Global System for Mobile Communications – Railway (GSM-R) is one of the most used radio technologies in railway network for transmitting control information. However, nowadays IP-based technology is quite up-to-date and mature. Since there are many approaches for providing support to IP mobility and adaptable communications, it is important first to measure and understand the performance of IP networks in current railway routes. This paper provides the details of a framework entitled Channel Characterization Tool (CCT), a distributed network performance evaluation framework for the feasibility study of public IP networks in railway network. This paper describes the architecture of CCT, and some results obtained in field testing, as the first step in the validation of the framework. Finally, future research lines and conclusions are drawn.