networks

Unexplained GSM-R failure at Deutsche Bahn caused confusion and delay

Train services are resuming across Germany this morning, after rail operator Deutsche Bahn (DB) last night shut down operations after its wireless network failed.

At 10:30 PM local time on Tuesday night, DB advised that its GSM-R network was down, meaning all trains had to be held at stations. We understand that even suburban trains ground to a halt.

GSM-R is a version of the 2G GSM standard tuned to the needs of rail operators, who use it to power private networks that carry information necessary to keep their services rolling. The tech is considered obsolete and DB knows it because the company has already signed with Nokia for a 5G replacement that will use the Future Railway Mobile Communication System (FRMCS) – a move also under consideration in the UK.

For now, however, DB needs its GSM-R to connect drivers with signalling services – so three minutes after midnight on Wednesday morning the carrier promised to issue taxi and hotel vouchers to passengers.

At that time, DB also said it had found the cause of the outage and was working to fix it. The company’s techies moved quickly as the network came back online at 00:50.

As of 6:30 AM, however, DB warned “some isolated disruptions may still occur” and advised passengers they’ll need to check that their connections will run on time.

There’s no indication the incident was the result of a cyberattack and The Register can find no reference to cut cables or other physical layer incidents that could have caused a nationwide outage.

Whatever went wrong isn’t a good look as any network powering critical infrastructure is supposed to have layers of redundancy to ensure resilience.

At least the org made heroes of its tech team.

"Our IT experts worked tirelessly to resolve the issue – successfully,” reads a company statement. ®