Frequently asked questions

Our headquarters are at Rue des Deux Gares 82/B, 1070 Brussels, Belgium. A short walk from Gare du Midi, a domestic and international rail hub. Our products and services are sold globally.

Yes. The Signalling Company is a Škoda Group Affiliate since 2023, extending the group's extensive portfolio of digital rail products & services to signalling and other application domains.

Our systems are currently in service on 109+ Lineas freight locomotives operating across Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany. We are also supplying ETCS for 34 new-built Škoda 27Ev hybrid trains for RegioJet in the Czech Republic, and have completed a pan-European retrofit viability assessment for Akiem covering 10 countries.
Our Universal ATP Platform (UAP) is being deployed for ETCS and National Class B applications for the Lineas HLD77 ETCS Fleet Retrofit Project and Skoda Transport's new hybrid-power multiple-unit train, the 27Ev, destined for passenger services with RegioJet in the Czech Republic.

RailOS plays a similar role to Apple's iOS in the consumer space. It is a portable industrial real-time-operating-system (RTOS) that, like Apple iOS, supports an ecosystem of digital rail Applications ('Apps'), plug-and-play Devices, and an Open Development Program.

Open RailOS invites third-party software developers to build applications on our certified safe computing platform. Developers can apply for one of two App Development Kits (ADKs): a General ADK for non-safety applications, or a Safe ADK for safety-critical applications.

RailOS separates the safety-critical ETCS application layer from the hardware device layer. When a Baseline is updated we simply update our software, the underlying hardware remains untouched. RailOS was designed for low-cost and software-only adaptation to the ever evolving ETCS standard.

Yes. The Application Developer Kit allows qualified third-party developers to build, test, and certify their own RailOS applications. Learn about Open RailOS

For ETCS and National Class B ATP Applications, RailOS runs on our iEVC, an off-the-shelf SIL4 computer for safety-critical applications. But it can ported to any computer and used for any Digital Rail application, be it on-board or trackside, safety-critical or non-safety critical. That is why we have a Open RailOS Development Program, RailOS can run any Digital Rail application.

RailOS has allowed us to develop software-only STM (Specific Transmission Module) Apps. For reference, an STM is a technology, usually requiring proprietary hardware, that integrates ETCS and National Class B signalling (safety) logic so that trains can run without stopping between sections of track that are equipped with ETCS and sections that use the Class B technology. With a RailOS STM App, there is no need for separate STM hardware, simpifying ETCS-Class B integration and reducing installation, operation and maintenance costs.

ETCS (European Train Control System) is the Control, Command and Signalling (CCS) system that has been standardised as part of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ETMS), now being adopted globally. It represents the most comprehensive and highest safety standard for rail transport, and is being mandated for installation on all new rail vehicles, and vehicle that need to undergo retrofit of their National Class B systems.

Our Class B ATP portfolio covers Belgium (TBL1), France (KVB), Germany, Austria, Romania, Serbia, and Croatia (PZB), and the UK, Poland, Czech Republic, and more via our universal wSTM solution.

Our ETCS application supports Baseline 3 and is available with Baseline 4 including ATO (Automatic Train Operation) as part of an integrated software upgrade. Because RailOS is software-defined, future Baseline updates are delivered as software packages — the onboard hardware remains unchanged.

Yes. Our iEVC safe computer runs ETCS together with national Class B applications such as TBL1+ (Belgium), PZB (Germany, Austria, Romania, Serbia, Croatia), and KVB (France). The iSTM and wSTM apps manage interoperability between systems — no additional hardware required.

The Telecom Box is a railway-hardened telecom gateway that supports GSM-R, 4G/5G, FRMCS, and satellite communications through a single ruggedised unit. It eliminates the need for multiple stand-alone telecom and GPS devices onboard, reducing hardware count, installation time, and lifetime maintenance costs.

Yes — this is one of our core strengths. A single RailOS installation can run ETCS alongside multiple national Class B systems. The Lineas HLD77 project is a working example: 109 locomotives operating across Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany with ETCS and up to three national ATP systems on the same hardware. Adding a new country is a software deployment, not a hardware installation.

RailOS uses standard, off-the-shelf Ethernet-connected devices rather than proprietary hardware. When a device becomes obsolete, it can be replaced with any compatible off-the-shelf alternative without triggering a system replacement or re-certification. The software stays the same — only the device is swapped. This plug-and-play approach protects your investment over the full operational lifetime of the fleet.

TSC can install an ETCS system onboard in as few as 10 days per vehicle. Software updates take under 1 month and automated commissioning takes under 3 hours — significantly faster than traditional retrofit approaches.

Our ETCS Retrofit Viability Assessment analyses the mechanical, electrical, and spatial constraints of your vehicle platform against the requirements of ETCS installation. The assessment covers weight budgets, cab space allocation, power supply integration, and a country-by-country certification roadmap. The Akiem BR189 project is a reference for this service.

Yes. Our first-in-class homologation service covers the complete V-Cycle from concept design to Authorization to Put In Service (APIS). We manage the entire process with the relevant national safety authority. The Škoda 27Ev project is a reference — TSC delivered the first locomotive authorised with a software-defined safety platform.

We offer post-warranty maintenance service packs for up to 10 years or longer. Each pack is configured for the unique operational needs of each client, with options spanning corrective, preventative, and predictive maintenance. Our Digital Journey Replay (DJR) app enables rapid remote troubleshooting of both onboard and trackside signalling issues.