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Independent reference on the Future Railway Mobile Communication System
FRMCS ATLAS

Organisations & bodies

Who shapes FRMCS?

FRMCS is shaped by the interplay of railway organisations, standardisation bodies, authorities and industry. This directory shows their tasks and contributions — from operational requirements through technical specifications to regulatory requirements.

Editorial status: All entries are under review. The short descriptions rely on the linked official source in each case; the original source is always authoritative. A publication by a body is not automatically legally binding.

27 results

UIC – International Union of Railways

OrganisationRequirementsTechnical standardisation

International Union of Railways. Runs the FRMCS programme, in which railways develop their operational requirements and the railway-specific system specifications for FRMCS.

Mainly publishes: Requirements, System specifications

Official source: uic.org

Sub-bodies

  • ATWG – Architecture & Technology Working Group

    Working group/CommitteeTechnical standardisation

    Working group within the UIC FRMCS programme for system architecture and technological decisions for FRMCS.

    Mainly publishes: System specifications

  • TOBA – Telecom On-Board Architecture Working Group

    Working group/CommitteeTechnical standardisation

    Working group on on-board telecommunications architecture.

    Mainly publishes: Specifications

  • FIS WG – FIS Working Group

    Working group/CommitteeTechnical standardisation

    Working group on functional interface specifications (Functional Interface Specification).

    Mainly publishes: Interface specifications

  • FFFIS WG – FFFIS Working Group

    Working group/CommitteeTechnical standardisation

    Working group on Form-Fit-Functional-Interface specifications.

    Mainly publishes: Interface specifications

  • 3GPP TF – 3GPP Task Force

    Working group/CommitteeTechnical standardisation

    Task force for feeding railway requirements into 3GPP standardization.

    Mainly publishes: Contributions to 3GPP

ETSI – European Telecommunications Standards Institute

OrganisationTechnical standardisationIn review

European standardization organization for telecommunications. Transfers railway-specific FRMCS provisions into European standards and technical specifications.

Mainly publishes: Technical specifications, European standards

Official source: etsi.org

Sub-bodies

  • TC RT – Technical Committee Rail Telecommunications

    Working group/CommitteeTechnical standardisation

    ETSI technical committee for railway telecommunications; responsible for the technical standardization of GSM-R and FRMCS at ETSI.

    Mainly publishes: Technical specifications, Technical reports

3GPP – 3rd Generation Partnership Project

OrganisationTechnical standardisationIn review

Partnership of regional standards organizations that develops mobile communication standards (including 5G). Railway-specific requirements are incorporated into these standards as features; not every 3GPP publication is FRMCS-relevant.

Mainly publishes: Technical specifications, Technical reports

Official source: 3gpp.org

Sub-bodies

  • TSG SA – Technical Specification Group Service and System Aspects

    Working group/CommitteeTechnical standardisationIn review

    3GPP group for services, system architecture and security. Railway-related service and mission-critical requirements are also addressed here.

    Mainly publishes: Technical specifications

    • SA1 – TSG SA Working Group 1 – Services

      Working group/CommitteeTechnical standardisationRequirementsIn review

      Develops service requirements (Stage 1); direct railway-specific work into which railway requirements are fed.

      Mainly publishes: Requirement specifications

    • SA2 – TSG SA Working Group 2 – Architecture

      Working group/CommitteeTechnical standardisationIn review

      System architecture of the mobile network (Stage 2); predominantly underlying mobile standardization.

      Mainly publishes: Architecture specifications

    • SA3 – TSG SA Working Group 3 – Security

      Working group/CommitteeTechnical standardisationIn review

      Security and privacy in the mobile system; underlying standardization, relevant for secure railway communication.

      Mainly publishes: Security specifications

    • SA6 – TSG SA Working Group 6 – Application Enablement and Critical Communication Applications

      Working group/CommitteeTechnical standardisationIn review

      Mission-critical applications (MCX such as MCPTT, MCData, MCVideo); direct basis for FRMCS communication services.

      Mainly publishes: Technical specifications

  • TSG CT – Technical Specification Group Core Network and Terminals

    Working group/CommitteeTechnical standardisationIn review

    3GPP group for core network protocols and terminal interfaces.

    Mainly publishes: Protocol specifications

    • CT1 – TSG CT Working Group 1

      Working group/CommitteeTechnical standardisationIn review

      Protocols between the terminal and the core network (Stage 3), including protocols for mission-critical services.

      Mainly publishes: Protocol specifications

  • TSG RAN – Technical Specification Group Radio Access Networks

    Working group/CommitteeTechnical standardisationIn review

    3GPP group for the radio access network, including 5G New Radio; underlying mobile standardization.

    Mainly publishes: Radio specifications

    • RAN1 – TSG RAN Working Group 1 – Physical Layer

      Working group/CommitteeTechnical standardisationIn review

      Physical layer of the radio interface.

      Mainly publishes: Radio specifications

    • RAN2 – TSG RAN Working Group 2 – Radio Layer 2 and Layer 3

      Working group/CommitteeTechnical standardisationIn review

      Protocols of the radio interface above the physical layer.

      Mainly publishes: Radio specifications

    • RAN3 – TSG RAN Working Group 3 – Architecture and Interfaces

      Working group/CommitteeTechnical standardisationIn review

      Architecture and interfaces of the radio access network.

      Mainly publishes: Interface specifications

    • RAN4 – TSG RAN Working Group 4 – Radio Performance and Protocol Aspects

      Working group/CommitteeTechnical standardisationSpectrumIn review

      Radio and performance requirements, including for frequency bands – also relevant for the railway bands.

      Mainly publishes: Radio requirements

UNISIG

OrganisationIndustry/UsersTechnical standardisationIn review

Industry consortium of signalling manufacturers that contributes to the ETCS/ERTMS specifications – relevant for the interface between ETCS and FRMCS.

Mainly publishes: Specification contributions

Official source: ertms.net

EU-Rail – Europe's Rail Joint Undertaking

Coordination/Validation bodyValidation/DeploymentIn review

European research and innovation programme for rail; coordinates system architecture and deployment, including FRMCS.

Mainly publishes: Programme results, Reports

Official source: rail-research.europa.eu

Sub-bodies

  • System Pillar

    Coordination/Validation bodyValidation/DeploymentTechnical standardisationIn review

    Programme segment for the joint system architecture of the European rail system.

    Mainly publishes: Architecture results

Adjacent railway standardisation

Standardisation bodies with a documented link to railway technology — without responsibility for the FRMCS core specifications.

CENELEC – European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization

OrganisationTechnical standardisationIn review

European standardization organization for electrical engineering; adjacent railway standardization, no responsibility for the FRMCS core specifications.

Mainly publishes: European standards

Official source: cencenelec.eu

Sub-bodies

  • TC 9X – Technical Committee 9X – Electrical and electronic applications for railways

    Working group/CommitteeTechnical standardisationIn review

    Committee for electrical and electronic railway applications, such as safety standards for railway communication.

    Mainly publishes: European standards

IEC – International Electrotechnical Commission

OrganisationTechnical standardisationIn review

International standardization organization for electrical engineering; adjacent railway standardization.

Mainly publishes: International standards

Official source: iec.ch

Sub-bodies

  • TC 9 – Technical Committee 9 – Electrical equipment and systems for railways

    Working group/CommitteeTechnical standardisationIn review

    International committee for electrical equipment and systems for railways.

    Mainly publishes: International standards

Projects such as MORANE-2 or 5GRail are not permanent bodies and are therefore not listed in this directory. FRMCS Atlas is an independent offering and has no official relationship with the organisations named.