ETSI publishes technical specifications for Phase 1 of FRMCS

ETSI has now published all technical specifications included in Phase 1 of FRMCS, the future communication system for Europe’s railways.

In a previous interview with Sam Berggren from the Swedish Transport Administration, ITS described FRMCS (Future Railway Mobile Communication System), the upcoming railway communication system. The work is led by the International Union of Railways (UIC), while the technical specifications are developed by market stakeholders within ETSI.

The new system is based on 5G technology and is designed to meet both current and future requirements for railway communications, supporting higher data rates, more advanced functionalities and increased robustness.

What does Phase 1 cover?

Phase 1 forms the first coherent technical foundation for FRMCS and includes specifications that, among other things, describe:

  • Radio characteristics
  • System architecture
  • User Equipment (UE) capabilities
  • Trackside functions and interfaces
  • Train On-Board functions and interfaces
  • Transport and Service Stratum

These specifications enable the development, testing and validation of FRMCS in practice and represent an important step ahead of the next phase of the standardisation work.

Download the specifications

All published technical specifications for Phase 1 of FRMCS are available via the ETSI website.

Download the FRMCS specifications from ETSI.

Further insights to come

ITS has also interviewed Pipsa Hallner from the Swedish Transport Administration about the work on FRMCS and the newly published specifications. The interview provides deeper insight into what Phase 1 means in practice, Sweden’s role in the work and what comes next.

Stay tuned – the article will be published shortly.

Published: 2026-01-13

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