Basefarm to host new railway control systems from Bane NOR

(Oslo, 16 December 2019): Bane NOR SF has entered into a contract with Basefarm with a framework of approximately NOK 250 million. The contract entails that the next generation of railway control systems will be operated out of Basefarm’s data centres.

Bane NOR is responsible for the planning, development, administration, operation and maintenance of the national rail network, as well as traffic control and management and development of railway property. A part of this is the new, data-based signal system in Norway. The system replaces the current outdated technology and is based on ERTMS (European Rail Traffic Management System), which is the standard in Europe.

Now it is has become clear that Basefarm will accommodate these systems.

“To us, security is of course of the utmost importance, as well as uptime to ensure that the trains run on time – and this at a competitive price. After a thorough process, the choice was Basefarm who were capable of providing the best solution,” says Sverre Kjenne, EVP of Digitalisation and Technology with Bane NOR.

This is the first time Bane NOR has outsourced the operation of critical systems.

Basefarm has a total of ten data centres domestically and internationally. The company operates in the areas of IT operations and data centre services that are business-critical and critical to society. It is the data centre segment that Bane NOR will be using. The government-owned enterprise will thus co-locate its control systems at Basefarm.

Fewer and fewer businesses are building their own data centres. The requirements to modern data centres often entail investments of hundreds of millions of kroner. It therefore rarely makes sense for individual businesses to establish and operate these themselves. However, through co-location several businesses can benefit from basic investments in physical security, fire extinguishing systems, cooling solutions, electricity grid connections and backup power generators.

Different types of network connectivity and 24-hour staffing are also services that are easier to implement at major data centre locations.

– Being selected is a feather in our cap, says Petter M. Tømmeraas, who is head of the data centre business area domestically and internationally with Basefarm. Basefarm is headquartered in Nydalen, Oslo.

– The selection means that our expert community has won the contract in tough competition with the other major vendors on the market. The contract further raises our profile in the market segment for businesses with extremely high requirements to security and expertise, Tømmeraas says.

In the autumn, both Elhub and the central bank of Norway have also entered into agreements with Basefarm for IT solutions that are critical to society. The contract with Bane NOR contributes to further strengthen the company’s position in this prestigious market segment. The overall value of the contracts is approximately NOK 850 million.