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

  • Kapsch backs tolls & traffic management to be part of EU taxonomy
    November 14, 2024
    Firm says they will help meet Net Zero target in European Green Deal
    Read More
  • Developing new detection and monitoring technologies
    November 21, 2012
    Established detection and monitoring technologies continue to evolve, but is it time to challenge their supremacy and take a serious look at less conventional ITS? Andy Graham considers the options with Jason Barnes. For ITS system providers, the most potentially lucrative markets over the next few years are going to be the BRIC (Brazil Russia India and China) group of countries, all of which are building many miles of new roads, applying tolling to existing ones (8,000km in China alone) and implementing w
    Read More
  • WiM checks & balances
    January 11, 2022
    From a legal and safety perspective, making sure your figures are right is a vital element of Weigh in Motion: VanJee, Q-Free, Intercomp and Cross Zlín explain how to achieve this…
    Read More
  • Missouri’s smart solution for rural road monitoring
    July 7, 2017
    David Crawford sees how Missouri is using commercially available information to rapidly improve monitoring and driver information on rural highways. Missouri is a predominantly rural state with the second largest number of farms in the country and agriculture the main occupation in 97 of its 114 counties. US statistics starkly reveal how road accidents in rural areas tend to be more serious than in urban regions and of the 32,000 US motorists killed each year, 54% die on roads in rural areas even though onl
    Read More

Highlighted Content