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A whole lot of hundreds of rail travellers confronted delays of an hour or extra after the system that permits practice drivers to speak with signallers failed.
It’s the World System for Cellular Communications-Railway (GSM-R). Community Rail says it delivers “digital, safe and reliable communications between drivers and signallers”.
GSM-R was rolled out between 2007 and 2014 at a price of £1.9bn to extend security and cut back prices by changing the patchwork of inefficient legacy programs which had been costly to keep up. It makes use of a mix of normal cellular expertise alongside a customized telecommunication community.
With out GSM-R, drivers might be out of contact with signallers whereas their trains are in deep cuttings and tunnels. Community Rail says GSM-R “improves security for drivers, upkeep groups and passengers” and “eliminates the necessity for drivers to exit the practice within the occasion of an issue”.
“This helps to extend security, cut back delays and enhance efficiency – offering a greater expertise for passengers,” the infrastructure operator says.
A notable function is an enormous pink button which triggers a Railway Emergency Name that may carry all of the trains within the native space to a halt.
In the course of the knife assault on an LNER practice travelling south from Peterborough to London King’s Cross in November 2025, the motive force selected to not activate the Railway Emergency Name.
To have completed so would have halted his practice with an attacker on board in a location with no easy accessibility for the emergency providers.
Andrew Johnson, who served within the Royal Navy for 17 years, as an alternative contacted a signaller and requested an unscheduled cease at Huntingdon station. The attacker was apprehended and injured passengers and crew handled.
A part of the GSM-R system failed in December 2024, affecting practice operators nationwide.
Learn extra: What are your rights in case your practice is cancelled or delayed?
