Full Speed Ahead: Rail and mobile communications sector take a step forward towards improved connectivity along the tracks
June 12, 2025
Full Speed Ahead: Rail and mobile communications sector take a step forward towards improved connectivity along the tracks
Initial tests with DB Systemtechnik's advanced TrainLab (aTL) in the predecessor project GINT on the route prepared for this with special radio masts on the Südmecklenburgische Südbahn.
DLR is launching the "Gigabit Innovation Track XT" (GINT XT) research and development project together with mobile communications companies, radio mast operators and network equipment suppliers.
The cross-sector project is developing the basis for high-speed Internet for rail travellers.
For the first time, all four mobile network operators are trialling a joint infrastructure.
Focal points: Rail, Mobile communications, Internet access on the train
GINT XT is Germany’s first project to bring together Deutsche Bahn (DB) and all four national mobile operators: 1&1, Deutsche Telekom, O2 Telefónica and Vodafone. Together with project participants like Vantage Towers as the radio mast operator, Ericsson as the 5G network technology provider, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the infrastructure manager Regio Infra Nord-Ost (RIN), the GINT XT project strives to advance high-speed internet on trains and will conduct field-tests in Germany’s first gigabit test track along a 12-kilometer route in Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania.
The project builds on the success of the previous GINT initiative intending to make uninterrupted gigabit-capable connectivity a reality for rail passengers. With increasing demand for reliable and high-performing internet on the move, GINT XT addresses a critical infrastructure challenge. The joint research and development project, funded by the Federal Ministry for Digitalization and Government Modernization (BMDS), is testing different options of shared mobile infrastructure such as antennas, software, and base stations, supporting gigabit-speed data delivery using 5G technologies.
High-speed Internet on trains must not remain a dream of the future. For a modern country, it must be a matter of course that people can also use the internet on trains to work, stream and make phone calls without any limitations. For this to succeed, complex technical challenges must be overcome. With the 'Gigabit Innovation Track XT' project, the companies involved are doing real pioneering work and showing what can be achieved when joining forces. This is the most important signal for our mission. If everyone pulls together, we can move from planning to implementation!
The research and development project also examines how this shared infrastructure can integrate with the Future Railway Mobile Communication System (FRMCS), the future telecommunication system designed by the international Union of Railways (UIC), which is set to replace the current Global System for Mobile Communications – Railway (GSM-R), based on 2G, by 2035. The compact, modular masts installed along the tracks are designed for dual use. This means it can support both rail operations and public mobile coverage with a design that reduces construction time and enables faster deployment.
Results from the GINT XT test track will help to decide upon the eventual use of FRMCS infrastructure for mobile communication services along the Hamburg–Berlin rail corridor, a designated innovation route for high-speed rail connectivity. A declaration of intent signed in October 2024 between DB, the mobile providers, and the federal government sets the path for a scalable and tech-neutral approach to “5G on the Track.”
Test fields are an essential component of innovation in Germany for researching and trialling technologies. Among other things, we are contributing our experience from the Test Bed Lower Saxony and findings from the KoTAM project to coordinate the test fields for automated mobility in Germany to GINT XT. In this way, we are helping the project to develop the GINT test field into an innovation accelerator for the railway system.
