FRMCS | Course
Organized by CIFI | Association of Italian Railway Engineers
20 hours | from November 2nd to 18th, 2026
Live Videoconference and On-Demand. Multilingual Accessibility
Organized by
Organizational Secretariat
Association of Italian Railway Engineers – CIFI
The “FMRCS” Masterclass is organized by the Association of Italian Railway Engineers (CIFI), an institution founded in 1899.
CIFI is one of the oldest and most important technical and professional associations in Italy. Its main objectives are:
- To promote the study of scientific, technical, economic, and legislative issues related to land transport.
- To propose the best solutions to these issues, engaging with public opinion, the Executive and Legislative Powers of the State, public Administrations and private entities.
- To enhance the role of engineers and transport experts and contribute to their cultural advancement.
- To contribute to the improvement of technical culture and the professional training and development of those working in the land transport industry.
The College, which brings together around 2,400 individual members involved in land transport, has always been chaired by eminent figures in the field of transport science and technology. According to the new statute, both engineers as ordinary members and non-engineers as associate members can register as individual members. Additionally, engineering students can register as junior members. The College also includes over 150 industrial and transport companies, several university institutes, Public Companies and departments and engineering orders as collective members
FRMCS – Course Objectives
The course is intended for professionals involved in the design, implementation, operation and regulation of railway communication and signalling systems.
It is particularly suitable for:
- Infrastructure Managers (IM);
- Railway Undertakings (RU);
- Signalling and telecommunications engineers;
- ERTMS and CCS specialists;
- Railway system integrators and suppliers;
- Design, installation and testing engineers;
- Project managers responsible for railway modernisation programmes;
- National Safety Authorities (NSA) and regulatory bodies;
- Railway consultants, researchers and university staff.
No previous knowledge of FRMCS is required. A basic understanding of railway signalling, telecommunications or ERTMS is recommended but not mandatory. The course is designed both for professionals approaching FRMCS for the first time and for engineers wishing to deepen their knowledge of the future European railway communication system
The course is intended for professionals involved in the design, implementation, operation and regulation of railway communication and signalling systems.
It is particularly suitable for:
- Infrastructure Managers (IM);
- Railway Undertakings (RU);
- Signalling and telecommunications engineers;
- ERTMS and CCS specialists;
- Railway system integrators and suppliers;
- Design, installation and testing engineers;
- Project managers responsible for railway modernisation programmes;
- National Safety Authorities (NSA) and regulatory bodies;
- Railway consultants, researchers and university staff.
No previous knowledge of FRMCS is required. A basic understanding of railway signalling, telecommunications or ERTMS is recommended but not mandatory. The course is designed both for professionals approaching FRMCS for the first time and for engineers wishing to deepen their knowledge of the future European railway communication system.
MODULE 1: INTRODUCTION ON RAILWAY DIGITALIZATION
LESSON 1.1 [1 hour] – 2nd November 2026 [2.00 pm – 3.00 pm]
Title: Introduction on railway digitalization
Contents: Overview on Railway Stakeholder needs, their expectations and telecoms needs for their development plans.
Lecturer: Daniele Bozzolo, Chair of the worldwide standardisation Committee IEC TC9 (Electrical equipment and systems for railways)
LESSON 1.2 [1 hour] – 2nd November 2026 [3.00 pm – 4.00 pm]
Title: railway digitalization system applications
Contents: New Telecoms technologies appied in new cutting edge Railway systems solutions for system performance and features improvements.
Lecturer: Daniele Bozzolo, Chair of the worldwide standardisation Committee IEC TC9 (Electrical equipment and systems for railways)
MODULE 2: EVOLUTION OF RAYLWAY TELECOMMUNICATIONS: GSM 2G, GSM-R, AND TRANSITION STRATEGIES
LESSON 2.1 [1 hour] – 2nd November 2026 [4.00 pm – 5.00 pm]
Title: Introduction on TLC in Railway
Contents: Overview of railway telecom evolution, key functions, operational needs, and role in control, safety, and communication.
Lecturer: Mario Spiezio, TLC Coordinator at Comesvil S.p.A.
LESSON 2.2 [1 hour] – 2nd November 2026 [5.00 pm – 6.00 pm]
Title: GSM 2G Technology and System Architecture
Contents: Basic principles of GSM 2G, network components, signal flow, and architectural foundations for railway telecom systems.
Lecturer: Mario Spiezio, TLC Coordinator at Comesvil S.p.A.
LESSON 2.3 [2 hours] – 4th November 2026 [2.00 pm – 4.00 pm]
Title: From GSM-R and MPLS-TP to IP/MPLS, WDM and FRMCS
Contents: Description of MPLS-TP and MPLS/IP Networks, description of the Transport Network for GSM-R Systems and Its Evolution Towards FRMCS.
Lecturer: Mario Spiezio, TLC Coordinator at Comesvil S.p.A.
LESSON 2.4 [1 hour] – 4th November 2026 [4.00 pm – 5.00 pm]
Title: GSM for Railway Applications GSM-R
Contents: Adaptation of GSM for railways, key features of GSM-R, integration with ETCS, and operational use cases.
Lecturer: Mario Spiezio, TLC Coordinator at Comesvil S.p.A.
LESSON 2.5 [1 hour] – 4th November 2026 [5.00 pm – 6.00 pm]
Title: GSM Obsolescence and Replacement
Contents: Challenges of GSM-R obsolescence, migration needs, regulatory context, and transition path towards FRMCS deployment.
Lecturer: Mario Spiezio, TLC Coordinator at Comesvil S.p.A.
