GEC Plessey Telecommunications Ltd’s GPT International Ltd has sold a System X telephone exchange to the Russian railway company, Gorky Railways. The buyer will use the switch to digitise its existing telephone network as well as serve residential subscribers in Nizhny Novgorod. The switch has capacity for 8,400 lines. Alexander Miskin, a consultant for Gorky Railways says the new digital channels will also be used for consignment monitoring and GEC Plessey’s switch was chosen partly because of its short recovery time in case of failure. GEC Plessey will also provide specially adapted software, installation and full maintenance and training. Orders for Synchronous Digital Hierarchy transmission equipment, along with fibre optic cabling are expected to follow, enabling Gorky Railways to expand its network further and create the basis for more advanced services. The Russian firm said it is interested in using the ISDN capability of System X.
