Skip to main content

Tyne and Wear Metro opts for Kapsch digital radio network

Having expanded its activities to the public transport sector, Kapsch CarrierCom’s public transport business unit has been successful in winning a US$13 million contract to implement a digital radio network based on the TETRA standard for Nexus, the strategic public transport body in the UK’s north-east. Based in Newcastle, Nexus owns and manages the Tyne and Wear Metro, which is used annually by 37 million passengers. The new digital radio system will be installed on the Metro’s fleet of 90 trains, repl
June 23, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
Having expanded its activities to the public transport sector, 81 Kapsch CarrierCom’s public transport business unit has been successful in winning a US$13 million contract to implement a digital radio network based on the TETRA standard for 2105 Nexus, the strategic public transport body in the UK’s north-east.

Based in Newcastle, Nexus owns and manages the Tyne and Wear Metro, which is used annually by 37 million passengers. The new digital radio system will be installed on the Metro’s fleet of 90 trains, replacing the existing analogue system, contributing to the service’s operation and establishing the basis for Nexus to develop and expand its service offerings.

Kapsch will build the entire TETRA infrastructure; deliver cab radios (the communications devices used in the vehicles) as well as all the terminals for the control centers. The new communications system will provide full coverage of the network in the entire Nexus area of operation and will also provide a significantly better performance than the existing analogue system.

The project forms part of the US$662 million Metro all change modernisation programme, an 11 year programme of modernisation work on the Tyne and Wear Metro, funded by the UK Government.

"The Nexus contract is the largest of its kind so far in the public transport business unit, a field that we have entered only recently. It demonstrates quite remarkably that our strategy of applying our experience in planning, building, and operating communications solutions to public transport operations was exactly the right step to take,” says Kari Kapsch, CEO of Kapsch CarrierCom.

Director of Rail and Infrastructure for Nexus, Raymond Johnstone, said: “The work to replace the radio system on the Tyne and Wear Metro is a highly significant part of our US$662 million modernisation programme. It is vital work that will harness the very latest digital technology to vastly improve Metro’s communication system. The current analogue system is reliable but we will get much better performance from more modern telecommunications technology.”

Related Content

  • April 2, 2015
    Kapsch and SNTF joint venture to develop Algerian railways
    Kapsch CarrierCom and the Algerian railways operator SNTF (Société Nationale des Transports Ferroviaires) are to partner in a joint venture in to make the Algerian railway system fit for the future. The Rail-Telecom agreement anticipates a knowledge transfer initiative, the supervision and maintenance of the Algerian railways telecommunication networks, including the nationwide Global System for Mobile Communications - Railway (GSM-R) and Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) fiberglass backbone, and futu
  • March 14, 2012
    Kapsch to implement digital train radio system in Ireland
    The Irish railway operator "Iarnród Éireann - Irish Rail" (IÉ) has awarded the implementation of a digital train radio system for the DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit) region to Kapsch CarrierCom.
  • November 19, 2015
    New London office as Kapsch expands UK operations
    Kapsch has opened a branch office in London to represent its CarrierCom and TrafficCom businesses. The company is a technology supplier to Transport for London’s congestion charging scheme as well as providing Network Rail with GSM-R communications and digital radio communications for the Tyne and Wear Metro. Kapsch TrafficCom is also working with Highways England (and its Dutch equivalent, Rijkswaterstaat) on what it said will be Europe’s most advanced integrated traffic management systems. With the
  • February 8, 2013
    Thales and Kapsch to provide systems for Bulgarian railway
    In a contract worth US$47 million, Thales and Kapsch are to provide Bulgarian railway infrastructure company NRIC with the electronic signalling and telecommunication technology for the Sofia-Plovdiv railway line, part of the International Rail Corridor IV from Dresden to Istanbul. Kapsch CarrierCom will deliver the GSM-R technology for the project, while Thales will deploy electronic interlocking systems for five stations, including outdoor facilities, ETCS (European Train Control System) Level 1 tracksid