German embedded computer company Kontron is to supply a GSM system for Romanian railways, and has acquired Altimate, a Romanian company for urban and interurban mobility.

The contract with Thales GTS România (www.thalesgroup.com/en/countries/europe/thales-romania) is in the lower double-digit million euro range and involves implementing a GSM-R (Global System for Mobile Communication – Railway) system in Romania.

With this project, rail communications will be expanded. The safety of commercial traffic will increase on the rail lines Lugoj to Timisiora East and Cluj Napoca to Oradea to Episcopia Bihor.

Implementation work has already started, and the planned duration is three years.

“This milestone project will bring lot of benefits to railways and rail passengers in Romania,” said Bernd Eder, CEO at Kontron Transportation. “It shows that GSM-R is still the technology of choice once mission critical networks for railways are deployed these days. While Kontron and the entire industry are starting to look more closely at FRMCS, this is a good demonstration for our comprehensive GSM-R competency.”

Claudiu-Vasile Seicean, CEO of Thales GTS România and president of the Romanian Railways Industry Association, added: “We are happy to contribute to the development of the railways in Romania. With Kontron Transportation we have the right partner on board for the implementation of a state-of-the art railway communication system.”

Kontron (www.kontron.com) has acquired Altimate (www.altimate.ro), a Romanian company for urban and interurban mobility. Altimate generated revenues of €19.6m and an EBITDA of €1.8m in 2022. The purchase price is €11.64m.

Altimate specialises in urban and interurban mobility with over 20 years of expertise offering software for urban traffic control, automated fare collection, tolling and traffic violations. Its portfolio serves users in areas such as airports, maritime ports, public transport and tolling. The company employs 191 people, mainly software engineers.

Altimate operates in Romania with a footprint in Poland and Bulgaria. In 2022, total revenues were about €19.6m at a gross margin of over 50%.

• Richard Neussl has been appointed chief operating officer of Kontron Transportation. He has held management positions in the railway industry for more than four years, most recently as vice president of the CEE-Dach-India region at Kontron Transportation. In 2022 he was appointed co-managing director of this company.

With immediate effect, Neussl is additionally responsible as COO for the entire sales area of Kontron Transportation with customers in more than 25 countries worldwide.