MODULE 3: DESIGNING THE FUTURE: FRMCS 5G, SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE AND VERIFIED REQUIREMENTS
LESSON 3.1 [2 hours] – 9th November 2026 [2.00 pm – 4.00 pm]
Title: FRMCS 5G Technology, System Architecture, Specifications, Performances
Contents: Overview of FRMCS 5G architecture, technical specifications, system components, performance requirements, and comparison with GSM-R limitations
Lecturer: Emanuele Di Liberto,
LESSON 3.2 [2 hours] – 9th November 2026 [4.00 pm – 6.00 pm]
Title: FRMCS V2 and V3 System Requirement Preparation and Testing (Morane 2)
Contents: Analysis of FRMCS V2/V3 specifications, system requirement definitions, test cases, validation activities and results from MORANE 2 project
Lecturer: Emanuele Di Liberto,
MODULE 4: FRMCS: STANDARDS AND SYSTEM SOLUTIONS
LESSON 4.1 [1 hour] – 11th November 2026 [2.00 pm – 3.00 pm]
Title: Enabling tecnology for new Railway System Solutions
Contents: New Railway solutions enabled by FRMCS include: Internet of Things (IoT), Prognostic and Health Management (PHM), Cloud Computing, Internet of Trains, Passenger Services and others.
Lecturer: Daniele Bozzolo, Chair of the worldwide standardisation Committee IEC TC9 (Electrical equipment and systems for railways)
LESSON 4.2 [1 hour] –11th November 2026 [3.00 pm – 4.00 pm]
Title: FRMCS ETSI and Applicable Standards or under preparation
Contents: Overview of ETSI FRMCS standardization, 3GPP and UIC cooperation, MCX services, interfaces, interworking specs and future developments
Lecturer: Alessandro De Rienzo,
MODULE 5: FRMCS FINAL STEPS: FROM DESIGN AND IMPEMENTATION TO DEPLOYMENT STRATEGY
LESSON 5.1 [2 hours] – 11th November 2026 [4.00 pm – 6.00 pm]
Title: FRMCS Design, Installation, Testing and Commissioning
Contents: System design principles, radio planning, network architecture, site engineering, interface configuration for FRMCS deployment readiness, Deployment strategies, integration with legacy systems, commissioning, verification steps, and on-site tests for FRMCS implementation in real scenarios
Lecturer: Massimiliano Rizzato,
LESSON 5.2 [1 hour] – 18th November 2026 [2.00 pm – 3.00 pm]
Title: FRMCS Deployment Plan – part 1
Contents: National and European deployment plans, pilot lines, migration strategy from GSM-R, project phasing, critical milestones, and funding opportunities.
Lecturer: Massimiliano Rizzato,
LESSON 5.3 [1 hour] – 18th November 2026 [3.00 pm – 4.00 pm]
Title: FRMCS Deployment Plan – part 2
Contents: National and European deployment plans, pilot lines, migration strategy from GSM-R, project phasing, critical milestones, and funding opportunities.
Lecturer: Alessandro De Rienzo,
MODULE 6: FUTURE FRMCS ASPECTS AND EVOLUTION OF MOBILE BACKHAUL
LESSON 6.1 [1 hour] – 18th November 2026 [4.00 pm – 5.00 pm]
Title: FRMCS Evolution Directions
Contents: Integration of Wi-Fi and Satellite, Wi-Fi Generations and Use Cases, Integrated Sensing and Communications (ISAC).
Lecturer: Paolo Volpato,
LESSON 6.2 [1 hour] – 18th November 2026 [5.00 pm – 6.00 pm]
Title: Evolution of Mobile Backhaul
Contents: Analysis of the Currently Backhaul Technologies (SDH, IP/MPLS), Introduction to Segment Routing (SR), SR Deployment Strategies.
Lecturer: Paolo Volpato,
FINAL EXAM
Final Exam – [1 hour] – 18th November 2026 [6.00 pm – 7.00 pm]
The Final Exam is not mandatory
Each participant will receive a Certificate of Attendance if attending at least 90% of training hours. Attending may be in direct or on-demand.
Participants who take the final exam will receive a Certificate of Completion if the rate of correct answers is 70% or higher.
webinar from your PC (only in English)
or DOWNLOAD APP ABLIOAUDIENCE
AND LISTEN IN YOUR LANGUAGE FROM PHONE
Instructions
EVENT CODE – being defined
Course purchase options
Live Videoconference and On-Demand
In other languages (with simultaneous translation by interpreters)
€2300*
20 hours of lessons
Training material
Lesson translated into your language
Access to recorded lessons for one year after the end
Optional Final on-line exam
Certificate of attendance (without participating in the final exam) or certificate of participation (with participating in the final exam)
Video course available for 12 months
In English or Italian
€1800*
20 hours of lessons
Training material
Access to recorded lessons for one year after the end
Optional final online exam
Certificate of attendance (without participating in the final exam) or certificate of participation (with participating in the final exam)
Video course available for 12 months
* prices excluding VAT.
Simultaneous interpretation in languages other than English or Italian is available subject to a minimum of 5 participants requesting the same language.
Companies & Jobs
Professions, projects and companies
TRAINING COURSES
Grow your railway CV
Legislation, Books & Magazines
CIFI is the main railway publisher in Italy
Sign-up form
Print the following form, fill it out, and send it together with the payment receipt to segreteria@cifiservizi.it
for more information, please read the course program or write to
FRMCS
Complete course program
The program, course objectives, sign-up form and other information are included in the following document
