Skip to main content

EU to fund common train control system

The EU's TEN-T Programme is to provide funding of over US$16 million for the development and installation of the common European Train Control System (ETCS) in Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark and the UK. The new system is expected to improve the interoperability, safety, reliability and capacity on European railways. Seven separate projects aim to contribute to the deployment of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) in the EU and enhance interoperability of European rail services. While increa
April 15, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
The EU's TEN-T Programme is to provide funding of over US$16 million for the development and installation of the common European Train Control System (ETCS) in Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark and the UK. The new system is expected to improve the interoperability, safety, reliability and capacity on European railways.

Seven separate projects aim to contribute to the deployment of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) in the EU and enhance interoperability of European rail services. While increasing the overall capacity of the rail network, the projects are expected to boost freight and passenger traffic safety and improve the timekeeping of trains.

Nearly US$7.4 million of the total amount will go to ETCS deployment in Belgium, where the system will contribute to the national rail fleet upgrade programme.

Luxembourg-based companies will receive over US$3.7 million to equip and upgrade 85 locomotives with ETCS, enabling their operation on ETCS-equipped railway lines in Belgium, The Netherlands and Germany.

The Danish train fleet may become the first in Europe to fully use ETCS , where EU funding of almost US$4.2 million will support the prototyping, installation and testing of ETCS on-board equipment on 52 Danish locomotives currently in use. It is part of the Danish national programme aiming to renew the entire signalling system on the country's rail network by 2021.

The UK will receive UA$798,000 to equip ten TRAXX locomotives with ETCS, allowing their operation in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Italy.

The projects were selected for EU funding with the assistance of external experts under the TEN-T Multi-Annual Call 2013, priority 'European rail traffic management system'. Their implementation will be monitored by INEA, the 1690 European Commission's Innovation and Networks Executive Agency. The projects are to be completed by December 2015.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Thales signs deals with China, Korea, Turkey
    June 15, 2020
    French firm closes three signal control contracts for urban rail systems
  • Network Rail launches digital strategy to improve travel experience
    May 14, 2018
    Network Rail will carry out a digital railway strategy to help ensure that all new UK trains and signalling are digital or digital ready from 2019. The upgrade is aimed at improving the speed, punctuality and safety of the service. New digital rail technology will be utilised with the intention of allowing trains to run closer together and provide more frequent services. In addition, passengers are expected to be provided with improved mobile and WiFi connectivity. Train drivers will receive real-time
  • IBTTA summit hits right notes in Salzburg
    December 5, 2018
    In the birthplace of Mozart, Colin Sowman found that delegates at the IBTTA’s inaugural World Tolling Summit were playing a variety of interesting tunes The first World Tolling Summit took place in Salzburg, Austria this autumn. Created and organised by the International Bridge Tolling and Turnpike Association (IBTTA), the event was supported by its European counterpart Asecap and hosted by Austria’s tolling authority, Asfinag. The transfer of views, experience and practice both ways across the Atl
  • FOTsis targets ‘socially inclusive’ cooperative ITS
    December 5, 2013
    The FOTsis project addresses the imbalances between the vehicular and infrastructure sides of cooperative ITS infrastructures and looks to ensure road operators can help to enrich future technology applications. By Jason Barnes. Several developments have conspired to push the vehicular side of cooperative infrastructures/cooperative ITS to the fore in recent years. The automotive industry’s rather shorter product development and lifecycles combined with economic slowdown in many regions gave rise to the not