On 19 April 2010, the French Network Operator (RFF), appointed SYSTRA, as head of a consortium including partners BUREAU VERITAS and subcontractors, ALGOE, as the technical expert (OT) in charge of ensuring compliance between designs and construction of the GSM-Rail network installations for a period of 5 years.

The programme of modernisation of the ground-to-train radio communication system was launched by RFF in July 2003, with the aim of :

• replacing the function of the current analogue system which is now becoming obsolete ;
• ensuring interoperation between the European ground train communication networks ;
• acting as a support for applications of the planned ETCS signalling system (European Train Control System).

The RFF project is in line with the decision of a large number of European countries (Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and Belgium) who have already begun setting up GSM-Rail networks.

RFF began implementing its publicly-owned GSM-Rail network, mainly in the east of France. Approximately five hundred radio sites, the transmission network which connects them, the railway telephone network, two switching centres and an integration and testing platform have been set up. By the end of 2009, 2,700 km of track had been equipped and uninterrupted transition at border crossing points with Germany was fully operational.

Against this background, a meeting of the Interministerial Committee for Regional Development and Competition on 14 October 2005 earmarked the GSM-Rail project as a suitable candidate for a partnership contract. So in 2006 RFF launched a consultation to award the GSM-Rail partnership contract, which was signed on 18 February 2010 with SYNERAIL. The contract came into force on 24 March 2010. Commercial launch of the RFF GSM-Rail network is planned within 5 years and involves around 11,400 km of track, which should lead just under 2000 radio sites being set up.

The public-private partnership (PPP) for GSM-Rail is the first of its kind in the field of rail transport, and one of the largest partnership contracts ever in France. To inspect the work and ensure that SYNERAIL properly fulfils its contracts for design and construction of the network, RFF has appointed a third party as technical expert, chosen for its expertise and know-how in the field of telecommunication network supervision.

Based on the joint experience of the SYSTRA – BUREAU VERITAS consortium gained both in France and abroad in the field of rail network implementation, and the skills acquired in telecommunications (including GSM-Rail) and railway operation, the consortium offers four key success factors for its role in providing technical assistance for verification, inspection and audit of the development of the GSM-Rail network :

• An organisation with a well-established, long-standing and active presence across the country,
• An organisational structure which is capable of handling the many different interfaces of the project, which can be seen in the integration of the consortium’s tools and resources,
• A highly-competent organisation, with multidisciplinary skills in telecommunications and rail transport at its disposal,
• An organisation specifically designed to meet the objectives and carry out the processes required for the role of technical expert.

The success of this project will require a wide-range of qualifications, both in-depth knowledge of the sector, for example, GSM-Rail and international systems, design and implementation of telecommunications networks (equipment manufacturers, operators, regulators etc), and functional expertise, such as knowledge of the specific rail context (operation, railway telephony, transmission and ground-to-train communication).