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

  • Will interoperability prevent progress?
    January 10, 2014
    David Crawford examines the political and industrial background to the tolling technology debate. Saving the US State of California ‘millions of dollars’ in tolling infrastructure costs by encouraging new technologies is the professed aim of a legislative Bill, SB 242, which is currently moving through the State’s Senate (upper house) process. According to its sponsor, Republican State Senator Mark Wyland, permitting alternatives to the current FasTrak-branded radio-frequency identification (RFID)-based sys
    Read More
  • Reducing detection costs benefits intersection management
    February 3, 2012
    The continuing, favourable performance-versus-cost situation concerning detection and monitoring technologies is driving the proliferation of intelligence across road networks. The effective and safe management of intersections is a focus for network operators and systems manufacturers alike. The most complicated of road environments, and statistically among the least safe, intersections enjoy particular emphasis in longer-term work on cooperative infrastructure solutions. However there are current developm
    Read More
  • Consortium wins Polish ERTMS contract
    December 21, 2012
    Polish infrastructure manager PKP PLK has awarded a consortium of Bombardier (ZWUS) Poland, Thales Poland, and Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) a $US153 million contract for the country's first commercial European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) Level 2 installation. The project covers the 340km line E65 between Gdynia and Warsaw, which also forms the northern section of Pan-European Corridor VI from Gdynia to Katowice and Zilina in Slovakia. Bombardier and Thales will supply the ETCS Level 2 equipment,
    Read More
  • US ITS sector needs strategic leadership
    January 31, 2012
    The US is losing its advantage in the ITS sector because of a lack of strategic leadership, according to a new report from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. Here, Stephen Ezell, one of the report's authors, talks to ITS International about what can be done to remedy the situation. A new report from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), Explaining International IT Leadership: Intelligent Transportation Systems, makes for sobering reading within the US ITS community.
    Read More

Highlighted Content