For years now, the European rail industries have been confronted with increased competition from other transport modes, as well as from other suppliers from Asia or Russia. Thus, they have been on constant pressure regarding the development of cost efficient operations. To manage the situation, the European Commission has proposed a new set of measures aimed at reviving rail transport; these measures referred to rail transport interoperability.
One of the problems which still obstructs the development of a single European network and which requires urgent resolution is the lack of an appropriate railway infrastructure which could help improve the competitiveness and the economic profitability of rail transport. Interoperability between different rail systems and network is still deficient.
Special attention has been paid to one element of the entire railway system – signalling, a component of extreme relevance for the quality and safety of rail operations.
For the interoperability of the European conventional rail system, Europe has initiated a process aimed at enabling the direct use of different rail systems in member states, as well as facilitating the single and safe transit of different rail networks. The result consisted in the technical specifications for interoperability, focused on key elements, such as command and control, signalling, telematic applications for rail freight services or noise reduction. INESS (Integrated European Signalling System), a project launched with the support of UIC and UNIFE, is worth mentioning due to the target is claims, that is developing a new generation of interlocking systems, thus ensuring the extension and intensification of the standardisation process. The project development leads towards an industry directly related to infrastructure managers for developing innovative solutions based on a better understanding of operation requirements which have to be supplied to the rail transport system.
The objectives of the INESS project include developing the ERTMS strategies, identifying the flow of the ETCS Level 2 and 3 systems in regards to its functional architecture, as well as proposing a specific model for date interlocking systems and adjacent subsystems. Another objective consists in delivering safety-tested instruments, as well as techniques enabling testing and putting in service of signalling applications. Rail transport specialists believe that the ERTMS is the first step towards developing an efficient international traffic, either cross-border traffic between European countries or between Asia and Europe.
“A key element in the operation of cross-border traffic, either freight or passenger, is the ERTMS. Installing the ERTMS is a process that would significantly increase the pace of market development and the efficiency of international freight corridors”, said Michael Clausecker, Director General UNIFE.
Here are some examples of cross-border traffic performed with the help of the ERTMS. Line Vienna-Budapest was equipped with the ERTMS in 2003, while the links between Belgium and the Netherlands, as well as those between France and Spain are soon to be equipped. In June 2009, a high-speed line equipped with the ERTMS, was launched in Belgium, between Liege and the German border, as a first step towards opening the entire line linking Belgium to Germany. In the future, the number of cross-border connections will increase, once investments will be gradually coordinated with the support of the European Commission.
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