Birds Scared by the Sound of Bowstrings! Even China Is Now Involved: Germany's Rail Chaos Reignites Debate Over Banning Huawei

On Tuesday, Germany's rail network experienced a nationwide shutdown lasting nearly two hours—unprecedented in history. Now, German politicians are voicing concerns: what if China were to control and attack critical infrastructure? The potential damage would be far greater!

On June 23, Germany’s railways suffered a complete collapse due to a failure in the radio communication system. This incident has once again reignited calls from political circles for banning Chinese products in critical infrastructure.

Roderich Kiesewetter, a member of the CDU, told the Augsburg Newspaper that "a fundamental issue is that Germany heavily relies on components manufactured in China for its critical infrastructure, with numerous Chinese-made parts already installed."

He believes such a move "has long been overdue."

Green Party MP Konstantin von Notz expressed similar views. Speaking to the same publication, he stated, "Many components still used in Deutsche Bahn’s systems come from countries that deliberately monitor and sabotage our critical infrastructure. This situation must change as soon as possible."

What is the GSM-R System?

Germany’s railways experienced an unprecedented major incident this Tuesday. Suddenly, control centers and train drivers lost radio communication, causing the entire rail network to grind to a halt for several hours and leaving thousands of passengers stranded.

Under normal circumstances, complete train service interruptions are extremely rare regardless of weather conditions. Philipp Nagl, Deutsche Bahn’s senior executive, said the malfunction occurred during maintenance work on core components of the GSM-R radio system. What remains puzzling is why there was no backup emergency system, and why it failed to activate. Although the final investigation results have not yet been released, railway leadership has now ruled out the possibility of a cyberattack.

GSM-R stands for "Global System for Mobile Communications – Railway." It is a specialized mobile communication system designed exclusively for railway operations. Developed in Europe during the 1990s, Germany began promoting its widespread use at the beginning of this century.

The system performs multiple functions, including establishing voice connections between train drivers and dispatchers, transmitting instructions and safety signals. Railway companies use this system to inform drivers about faults, while drivers can also issue warnings—for example, when someone is spotted on the tracks.

Under current EU regulations, all trains must ensure the GSM-R system operates properly. However, just a few years ago, trains could still operate even without being connected to this system.

Technically speaking, GSM-R is based on 2G mobile communication technology. But this does not necessarily mean it is outdated. Bernd Sörries, an industry expert, told Handelsblatt: "GSM-R is a very reliable technology." Despite its limited functionality, it can perform tasks with remarkable reliability.

EU Pushes Legislation to Ban Huawei and Others from Mobile Networks

It is reported that Deutsche Bahn plans to upgrade its communication system to FRMCS—the "Future Railway Mobile Communication System"—by 2035. This will be a brand-new system based on 5G technology.

According to Handelsblatt, in southern Germany, the primary network equipment supplier is Finland’s Nokia; in northern Germany, it is China’s Huawei.

At the beginning of this year, the European Commission submitted a bill proposing a ban on using controversial suppliers in networks across EU member states. The proposal is widely seen as targeting Chinese tech companies like Huawei and ZTE.

The background behind EU legislation stems from concerns over sabotage and espionage by third-party countries. The European Commission has repeatedly advised member states, for security reasons, to avoid using Huawei and ZTE technologies in mobile networks. These recommendations will eventually become legally binding. To date, only a very small number of countries have fully excluded these two manufacturers from their 5G mobile networks.

Source: DW

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1869108898654346/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.