Czech Railways (ČD) will equip up to 663 railway vehicles with the mobile part of the European Train Control System (ETCS) Level 2.
ČD plans to install the mobile part of the ETCS control system on 663 vehicles of 33 different types, such as InterPanter, Pendolino, CityElefant and RegioPanter electric multiple units, the control trailers of non-traction railjet units, as well as other locomotives, multiple units and control trailers.
The estimated value of the contract is CZK 6.6 billion (EUR 245 million), and up to 85% of this amount can be co-financed with European CEF funds. Equipping Czech trains with the mobile part of the ETCS is also in accordance with the national implementation plan for introducing the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS).
Thanks to communication between trackside equipment and a controller in the train cab, this will further enhance safety on Czech railway lines. The new control system makes it possible to stop trains in a timely manner ahead of a stop signal even if the train driver is incapacitated, and to reduce the train speed before taking a diverging track or before a speed reduction on the line, for example before a tight curve requiring a significantly lower speed than that of the previous segment.
“We have already equipped 1,191 vehicles with the GSM-R European communication system and 1,535 vehicles with the TRS national radio communication system. This enables traffic controllers and dispatchers to stop a train during an extraordinary event, even remotely by means of a general stop, and thus contributes significantly to the high degree of safety on the Czech railway network,” says ČD Chairman Pavel Krtek.
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