en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Czech Railway Administration (Správa železnic) has completed 5G mobile network coverage on key tunnels along the Prague to Brno/Ostrava line, eliminating two long-standing signal dead zones. The project was executed by contractor AŽD with a contract value of CZK 72,925,200 (approximately €3.01 million). Construction began in March 2024, funded by the European Union's Recovery and Resilience Facility. This coverage fills the signal "dead zones" within Prague's Vítkov Tunnel and the Krasíkov Tunnel, providing continuous voice and high-speed data services for passengers on one of the Czech Republic's busiest railway corridors.
The project deployed special radiating cables and fiber optic connections inside the tunnels, with technical hubs installed at each tunnel portal for mobile operators to mount active transmission equipment. Construction was carried out during short nighttime track possession windows, with strict safety measures coordinated with the Czech Railway Administration. Although the total tunnel length has not been publicly disclosed, the infrastructure is configured to support current public 5G services and serves as the physical backbone for the future Railway Mobile Communication System (FRMCS), which will eventually replace the existing GSM-R network. The total project amount of CZK 72,925,200 (€3.01 million) is fully sourced from the Czech National Recovery Plan and supported by the EU's Recovery and Resilience Facility.
In comparable projects, Lao Telecom announced in 2025 that it would build a 4G network along the 414-kilometer China-Laos Railway, with the first phase scheduled for completion by the end of 2026. Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) completed 5G coverage for the 57-kilometer Gotthard Base Tunnel in 2023, reportedly costing approximately CHF 32 million (€33.6 million). Since the Czech project has not officially released tunnel length data, its per-kilometer unit cost cannot be directly compared with the aforementioned projects.
By combining immediate passenger service improvements with future adaptability for FRMCS, the Czech Railway Administration has achieved dual value from a single infrastructure investment—a strategy that can reduce retrofitting costs after GSM-R is phased out across Europe. The project, coordinated through a public-private partnership model via the Mobile Operators Association (APMS), has created a template for the remaining 158 sites along four national corridors, potentially accelerating the national railway digitization plan. The Czech railway signaling market is expected to continue growing, driven by intelligent signaling and AI-powered platforms, while reliable tunnel connectivity is crucial for digital twin and real-time monitoring systems supported by such technologies.
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