OKMS will be introduced across the UK under Network Rail’s long-term programme aimed at improving the country’s rail system. Credit: Jan Huber on Unsplash.

Network Rail has selected Thales to develop and install a new signalling communications system on the East Coast Main Line.

Before it goes live in 2023, the Online Key Management System (OKMS) system will be tested late next year.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Premium Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Related Company Profiles

View all

If successful, OKMS will be introduced across the UK under the Network Rail’s long-term programme aimed at improving the country’s rail system.

As a data security solution, it will streamline the operation of a modernised rail network.

It will allow secure exchange of important information between trackside equipment and in-cab European Train Control Systems (ETCS) equipment.

ETCS transmits safety critical data, including train positioning between track and train.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

Thales said in a statement: “The new Thales OKMS will build on proven offline key management technology that has been developed by Thales in the UK and Germany and deployed in both Poland and Israel.”

However, this version will feature ‘a greater level of automation’ as it would integrate new online connectivity.

It will also allow the control keys and instructions to be issued efficiently in comparison with the existing networks, which depend on a human interface.

Thales UK ground transportation systems vice-president Andy Bell said: “The online element of this solution is truly innovative, having not yet been implemented elsewhere in the world, meaning Network Rail will be leading the market in the new generation of systems.

“The Thales solution will be developed in both our cyber security development centres in Germany and closer to home in Thales’s worldwide Digital Competence Centre (DCC), located in Manchester in the UK.”

In May, Thales won a contract to provide a train-to-ground broadband data communication solution, along with video surveillance and security systems, for the modernisation of Italy’s Brescia Metro.