EU-wide Railway at low level status of deployment

Deployment of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS), an EU-wide railway signalling system is proceeding at a very low-level, according to a new report from European Court of Auditors. In assessing if the ERTMS had been proper planned, deployed and managed, the auditors visited Denmark, Germany, Spain, Italy, Poland and the Netherlands and detected a reluctance from infrastructure managers to invest in the necessary equipment due the expense and a lack individual business cases.
October 6, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
Deployment of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS), an EU-wide railway signalling system is proceeding at a very low-level, according to a new report from European Court of Auditors.


In assessing if the ERTMS had been proper planned, deployed and managed, the auditors visited Denmark, Germany, Spain, Italy, Poland and the Netherlands and detected a reluctance from infrastructure managers to invest in the necessary equipment due the expense and a lack individual business cases.   

There is also no overall cost estimate to establish necessary funding and its sources, while the legal obligations introduced did not cover decommissioning of national rail systems. The report also revealed a lack of alignment with deadlines and priorities included within the EU transport policy.

The auditors make a series of recommendations for the EC, the Member States and the 1816 European Union Agency for Railways concerning the assessment of deployment costs; decommissioning of national signalling systems and individual business cases for infrastructure managers and railway undertakings. In addition it identifies the compatibility and stability of the system; the role and resources of the European Union Agency for Railways; alignment of national deployment plans, monitoring and enforcement; improved take-up of EU funds for rail signalling projects; and better targeting of EU funding.

Urban Traffic Control

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Report calls for per-mile road charging scheme in London
    April 30, 2019
    London’s mayor Sadiq Khan has been urged to replace the city’s existing road charge schemes with a single system that charges drivers per mile. Called City Move, the scheme would apply in areas of high demand and poor air quality. Rates would vary by vehicle emissions, local levels of congestion and pollution and availability of public transport alternatives – but would be set before the journey begins. A report by thinktank Centre for London - Green Light: Next Generation of Road User Charging for a Hea
    Read More
  • European single transport ticketing project reports latest results
    April 18, 2016
    The latest developments and results from the four pilot trials being run under the European R&D&i project, MobiWallet, led by Indra, will be presented today at the sixth European Transport Research Arena Conference in Warsaw, Poland. MobiWallet aims to improve transport in Europe by allowing the combined use of public and private transport, as well as additional services to make for better mobility and render transport smarter and more sustainable. In addition to offering integrated payments for all adde
    Read More
  • America fires V2V starting gun
    April 7, 2014
    Leo McCloskey, ITS America’s senior vice president for Technical Programs, talks to Jason Barnes about what the recent NHTSA ruling on light vehicle connectivity means for cooperative infrastructures in North America. In early February the US Department of Transportation’s (USDOT’s) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced it had decided to start taking steps to enable Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communication technology for light vehicles. In so doing, the many safety-related applicati
    Read More
  • Increasing and improving disabled access to public transport
    January 25, 2012
    An overview of European efforts to increase disabled access to public transport, by David Crawford
    Read More

Highlighted Content