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Questionnaire to sector on FRMCS Deployment topics and Upcoming Webinar

Since the start of 2025, the EU-RAIL FRMCS Deployment Group has been actively advancing its work across several working groups.

Working Group 1 is focusing on the analyses of National Investment Plans and cross-border and MNO issues.

In parallel, Working Group 2 is analysing cost drivers and has started a collaboration with the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) to investigate how the authorisation process can be optimised.

Working Group 3 initiated the development of a questionnaire which aims to gather input from key sector stakeholders (including Infrastructure Managers, Railway Undertakings and Lessors, providers, and authorisation bodies) on various aspects of FRMCS deployment. Subgroup 1 and 2 have enriched the questionnaire’s content through several weeks of collaborative work.

The first edition of the questionnaire, to be distributed by major organisations (AERRL, CER, EIM, ERA, UNIFE) to their members, aims to collect a broad range of perspectives, increase awareness on FRMCS deployment topics and evaluate stakeholders’ readiness for its deployment. The responses will also support the implementation of Recommendation 6 of ERA FRMCS Technical Opinion released in December 2024 (advice on deployment aspects).

To provide further clarification, a webinar will be held on 9 July from 9:00 AM to 10:30 AM (CET) An official invitation will be sent shortly.
For more information, please contact Project Sponsor ">Pipsa Hallner, or ">Pascal Desaunay, International Projects Director at SNCF.

The questionnaire process has promoted an exchange of knowledge within the sector, involving experts from infrastructure management, operations, UIC and industry, and it has helped clarify the potential impacts of the upcoming FRMCS specifications on deployment and migration strategies. Stakeholders are encouraged to respond in detail by the submission deadline. While it is understood that some information may not yet be available due to the current development phase, the questionnaire will be repeated regularly to build a full picture over time. A summary report on the findings will be published in September as a key deliverable of the FRMCS Deployment Group.

 

FRMCS Working Group 2: Tackling Financial & Legal Challenges 

In FRMCS deployment, the legal and financial frameworks are crucial ar as crucial as the technical and migration challenges. To address these areas, the 13 members of Working Group 2Financial and Legal” have been engaged in the FRMCS subgroup since December 2024. While the broad scope of the High-Level Deployment Group, ‘Authorisation & Regulatory Framework‘ and ‘Financial Analysis‘ were immediately recognised as key priorities. 

 In 2025, Working Group 2 will focus on two key areas: 

  • Analysing authorisation processes and their cost implications for FRMCS rollout, comparing two timeframes: pre- and post-4th Railway Package. The impact of different authorisation approaches on deployment costs will be assessed. 
  • Providing recommendations for cost reduction, based on cost driver analysis and expert cost estimates, including design-to-cost strategies and fast deployment. These estimates will be applied to the migration scenarios that are to be developed. First results are expected by Autumn 2025.

Join the Deployment Group

The High-Level Deployment Group remains open to sector participation. You are interested in joining the Deployment Group? Please find more details here:

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