The Hamburg-Berlin railway line is set to become Germany’s innovative route for mobile communications with gigabit data rates on trains.
Thanks to seamless 5G coverage, rail passengers will be able to make calls and surf the internet in top quality on one of Germany’s most important city connections. Deutsche Bahn (DB), the mobile phone companies 1&1, Deutsche Telekom, O2Telefónica and Vodafone as well as the federal government will sign a declaration of intent for the open-technology testing, development and application of a corresponding ‘5G on the track’ supply concept this afternoon at the German government’s digital summit in Frankfurt/Main.
“Our gigabit strategy aims to enable gigabit bandwidths wherever people live, work and travel. With the MoU, we are setting an equally ambitious gigabit timetable alongside the ambitious schedule for the upcoming general refurbishment of the Hamburg-Berlin line. Through the joint rail and mobile expansion, we are realising considerable synergies and cost savings hand in hand. This will benefit all travellers, who can look forward to high-performance and uninterrupted mobile communications coverage in the future.”
As part of the general refurbishment of the Hamburg-Berlin line between August 2025 and April 2026, DB is using the closure period to set up radio masts for the future rail radio FRMCS (Future Rail Mobile Communication System). FRMCS is based on the latest and most powerful mobile radio technology currently available, 5G. The mobile network operators will examine the extent to which they can offer rail travellers gigabit bandwidths for mobile and data connections in the future by sharing the new radio masts close to the tracks. Due to the technical and economic challenges involved in supplying rail travellers, this can only be achieved through a joint effort by all those involved. The partners involved have agreed on the ambitious goal of joint gigabit coverage on trains in the ‘Memorandum of Understanding’, which is being signed today.
“Rail passengers expect excellent data and mobile connections. Germany's mobile phone companies and DB are therefore joining forces to provide passengers with gigabit data rates. This makes rail travel between the two largest cities in our country even more attractive and contributes to our ‘S3’ refurbishment programme. Our collaboration shows how strong partners are jointly driving forward mobile broadband provision along the railway in our country.”
The 278-kilometre rail link between Hamburg and Berlin is one of the busiest routes in Germany. Up to 230 trains and up to 30,000 passengers travel along it every day. During the upcoming general refurbishment of the line, DB is bundling work on tracks, points and overhead lines, creating more flexibility in operations through additional overtaking options, upgrading several stations and renewing the control and safety technology. No major construction work will then be required for several years. DB is also using the planned line closure of several months to set up the infrastructure for the future rail radio FRMCS. FRMCS will replace the current GSM-R railway radio system throughout Europe by 2035.
The masts and supply containers as well as the power and data lines that will be installed for the FRMCS supply will also be provided by DB to the mobile phone companies after the refurbishment for the open-technology testing and illumination of the route with mobile radio for passengers. This saves construction time, resources and costs. Another prerequisite for an optimal customer experience is that the mobile phone signal reaches the customer on the train. How this can be achieved with masts close to the track is part of the upcoming tests. The train windows play an important role here. The metal coating on the train windows, which protect the carriages from the sun’s rays, impairs mobile phone reception. DB is therefore relying on windows that allow the mobile phone signal to penetrate better into the carriage. These are gradually replacing the previous repeaters, which receive signals via antennas on the carriages and transmit them into the interior.
Together with the railway, the mobile communications companies intend to develop a technically and economically viable mobile communications network and contract concept for equipping the line with active mobile communications technology on this basis. The parties involved and the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport have a common goal: gigabit coverage for passengers on the future innovative route and interference-free interaction with the new railway radio FRMCS.
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