In 2009, the Commission adopted the ERTMS European Implementation Plan, setting the obligations of member states in developing the ERTMS for the period 2015-2020. Lately, the main interested parties have adopted measures identifying the most severe technical obstacles in accelerating the ERTMS development. In the summer of 2010, the most important railway associations such as CER, EIM, UNIFE and the group of ERTMS users issued a set of joint recommendations in the area.
These recommendations were simplified into three basic concepts, the harmonisation of operations and vehicle authorisation procedures, the standardisation of tender requirements, of the ERTMS products and of the testing procedures, as well as the coordination of investments regarding the implementation, as well as between ERTMS and legacy systems during transition. Operational harmonisation is one of the original priorities for ERTMS rail corridors, along with ERTMS deployment and enhancement of infrastructure capacity. Operational harmonisation is one of the original priorities for ERTMS rail corridors, along with ERTMS deployment and enhancement of infrastructure capacity at the smallest price possible. Operational harmonisation encompasses various important aspects for rail competitiveness such as speeding up border-crossing procedures. Some of these concern safety matters and are not usually corridor specific. “A central element for the functioning of international freight corridors is ERTMS. Track access charges can play an important role in encouraging infrastructure managers and train operators alike to invest in ERTMS equipped trains, a process that would speed up the market uptake significantly and increase the efficiency of freight corridors”, has recently declared Michael Clausecker, UNIFE’s Director General. Discussions with the rail sector and specifically with the industry show that authorisation is a major bottleneck for ERTMS deployment. Specific national requirements remain a problem and contribute to pushing up ERTMS equipment costs, both trackside and onboard. This imposes the need to escape from a vicious circle comprising national-level safety requirements which slow down deployment of ERTMS equipment while increasing costs, tendering requirements, due to which railway companies often obtain (without necessarily being aware of it) equipment with only some of the functionalities specified in the SRS 2.3.0d document as necessary for ERTMS deployment, and subsequently potentially incompatible ERTMS equipment, particularly when it comes from different manufacturers and separate tendering procedures. One-size-fits-all’ ERTMS on-board equipment is thus vital, as without this interoperability is impossible.Full ERTMS interoperability is only possible at the lowest cost when implemented jointly in all countries through which a specific corridor runs. Better coordination between management committees will help to find solutions for European Train Control System implementation on cross-border lines and simplify cross-border operations. This concerns issues such as traction power change or switching control command and signalling systems.“The Community of European Railway and Infrastructure companies (CER) supports in principle the Commission proposal suggesting that trains equipped with the European Train Control System (ETCS) (version 2.3.0d or higher) should benefit from temporary reductions in infrastructure access charges.”
by Elena Ilie
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