The European Commission has published a new study that aims to analyse the cost drivers affecting trackside deployment of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS), as well as identify measures that could improve deployment efficiency across Europe.
Within the study, research shows that, thus far, 10% of the trans-European rail network has been equipped with ERTMS, and it is estimated that completing deployment will require investments of anywhere between 75–87 billion EUR.
The study itself proposes that the acceleration of ERTMS deployment stands to both reduce costs and shorten project timelines, stating that fragmented deployment practices across Europe are the root cause of high ERTMS deployment costs and complexity.
According to the report, project-specific requirements, often linked to national rules and legacy systems, require suppliers to develop tailor-made solutions, and, with vendor lock-in situations favouring incumbent suppliers, competition is limited. Elsewhere, higher costs are explained by country-specific solutions rather than standardised products based on European specifications, whilst cost drivers may make the ERTMS complex in areas such as engineering, system integration and data configuration.
In order to address these challenges, the report proposes further alignment of the system, as well as the industrialisation of the overall deployment processes. Key recommendations include deploying ERTMS without legacy Class B systems, strengthening project management, increasing the use of modern engineering tools and methods, aligning and simplifying engineering rules, and streamlining authorisation procedures.
The full report is available on the European Commission website, here.
