The European Railway Agency has published the second report on the interoperability evolution of railway networks between EU Member States and Norway. The report presents data for 2009 and, where information was available, for 2010 and 2011. Compared to the first report, the second one reveals a significant initiative of Member States as regards the framework established by the Interoperability Directive.
ERA report emphasises the fact that without a common understanding of the authorisation process for railway vehicles, put in place by the revision of the Interoperability Directive, it was likely that implementation of the Directive in the Member States, planned for July 2010, would not achieve its objectives. In mid-2011, five high-speed technical specifications for interoperability (TSIs), eight conventional line technical specifications for interoperability (TSIs) and three transversal TSIs applying both to high-speed lines and to conventional lines were in force.
In order to analyse the evolution in terms of interoperability, ERA report has assessed three main groups of indicators: at the institutional level, legal level and those related to railway subsystems. The faster and large-scale ERTMS development and implementation is an active concern both for the European Union and for the European railway industry.
Therefore, the data of the European Railway Agency reveal that by April 2011, more than 3,300 km of ETCS-equipped railway line were in service and another 5,000 km had been contracted within the borders of the European Union. However, the deployment pace is quite different between Member States. Some countries have already implemented the system or are close to a first ERTMS project achievement, while other countries are without any ERTMS experience yet.
In the period between the end of 2008 and April 2011, the total length of the lines equipped with ERTMS in service increased by 40% reaching 4,179 km. Seven Member States progressed in this period. Spain deployed about 400 ERTMS km, Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Italy and the UK about 200 ERTMS km each. France and the Netherlands equipped between 20 and 25 km of railway line with ERTMS.
In some Member States, specific situations have influenced the ERTMS development. Ireland is located on an island and Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have a 1,520-mm track gauge. However, Lithuania plans to have its first lines equipped with ETCS in 2019-2023. In Latvia and Estonia, the ERTMS development will be initially focused on the Rail Baltica corridor. Finland has announced its intention to equip the network with ETCS in the period 2019-2025.
France and Germany are special cases; by April 2011, ERTMS implementation was only marginal considering the size of their networks and their participation in the development of six ERTMS corridors. However, Germany had already contracted the equipment with ETCS Level 2 for two lines totalling a length of approximately 500 km.
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