP2-MORANE-2 project, coordinated by UIC, takes advantage of the participation of 13 European railways, from which 7 will act as associated partners. It regroups the expertise of 13 product manufacturers, all recognised as key players in the FRMCS domain, and finally benefits from the contribution of UNIFE. Conceived as a continuation of all previous FRMCS activities, such as Horizon 2020 5GRAIL prototyping project or EU-Rail R2DATO FRMCS-related work packages, FP2-MORANE-2 will set the way for FRMCS deployments in Europe, as its predecessor MORANE did for GSM-R 20 years ago.

X2Rail-1 addresses the S2R-CFM-IP2-01-2015 “Start-up activities for Advanced Signalling and Automation System” call issued by the Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking as part of the Innovation Programme 2 “Advanced Traffic Management & Control Systems”. The X2Rail-1 project aims to research and develop six selected key technologies to foster innovations in the field of railway signalling and automation systems towards a flexible, real-time, intelligent traffic management and decision support system. The actions to be undertaken in the scope of X2Rail-1 are related to the following specific objectives: To overcome the limitations of the existing communication systems by adapting radio communication systems which establish the backbone for the next generation advanced rail automation systems. To improve the usable track capacity by introducing more Automatic Train Operation (ATO) systems and Moving Block systems. To innovate the signalling architectures towards more decentralized and less cost intensive systems by incorporating Moving Block systems and Smart Wayside Objects. To minimize energy consumption and to improve train punctuality through more extensive use of Automatic Train Operation (ATO) systems. To increase innovation in the field of lab testing by developing architectures for new lab test systems and simulations for control, command and communication systems in order to reduce costs. To ensure security among all connected signalling and control systems by developing new cyber security systems dedicated to railways. To ensure the backward compatibility of ERMTS/ETCS technologies, notwithstanding of the required functional enrichment of the future signalling and control systems.

X2RAIL-5 is the 5th and last proposal of the Shift2Rail members in the IP2 “Advanced Traffic Management & Control Systems” domain and it aims to continue the research and development of key technologies within the following Technology Demonstrators (TDs): • Adaptable communications (TD2.1): The aim is to test into field trials and validate the adaptable communication system demo taking into account specs and guidelines coming from X2Rail-1 & -3. • Moving Block (TD2.3): The objective of the Demo is to define a Moving Block signalling system, which is applicable across all railway market segments. The scope is to refine the results specifications developed in the projects X2Rail-1 & -3, implement a Demo and include the results in material for 2022 CCS TSI. • Fail-Safe Train Positioning (TD2.4): The objective here is to introduce improved fail-safe train positioning function for ERTMS/ETCS through the application of GNSS and other new technologies as well as other on-board existing sensors. Based on the outputs of X2Rail-2 and other previous projects, demos will be tested in lab and on site. • Zero On-Site Testing (TD2.6): the action will finalise the general architecture, the communication model and will as well perform validation in a testing environment in order to complete the work started in X2Rail-1 & -3 to support automated lab test. • Formal Methods (TD2.7): The objective is to build upon work in X2Rail-2 and pivot to a system of systems perspective and to define a demo linked to LINX4RAIL and its successor (S2R-CFM-IPX & CCA-02-2020). • Cyber Security (TD2.11): The objective is to complete and validate the work done during the projects X2Rail-1 & -3 through: - completion and assessment of the demo - validation of the proposed CSIRT/ISAC model - assessing the protection profile approach from X2Rail-3 through an integrated technology demonstrator (TD2.1 & TD2.11) • Integrated Technology Demonstrator: TD2.1, TD2.3 and TD2.5 for passenger and freight rail.