On 5 January, the European Commission adopted a regulation for a new plan to introduce the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS), which, in the long term, seeks to replace the 25 different national signalling systems with a single European system.
This decision was welcomed by Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc, who sees it as another step towards the unification of the European rail network and in this regard referred to the adoption last December of the political pillar in the 4th railway package (see EUROPE 11689). Karel Vinck, European coordinator for the ERTMS, led the consultations and negotiations with the member states and welcomed this development. He explained that all member states had agreed on ERTMS becoming the railway signalling system for Europe.
The European Commission indicated that the aim is to provide more guarantees for railway companies and promote investments so that around 50% of the main railway network corridors are equipped with new mechanisms by 2023. Over the past two years, around €700 million has been allocated for the introduction of the system as part of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). The system deployment plan will subsequently be updated on the basis of any new objectives required in an effort to equip the remaining network between 2024 and 2030. It should be pointed out that the most recent deployment plan goes back to 2009.
The ERTMS plan has existed for around 20 years. It aims to guarantee interoperability and prevent the stalling of trains when they travel from one member state to another, as well as enhance security and reliability of railway transport. According to the Commission, this new system will set out common standards that will help to ensure greater competitiveness amongst railway signalling manufacturers. Another goal involves increasing the general speed of trains. ERTMS authorises speeds of up to 500 km an hour.
So far, several member states have already extended this system throughout their respective networks. This involves Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Italy, Spain and Austria. The member states eligible for cohesion funds have made significant commitments in this regard as well, such as the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. France and Germany are also working on a strategy to speed up migration towards the ERTMS system. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)