MEMO/05/235

Brussels, 4 July 2005

The ERTMS in 10 questions

1. Sometimes we talk about the ERTMS and sometimes the ETCS. Are
they one and the same?
The ERTMS (European Rail Traffic Management System) currently features two
basic components:
- GSM-R based on the GSM standard, but using different frequencies belonging
to the railways, along with certain advanced functions. This refers to the radio
system used to exchange information (voice and data) between trackside and
on-board.
- The ETCS (European Train Control System). A train-based computer, the
Eurocab, compares the speed of the train as transmitted from the track with the
maximum permitted speed and slows down the train automatically if the latter is
exceeded.
The ETCS therefore forms an integral part, as it were, of the ERTMS. A third “layer”
relating to traffic management proper is currently still in the demonstration phase on
a North-South corridor of the trans-European network (Rotterdam - Milan) within the
framework of the Europtirail pilot project.

2. How does the ETCS operate?

With ETCS, the track sends information to the train enabling it to calculate
continuously its maximum permitted speed. On lines where there is trackside
signalling (lights and traffic signs allowing the driver to know the permitted speed),
this information can be forwarded by standard beacons (Eurobalises) located along
the track . This is what is known as ETCS level 1.
For ETCS level 2, information can also be forwarded by radio (GSM-R) and it is no
longer necessary to retain trackside signals. This allows substantial savings in
investment and in maintenance. The position of trains is still detected by trackside
systems. Lastly, for ETCS level 3, the train itself sends its rear end location, making
it possible to optimise line capacity and further reduce the trackside equipment.
For all levels, a train-based computer, the Eurocab, compares the speed of the train
with the maximum permitted speed and slows down the train automatically if the
latter is exceeded.

3. How much does the ETCS cost?

The ETCS consists of two modules, one trackside and the other on board. The
trackside module transmits information which enables the on-board computer to
calculate, at any given moment, the maximum permitted speed. The on-board
computer slows down the train automatically if this speed is exceeded.
The cost of the onboard module depends on the type of locomotives or train sets. In
terms of an order of magnitude, this cost would be around €100 000 for new
equipment. Prices vary between €200 000 and €300 000 when existing equipment
has to be adapted. On existing rolling stock the main problem is finding adequate
space to add new antennae on the trains or a new screen in the driver’s cab.
Compatibility studies involving existing systems so as to ensure that one system
does not cause interference to another (questions of electromagnetic compatibility)
are also highly complex.
On the track, everything depends on traffic density and the way in which certain
costs are attributed. Indeed, the fitting of ETCS will often involve the complete
renovation of the line. For this reason the range is rather wide, and estimates vary
between €30 000 and €300 000 per kilometre. An analysis on a line by line basis is
necessary in order to produce exact estimates.
An overview of the most recent calls for tender shows that costs are falling sharply.
The ETCS will allow infrastructure managers to make substantial savings once a
sufficient number of trains are fitted out to enable the old systems, which are very
expensive, particularly in terms of maintenance, to be withdrawn.

4. What would be the financial implications of implementing the ETCS

over the entire trans-European network?
In terms of an order of magnitude purely for information purposes, preliminary
estimates are currently around 400 and 500 million per year for ETCS deployment,
i.e. some 5 billion over the next 10 to 12 years to fit out a significant subassembly of
the trans-European network. The bulk of the costs may be focused on the period
2007-2013. Naturally, the exact outlay will depend on the transition speed and the
technological choices made. One of the European coordinator’s tasks will be to
refine these forecasts.
By way of comparison, in the 15 “old” Member States approximately €13 billion was
invested annually in railway infrastructure (trackside alone) on the trans-European
networks during the period 1996-2001. Signalling accounted for between 5 and 10%
of this investment, i.e. about €1 billion per year.
The figures currently available show that ETCS costs are similar to or a little higher
than those of equivalent systems. The larger the scale on which the system is
deployed the greater will be the fall in costs. Frequently, however, the ETCS will
need to be superimposed upon the existing systems during a transitional period: the
existing system on any given line can only be removed once all the trains have been
fitted out.
The cosignatories to the Memorandum of Understanding undertake to equip lines
and rolling stock in sufficient numbers to ensure that it quickly becomes possible for
trains equipped solely with the ETCS to use large interoperable corridors. The whole
point should be to reap the fruits of the ETCS sooner than would be possible through
a strategy based on the installation of the system only on new lines and rolling stock.
To a large extent, therefore, the cost of implementation will depend on the
deployment strategy. The keener we are to establish the ETCS as the sole system
the sooner we will benefit from the ETCS, particularly in terms of maintenance cost
savings and savings on costs associated with the multiplicity of systems; in addition,
however, the greater will be the need to equip existing lines, locomotives and train
sets with the ETCS system.

