Spain is set to complete its section of the Mediterranean Corridor by 2030, but France is not planning to deploy ETCS on the connecting stretch until 2042, despite ETCS deployment being part of the Core Network requirements.
Since 2018, the Spanish government has tendered over €7 billion to advance the Mediterranean Corridor, with ERTMS implementation already underway between Tarragona and Alicante. However, France is delaying the deployment of the digital and interoperable signalling on its part of this Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) Corridor, putting a hamper on a key connection between France and Spain.
While this delay—pushing deployment on the Montpellier-Béziers-Perpignan section to 2042—was already confirmed by the French in a 2022 report, the recent third work plan of the European ERTMS Coordinator Matthias Ruete put the split in the corridor on the French side in the spotlight again, as reported by Spanish media like El Diario. When the delay was first announced, it wrote that the news was received in Spain as a ‘bucket of cold water’.
Commissioner of the Mediterranean Corridor, the Valencian geographer Josep Vicent Boira just left his post eight years after his appointment. He explained to the paper that while trains can still cross the border, in the medium term a lack of capacity can arise. Especially as the implementation of the international gauge progresses between Tarragona and Castellón first, and from Castellón to Valencia later.
Missing link
The ERTMS deployment map for 2030 shows the gap clearly. While Spain’s corridor will be fully operational with ETCS, the French section will not be. The third ERTMS workplan warns that “close coordination between the deployment of ERTMS and the implementation plans of the nine European Transport Corridors is essential to ensure a smooth cross-border rollout”, but this is not always the case.
ERTMS coordinator Ruete called for stronger governance and coordination, particularly for cross-border sections where misalignment causes bottlenecks and inefficiencies.
The workplan urges EU member states to comply with legal obligations and enter bilateral agreements to facilitate ERTMS deployment on cross-border routes. In the TEN-T regulation, it is stipulated that the core network, which includes the most important connections between major cities and nodes, must be completed by 2030. This’ includes the implementation of ERTMS.
The European Court of Auditors recently also concluded that the 2030 deadline will undoubtely be missed for the completion of the Core Network. The Auditors noted that the European Commission has only once employed its main legal tool to receive explanations for delays. While some new legal tools now exist with the TEN-T revision, the auditors stress that their effectiveness depends on active enforcement.
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