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.

Related Content

  • March 14, 2012
    Thales - Balfour Beatty Rail consortium awarded €400 million Danish contract
    Banedanmark, the Danish infrastructure owner, has awarded the Thales - Balfour Beatty Rail consortium, a €400 million contract for the installation of a state-of-the-art European signalling system on nearly 1,200 km of rail lines across Jutland.
  • January 7, 2013
    Rail safety technology launched in Central Minnesota
    New safety technology being installed along some rail lines across the US, including Central Minnesota, aims to prevent deadly train crashes caused by human error. The technology is designed to automatically stop or slow a train to prevent accidents such as a collision with another train or a derailment caused by excessive speed. The changes stem from federal legislation passed in 2008 after a commuter train collided head-on with a freight train in California, killing twenty-five people and injuring 135. An
  • July 24, 2013
    San Diego rail line gets positive train control
    Rail Technology supplier Wabtec is to supply Herzog Technologies to provide with positive train control (PTC) equipment and services for Oceanside, California’s North County Transit District (NCTD) in a deal worth US$9 million. The contract includes an option worth an additional US$5 million. Under the initial contract, Wabtec will provide its interoperable electronic train management system (I-ETMS) equipment and installation for seven locomotives and ten passenger transit cab cars on NCTD's Coaster train,
  • October 17, 2013
    EU grants of almost US$2.2 billion for key TEN-T projects
    The European Commission has selected a total of 172 projects that will benefit from almost US$2.2 billion in EU co-financing from the trans-European transport network (TEN-T) programme for improving transport infrastructure across Europe. Eighty-nine projects selected from the 2012 multi-annual call and 83 from the 2012 annual call will use this financial support to help realise TEN-T network development – ranging from preliminary studies for new projects to top-up grants aimed to aid on-going constructi