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The optimum solution is therefore to be found somewhere between, on the one
hand, the number of lines and trains already equipped with national systems and
needing to be equipped with ETSC and, on the other, the benefits accruing from the
fact of getting a single system sooner. Indeed, one of the aims of the Memorandum
of Understanding is to define, with the help of the European coordinator, precisely
what the optimum strategy should be. The task will be to analyse the situation,
corridor by corridor, and to determine the best possible method and timing for
launching and completing the transition. The studies, to be carried out under the
aegis of the coordinator, will need to identify the costs and benefits for the various
players.

5. What benefits will the ERTMS bring to passengers?

Passengers using the high-speed Thalys train between Paris and Brussels are
unaware of the fact that it has been necessary to install seven signalling systems,
thereby generating additional costs and accentuating the risks of breakdowns.
The increase in the number of systems takes the form, in particular, of the
superimposition of screens in the cabs. Under the traction units it will also be
necessary to install sensors (antennae), normally one per system. Problems
associated with driving ergonomics, electromagnetic compatibility and positioning
also arise in rapid succession. Transitions from one system to another are never
simple. Expensive studies will need to be carried out for each combination of
systems and for each type of train or train set.
The existing situation is therefore incompatible with the burgeoning of international
freight and passenger traffic. Above all, the development of this system forms part of
a development strategy for international rail traffic.
At the same time, GSM-R, inasmuch as it facilitates communications by rail, can also
be used for a wide range of applications affecting passengers, particularly in the field
of information.
As far as safety is concerned, accidents associated with signalling are still,
unfortunately, an all too frequent occurrence in Europe. Individually, these accidents
do not reflect adversely on the more than 20 national speed control systems that
exist today. Usually, moreover, it is precisely on those lines that are not equipped
with such systems that the signalling-related accidents actually occur.
The problem is that these systems, which are developed on a national scale, usually
by a single manufacturer for a single client, are too expensive, especially in terms of
maintenance. The fact that the ETCS is a standard system using mass-produced
components means that costs are falling rapidly. There is every reason to believe
that costs will fall to such an extent that it will gradually become possible for many
lines, even secondary ones, to be fitted with such a system.

6. What will be the role of the Railway Agency vis-à-vis the ERTMS?
The Railway Agency will, in particular, revise the technical interoperability
specifications, which, for example, indicate the exact format of the messages which
have to be exchanged between the track and the train. The Commission will also be
able to ask the agency for assistance in the evaluation, as far as interoperability is
concerned, of projects eligible for Community financial support.
Every two years, the Agency will also carry out a report on the progress achieved in
the field of interoperability. Naturally, this report will serve as the basis for the
adoption of the appropriate initiatives with particular reference, where necessary, to a
review of the deployment plans or funding arrangements.

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As far as safety is concerned, one of the tasks facing the Agency will be to collect the
investigation reports with a view to encouraging exchanges of experience following
accidents and to draw up a report on network safety levels incorporating, where
necessary, proposed measures.

