“It is an incredibly stable network, with which there are seldom problems and which rarely breaks down,” says Van Kranenburg, of ProRail. According to him, it is also “more robust” than telephony. Sometimes there are “small hiccups“But he has never experienced such a major malfunction before. A new major malfunction is not likely in the short term, Van Kranenburg thinks.
‘Great system’
Norp sees that too. There is actually nothing wrong with the technology behind the GSM-R network, he says. “It is not an unsafe technique, but an excellent system.” Drivers can use it to call traffic control. It is also used to control train traffic. “For example, a train can say: I am now on this part of the track. Then it is clear that no other train is allowed to drive on that part.”
Wijnand Veeneman, public transport expert at TU Delft, calls the system “a bit old-fashioned”. It makes sense that it is outdated. “Mobile phones are outdated after two years, because the technology in that world is updated faster. But we don’t have new trains every two years.”
Camera images
Work is underway on a replacement for the GSM-R network, which can process more data on the basis of 5G. Because calling and sending data works fine with 2G, but sending camera images is not possible with it – and European railway companies want to be able to do that. The new system should be in place by 2030.
Researcher Norp: “GSM-R will not be replaced because it would be unsafe. Compare it to cars. A diesel works well, but we still want to switch to electric cars because we find other things important.”
It is unknown what exactly caused the outage. ProRail expects to provide more information on Tuesday. The rail manager has no indications of a hack. Spokesperson Van Kranenburg has also not heard anything about ransomware, ransomware to hold important files until a ransom is paid.
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