Overall, about 60 percent of the world’s train-control and traffic-management market is European. Many world-class train-control and traffic-management OEMs (including Alstom, Bombardier, Hitachi Rail STS, Siemens, and Thales) are either European or have the largest share of their global footprint in Europe. The importance of the railway industry to Europe is clear. The challenge is significant, but success is vital to securing the future of the industry-and the European rail network more broadly-for decades to come. We have identified five major shifts that are necessary to accelerate rail digitization, starting with a fundamental shift in the way the industry operates, including new modes of collaboration among network operators, regulatory authorities, and original-equipment manufacturers (OEMs). To overcome these difficulties, and to modernize European train control and traffic management, industry leaders need to acknowledge that digital technologies completely change the rules.
Also, a regulatory environment that is ill equipped for the logic of digital platforms hampers migration to new digital systems. Part of the reason is that effective digitization requires a “big push” transformation rather than a step-by-step approach. For details about ERTMS levels and operation modes, see “Rail: ERTMS-Levels and Modes,” Mobility and Transport, European Commission, April 11, 2020, ec. 1ĮRTMS, which has been under development since the 1980s, is a system of joint standards for the management and interoperation of signaling and is now ready for widespread rollout. The landmark European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) legislation passed in 2000 has led to some improvements in technology, but progress to date has been slow and fraught with setbacks. Some large European railways have multiple different interlocking types, some more than a century old, and tons of obsolete trackside technology that they can no longer maintain due to a lack of the requisite knowledge or spare parts.Īutomated interlocking, train dispatching, and incident handling offer the significant benefits of capacity, efficiency, safety, and sustainability to rail passengers, operators, regulators, and manufacturers.
Despite the strength of European rail, the industry is partly built on antiquated legacy systems that are becoming more difficult-in some cases, nearly impossible-to maintain.
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