7. What are the benefits that satellite navigation and Galileo will bring
to the ERTMS?
Satellite navigation is destined to revolutionise the rail sector, which has a “structural”
need to know the position of every train and every wagon. This will represent a
fundamental contribution to the management layer of the ERTMS. As regards
signalling (cf. ETCS), the simple fact of knowing for sure, and in real time, the exact
position of each train will enable considerable savings to be made. At present, this
function is fulfilled by using highly expensive trackside equipment.
In particular, at ETCS level 3, which is the most promising level in terms of capacity
gains (minimisation of the distance between trains while at the same time
guaranteeing maximum security) and trackside installation savings (such as track
circuits), the track must be able to identify as accurately as possible, the position of
the train tail. This is a technically complicated matter, and satellite technologies could
help in finding a solution to this question. The Galileo Joint Undertaking is piloting a
number of projects in this area.

8. Where is the ERTMS currently in use?

As already indicated, it should be noted that, apart from the traffic management
component, the ERTMS currently features two basic components: GSM-R and the
ETCS (European Train Control System).
GSM-R can now be deployed very rapidly, and thus, today, more than 100 000
kilometres of line are already equipped, or are being equipped, with GSM-R.
Deployment of the speed control component (ETCS) is slower. Indeed, the existing
signalling equipment has a long service life (generally more than 20 years), a factor
which is not conducive to a strategy based on natural renewal of the equipment.
However, 6 000 kilometres are already equipped or are in the process of being
equipped. Projects are under way in almost all European countries. As far as the
high-speed sector is concerned, particular attention should be drawn to new lines
such as Madrid-Lérida in Spain or Rome-Naples in Italy. Progress is being made not
only throughout the Union but even beyond, inasmuch as our industry has been
awarded contracts to set up ERTMS systems in Korea and Taiwan. China, India and
Japan, among others, have also shown interest in the system.

9. What are the consequences of implementing the ERTMS at

operational level?
Above all, the implementation of the ERTMS provides increased security for train
drivers by ensuring continuous monitoring during train operation. With the ETCS, i.e.
the speed control part, the signalling takes place inside the cabin, which means that
signal handling is easier and safer than with the majority of existing systems where
drivers have to rely solely on trackside signalling. With the ETCS, the driver is aware
at all times of the exact distance he is still allowed to travel. Screen ergonomics has
been developed by a working party which included drivers, and harmonised
operating rules have also been developed.

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These rules have been passed for consultation to both sides of industry and then
validated by the drivers using driving simulators.

10. How will a European coordinator be able to promote the

deployment of the ERTMS?
One of the major assets of the ERTMS is that, eventually, it will provide trains with
just one system enabling them to operate over the entire trans-European network.
Given that it is impossible to change all the national systems overnight, steps must
be taken to define a migration strategy.
However, the ERTMS cannot be deployed in isolation by just one of the actors
involved in the system. Whether the actors in question be a rail company or an
infrastructure manager, no matter how important, those actors will need to
coordinate their deployment strategy with the strategies of other actors in the system.
Indeed, the migration strategies of individual infrastructure managers will be strongly
influenced by those of their neighbours, and the migration strategies of the
infrastructure managers will also be affected by the strategies of their clients, the
railway undertakings. The railway industry, moreover, has a key role to play, notably
in terms of feasibility studies. It will also need to be capable of coping with demand.
The European coordinator will need to ensure that each of the players involved in the
Memorandum of Understanding abides by the ERTMS and interoperability rules. The
coordinator will need to identify, in collaboration with the players, the lines or
corridors to be equipped as a matter of priority and will also need to guarantee the
economic viability of these corridors.
The appointment of the coordinator must be in strict accordance with the rules on
consultation, involving mainly the Member States and Parliament. This process has
been launched and should be concluded presently.

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EU-25: Lines for which commercial use of ETCS is
planned before the end of 2008.
Information updated in May 2005.
EU-25: Percentage of main lines equipped with
GSM-R mid-2005

0%-25%
25%-50%
50%-75%
75%-100%

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EU-25: Percentage of main lines equipped with
GSM-R at the end of 2008

0%-25%
25%-50%
50%-75%
75%-100%