The European ERTMS Coordinator has officially published the Third Work Plan on the progress of European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) implementation across all EU Member States.
The work plan highlights that whilst there has been progress and political commitment to ERTMS deployment; it has thus far been considered to have been uneven and slower than required.
The new plan is the third report on the progress of ERTMS implementation across EU member states
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Data shows that by the end of 2024, the European Train Control System (ETCS) had been deployed on roughly 10% (12,400km) of the TEN-T network and equipped on around 19% of the entire EU railway fleet (8,730 vehicles) – a rate the EU Commission has stated is ‘significantly behind schedule’ and that risks failure to meet the objectives laid out by the TEN-T Regulation.
In order to meet these objectives, the newly-published 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
The full plan can be accessed via the European Commission’s website, here.