According to the annual report of UNIFE (2013), the ERTMS signalling system is used in 37 countries with over 29,000 km of railway and around 3,000 vehicles equipped with ERTMS (outside Europe).
In Europe, because of the economic crisis and the austerity programmes implemented by authorities, several member states have readjusted transport infrastructure investments causing the delay of cancellation of investments in the deployment of ERTMS. However, in other countries, there is a high level of implementation. Almost all high-speed networks in Italy and Spain are using the system and is currently being implemented on a significant part of the networks in 20 countries, such as Switzerland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium etc.
Despite the significant allocation of EU funds, the implementation on corridors is delaying and delays from a member state are affecting the entire corridor, which also means delays for other countries in obtaining investments benefits, states the Commission Staff Working Document on the state of play of the implementation of the ERTMS Deployment Plan (2014).
The European commitment on ERTMS support is proven by the investments allocated to implement the system. The overall allocation for the railway sector is EUR 23.2 Billion for the current programming period, constituting 6.7% of Structural and Cohesion Funds. This is less than the overall allocation for roads (EUR 40.8 Billion), but more than resources assigned to other transport areas (EUR 16.3 Billion). Investment in TEN-T railways accounts for the biggest share (77%) while rolling stock for TEN-T represents the smallest share (1%). Within the rail allocation, around EUR 1.5 Billion is allocated to ERTMS.
Financing in the current programming period is a problem for interested parties, as it is important to set corresponding mechanisms to facilitate investments that would permit the use of public and private funds for implementing ERTMS. In this context, there are several instruments in the EU budget that could financially contribute to project development.
To that end, the “Connecting Europe” Facility (MCE) can ensure a significant part of financing. “Indeed, part of the EUR 26.25 Billion allocated to TEN-T development through CEF will be used to implement ERTMS by correctly using the combination of grants and financial instruments and by developing the appropriate instruments for attracting public and private investments.
“CEF will contribute to the implementation of ERTMS through grants; the system is part of the 4 horizontal priorities included in the CEF appendix. Railway interoperability, including ERTMS, has been included in the first general objectives of CEF, next to the other objectives and (…) CEF provisions make it clear that ERTMS is a financing priority. The Communication from the Commission “Building the Transport Core Network: Core Network Corridors and Connecting Europe Facility” indicates that the Commission intends to allocate between EUR 800 Million and EUR 1100 Million to support the deployment of ERTMS.
This priority is also confirmed by the high co-funding rates set out for ERTMS in the CEF: for ground equipment, the co-funding rates for projects on the TEN-T Core Network or on the comprehensive network for principal routes of rail freight corridors not included in the Core Network can go up to 50% of the eligible costs. Additionally, the CEF can provide up to 50% for on-board components of ERTMS.
However, “CEF budget will not be sufficient to cover all the investment needs for ERTMS. (…) One of the key elements of the agreed text is therefore the envisaged more systematic use of innovative financial instruments (including Project Bonds) to offer an alternative to the traditional grant funding and plug financing gaps for strategic investments.
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