Today, the European ERTMS Coordinator published the Third Work Plan on the status of European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) deployment across EU Member States. While there is progress and renewed political commitment to modernising Europe’s railway infrastructure and rolling stock, the work plan highlights that deployment is uneven and slower than required.
With the European Train Control System (ETCS) deployed on about 10% (12 400 km) of the TEN-T network and equipped on some 19% of the EU railway fleet (8 730 vehicles) by the end of 2024, deployment remains significantly behind schedule and risks failing to meet the objectives of the TEN-T Regulation. ERTMS Coordinator Matthias Ruete emphasises the need to accelerate and achieve industrial scale deployment to meet the objectives set out in the TEN-T Regulation. For this to happen, the third ERTMS Work Plan outlines the following key actions:
• Stronger governance and coordination to ensure a more consistent and timely deployment of ERTMS across Member States, in particular along cross-border sections.
• Sufficient and stable financing to give stakeholders the certainty to make their long-term investment decisions.
• A long-term approach to deployment, moving beyond project-by-project implementation towards coordinated action plans at network level.
• Approaching ERTMS deployment as a strategic system modernisation, integrating technical, operational, and organisational aspects. (....)