The S5LECT project – SatCom and 5G Link, Edge and Cyber securiTy – funded by EUSPA – Horizon Europe – and coordinated by SNCF with partners Railenium, Hitachi Rail, Radiolabs and CEIT, is addressing the utilisation of LEO Satcom, 5G terrestrial networks for the FRMCS – the next generation communication standard technology-independent to replace the legacy GSM-R.
The two-day event (Oct. 22-23, 2025) in San Sebastian, Spain, was an opportunity to share the project’s progress and learn on the satcom and railways plans to discuss the role of satellites in the railway sector, with ERA, ERJU, ADIF, CNES, and SNCF Réseau.
The FRMCS roadmap envisages the use of different technologies including satellite communications and cellular networks that have the advantage to reduce the investments for connecting the trains, avoiding to building dedicated infrastructures. The integration of non-terrestrial connectivity as the new LEO satellite constellations presents a significant opportunity toward enhancing the capabilities and coverage of terrestrial mobile networks.
Furthermore, the Rail community may benefit from the Automotive sector that is already working with the telecom sector. In fact, thanks to the alignment with global standards is now possible to optimizing technical parameters of user terminals, and securing appropriate spectrum, cooperating to realize the vision of space-connected vehicles on the railways and roads that share almost the same requirements. In this respect, Radiolabs is already working with the main Rail and Automotive stakeholders in Italy to maximising these synergies and to make their investments more sustainable.
In the meantime, the S5LECT consortium is paving the way toward hybrid telecom architectures integrating LEO satcom to realise a truly economical and sustainable digitalised and connected rail ecosystem.
