EMULRADIO4RAIL · Project

Test Railway Radio Systems in a Lab Instead of on Live Tracks

transportTestedTRL 5

Imagine you need to test whether your train's radio system will keep working when it switches from an old network to 5G — but you can't just shut down a railway line to find out. This project built a lab platform that fakes real-world radio conditions: dead zones, signal overload, interference, even jamming attacks. It covers 6 different wireless technologies from old-school GSM-R all the way to 5G and satellites. Think of it as a flight simulator, but for railway communications — you can stress-test everything without a single train leaving the depot.

By the numbers

Radio access technologies supported (Wi-Fi, GSM-R, LTE, LTE-A, 5G, satellites)

Consortium partners

Countries in consortium (DE, DK, ES, FR, IT)

Total project deliverables

The business problem

What needed solving

Railway operators and equipment manufacturers face an expensive, risky problem: how do you test whether your train communication systems will survive the migration from GSM-R to LTE and 5G without disrupting live rail services? Field testing on active tracks is dangerous, slow, and cannot reproduce rare but critical scenarios like intentional jamming or simultaneous network overload. The industry needs a controlled lab environment that realistically simulates all these wireless conditions before any hardware goes trackside.

The solution

What was built

The project delivered a radio access emulation platform that combines system-in-the-loop and hardware-in-the-loop testing for 6 wireless technologies (Wi-Fi, GSM-R, LTE, LTE-A, 5G, satellites). A key deliverable was the design and implementation of the radio access emulation tool itself, complete with component lists, interconnection diagrams, and a graphical user interface — totaling 11 deliverables across the project.

Audience

Who needs this

Railway signaling equipment manufacturers (Alstom, Siemens Mobility, Thales) testing ETCS/ERTMS radio complianceTelecom operators deploying LTE/5G trackside infrastructure for rail clientsNational railway infrastructure managers (DB Netz, SNCF Réseau, RFI) planning GSM-R sunsetRailway cybersecurity firms testing resilience against intentional radio interferenceTest and measurement companies building railway-specific validation services

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Railway Signaling & Communications

enterprise

Target: Railway signaling equipment manufacturers (e.g., suppliers of ETCS and ERTMS systems)

If you are a signaling equipment maker dealing with the costly challenge of validating radio performance across multiple wireless standards — this project developed a lab-based emulation platform covering 6 radio technologies (Wi-Fi, GSM-R, LTE, LTE-A, 5G, satellites) that lets you test your hardware against realistic railway interference and degraded conditions without expensive field trials on live track.

Telecom Infrastructure for Transport

mid-size

Target: Telecom operators providing trackside connectivity to rail operators

If you are a telecom provider deploying LTE or 5G coverage along rail corridors and struggling to prove your network can handle handovers, overload, and interference at speed — this project built a system-in-the-loop and hardware-in-the-loop test bench that reproduces those exact scenarios in controlled lab conditions, letting you validate performance before any trackside deployment.

Railway Operations & Safety

enterprise

Target: National railway operators and infrastructure managers planning GSM-R to 5G migration

If you are a railway operator facing the mandatory migration from GSM-R to next-generation networks and worried about service disruptions during the transition — this project delivered a radio access emulation tool with a graphical interface that simulates outages, network overload, and intentional interference, so your engineering team can map risks before committing to a migration path.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to use or license this emulation platform?

The project data does not include pricing or licensing terms. The platform was developed under the Shift2Rail programme by a publicly-funded consortium of 7 partners. Interested companies should contact the coordinator at Université Gustave Eiffel to discuss access, licensing, or collaboration terms.

Can this platform scale to test a full national rail network's communications?

The platform works at IP level, reproducing radio access behaviour as seen by applications — covering throughput, packet loss, jitter, and similar metrics. It combines discrete event simulation (RIVERBED modeler), Open Air Interface, and hardware emulators. Scaling to national-level scenarios would depend on the computational setup, but the modular architecture supports various communication and environment scenarios.

Who owns the intellectual property?

The project was funded under the Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking (Research & Innovation Action) with 7 partners across 5 countries. IP ownership typically follows the Horizon 2020 grant agreement rules, where each partner owns the results it generates. Specific licensing terms should be discussed directly with the consortium.

Does this meet railway regulatory and safety standards?

The platform was specifically designed to support Shift2Rail verification labs and covers degraded modes, outages, and interference scenarios relevant to railway safety certification. It addresses intentional interference (jamming), which is increasingly required in cybersecurity assessments for rail. Formal certification status is not stated in the project data.

How long would integration into our existing test lab take?

The project explicitly mentions providing support to Shift2Rail members for integration of the radio access emulation platform into verification labs. The tool includes a graphical interface for users. Exact integration timelines would depend on your existing lab infrastructure and which of the 6 supported radio technologies you need.

What radio technologies are actually supported?

The platform covers Wi-Fi, GSM-R, LTE, LTE-A, 5G, and satellite communications — all 6 major radio access technologies relevant to current and future railway operations. This range means you can test migration scenarios between legacy and next-generation systems on a single platform.

Consortium

Who built it

The consortium brings together 7 partners from 5 countries (Germany, Denmark, Spain, France, Italy), dominated by research institutions: 3 universities and 3 research organizations with only 1 industry partner (14% industry ratio). The coordinator is Université Gustave Eiffel in France, a major transport research institution. The low industry involvement and zero SME participation suggest this is a research-heavy project — strong on technical depth but may need commercial partners to bring the platform to market. For a business buyer, this means the technology is credible and well-validated by leading European research labs, but you would likely need to negotiate directly with academic institutions rather than a commercial vendor.

UNIVERSITE GUSTAVE EIFFELCoordinator · FR
METRO DE MADRID SAparticipant · ES
EURNEX e. V.participant · DE
CONSORZIO UNIVERSITA INDUSTRIA - LABORATORI DI RADIOCOMUNICAZION Iparticipant · IT
DANMARKS TEKNISKE UNIVERSITETparticipant · DK
UNIVERSITE DE LILLEparticipant · FR
IKERLAN S. COOPparticipant · ES

How to reach the team

Université Gustave Eiffel (France) — a leading French transport research university, formerly IFSTTAR. Contact their telecommunications research department.

Order a report on this consortium See UNIVERSITE GUSTAVE EIFFEL profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want an introduction to the EMULRADIO4RAIL team? SciTransfer can connect you with the right researcher and prepare a tailored briefing on how this platform fits your testing needs.

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