Saudi Railway Company Signs 5G Trackside Deal

Swedish mobile equipment supplier Ericsson is to team up with the Saudi Railway Company to deploy 5G tech across the Saudi rail network. In a statement both companies said they aim to “modernise operations, enhance reliability, and strengthen connectivity.”

The initiative forms part of the Transport section of the much-heralded Saudi Vision 2030 project. The aim of the huge investments currently underway is to advance national infrastructure and position the Kingdom as a global innovation and logistics hub.  

Under the terms of a joint Memorandum of Understanding, Ericsson will provide expertise in 5G and Future Railway Mobile Communication Systems (FRMCS) by delivering infrastructure, technology, and support in a bid to boost performance and security in national rail operations.

The technology will be first trialled on one line before, hopefully, extending the network to cover almost the entire rail system of 5,500km. Included in the government’s plan is an option to add a further 2,500km of track. The country has one high-speed track, the 450km long Haramain Line.

Ericsson says that the agreement will cover the deployment of mission-critical 5G networks to ensure reliable communication channels for rail control, signalling, and maintenance activities.

The pair will jointly develop and test FRMCS-based use cases designed to improve operational safety and efficiency. Among these are Gigabit train connectivity for high-speed passenger broadband, real-time video streaming for surveillance and monitoring, and IoT applications to support smart maintenance and predictive analytics.

As part of the collaboration, the two organisations plan to establish a test laboratory or innovation centre dedicated to validating 5G use cases within a railway context. This facility will support the testing of new applications before wider deployment across the network.

Trackside wireless delivery and the increasing use of LEO satellites to boost connectivity will all be fully discussed at this year’s WiFi on Trains Conference, hosted by BWCS in London (www.Traincomms.com ).

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