The blockade that paralyzed the German railway network for almost two hours on Tuesday night continues to have repercussions even after passenger traffic has returned to normal. In Berlin, where circulation has now resumed almost everywhere, attention has shifted to the vulnerability of one of the country’s most important infrastructures and, more generally, of the European economic system.
The cause identified by Deutsche Bahn is the scheduled replacement of a component of the GSM-R radio system. An incident that brought back into focus a technology born in the 2G era and destined to remain operational for several more years before the transition to the new generation.
THE TECHNOLOGY ISSUE
For Handelsblatt, simply calling it outdated technology would be “misleading.” GSM-R, which derives from second-generation mobile telephony standards, continues to be considered “reliable” by industry experts. Bernd Sörries, consulted by the economic daily as an expert from the consulting institute WIK Consult, describes it as a “very, very robust” technology: limited in functions, but precisely for this reason capable of guaranteeing “a high level of reliability.”
More than the system’s age, the push for change comes from the need to increase the capacity of the railway network. The introduction of the European Train Control System (ETCS) will indeed require adopting the Future Railway Mobile Communication System, the Frmcs, based on 5G and expected by 2035.
The transition will require extensive intervention on the existing infrastructure. It involves the construction of between 15,000 and 20,000 radio stations and investments worth several billion euros. In the background remains the Huawei issue: the Chinese group is currently an important component of GSM-R, but its involvement in the future network could be limited due to security considerations.
THE LESSON OF THE “SINGLE POINT OF FAILURE”
The Neue Zürcher Zeitung interprets what happened as an almost textbook example of what specialists call a “Single Point of Failure”: a “central system element whose malfunction can compromise everything else.” This is not an unknown vulnerability. Already in 2022, the cutting of some cables caused a disruption in railway communications in northern Germany.
According to the Swiss daily, a technical update should never be able to cause a nationwide blackout. Hence the insistence on the need for redundant systems and “less risk-exposed” update procedures.
The issue, the publication notes, goes beyond Deutsche Bahn and concerns “the protection of critical infrastructures as a whole.” German legislation has been strengthened and imposes stricter controls and more detailed risk analyses. However, one question remains open: how much these checks actually lead to concrete interventions.
THE LONG WAVE ON LOGISTICS
While passengers have now left behind the most acute phase of the disruption, freight transport continues to deal with the consequences of the blackout. The news outlet of the state TV Ard reports that “about half of freight trains have not yet returned to full operational capacity.” Neele Wesseln, president of the Verband Die Güterbahnen association, the German freight rail association representing private operators alternative to Deutsche Bahn, describes the situation as “extremely tense,” because freight trains must recover delays alongside regional and long-distance connections.
Many freight trains run mainly during nighttime hours and were therefore particularly affected by the interruption. According to the association, “it will take several more days to absorb the repercussions on supply chains.” Deutsche Bahn is now being asked to provide “a complete reconstruction of the event and clarifications on the procedures adopted.”
The episode, which could have occurred in other European countries using the same radio standard, has shown how delicate the balance of the continent’s railway networks is. Germany claims a leading role in the future introduction of Frmcs, but the path to the new infrastructure still appears long. And, alongside technical issues, costs, timelines, and strategic implications related to the technologies that will accompany the next phase of railway mobility remain on the table.
