Nokia and Deutsche Bahn (Germany’s national railway company), today announced they have deployed the first commercial 1900 MHz 5G railway network with a 5G SA core.  The new network meets Future Railway Mobile Communication System (FRMCS) requirements by supporting automated, resilient rail operations. The rollout marks a transition away from legacy GSM-R [1.], adding self-healing, failover, real-time monitoring, and low latency to enable smarter stations, infrastructure, and safety-critical applications. Built to support full railway automation, FRMCS integrates advanced technologies like AI and underpins a more competitive, capable and future-ready industry.

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Note 1. Global System for Mobile Communications-Railway (GSM-R) is a digital, cellular telecommunications system designed specifically for railways to provide reliable voice and data services for operations, such as communication between drivers and signalers and for systems like European Train Control System (ETCS). Based on the public GSM standard, it includes railway-specific features like advanced speech services and is known for its secure and dependable performance at high speeds, supporting trains up to 500 km/hr without losing communications.

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​​The new technology is being implemented at DB’s digital railway test field in the Ore Mountains (Erzgebirge, Germany), running on live trains. Key features include built-in failover, self-healing capabilities and real-time monitoring to ensure high availability and efficiency. The solution will also be used for the European FP2-MORANE-2 project, which evolves from earlier FRMCS initiatives to advance the digitalization of rail across Europe.  The contract extends Deutsche Bahn’s ongoing test trials with Nokia’s 5G SA core and 3700 MHz (n78) radio network, while upgrading to a new solution that includes Nokia’s 1900 MHz (n101) 5G radio network equipment from its AirScale portfolio and optimized 5G SA core. Designed for a smooth migration from GSM-R to FRMCS, it delivers the high reliability and low latency needed for modern rails.

DB Test Track in Erzgebirge, Germany. Photo Credit: Copyright Deutsche Bahn

Quotes:

Rainer Fachinger, Head of Telecom Platforms at DB InfraGO, said: “Deutsche Bahn wants to benefit from modern 5G-based telecommunications to upgrade the railway communication infrastructure. Collaborating with technology experts like Nokia is key for DB to bring the latest innovations into our real-world operations. This deployment on test tracks builds on a successful pre-FRMCS 5G trial conducted with Nokia and aims to standardize our private mobile network as a foundation for further pilots and future rollout.”

Rolf Werner, Head of Europe at Nokia, said: “Nokia and DB have been frontrunners in advancing FRMCS. We are proud to deliver the first-ever commercial 5G solution that utilizes the 1900 MHz spectrum band on the rail track. This is a milestone that will unlock key benefits for DB, including automated train operations, smart maintenance, and intelligent infrastructure and stations. We believe this launch will serve as an important benchmark for FRMCS upgrades in rail networks around the world in the coming years.”

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Nokia is also working with ProRail in the Netherlands on the first cloud-native GSM-R core, building a bridge to FRMCS and lowering long-term costs across European rail networks.

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References:

https://www.nokia.com/about-us/news/releases/2025/09/15/nokia-deploys-worlds-first-1900-mhz-5g-radio-network-on-deutsche-bahn-test-track-supporting-frmcs/

Nokia, Deutsche Bahn claim world’s first 5G railway network in n101 band

Multimedia, technical information and related news
Web Page: FRMCS
Product Page: AirScale Radio Access
Product Page: Core Enterprise Solution for Railways
Blog: Laying the tracks for digital railways
Social Media Post: Nokia at EU FP2-MORANE2
Web Page: Deutsche Bahn

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