By Henrietta Billings - 17th March 2005
Brussels and EU rail industry leaders have joined forces to develop a rail traffic management system designed to slash costs and increase safety.
On Thursday both sides signed a memorandum agreeing on the wide-scale installation of an on-board information system throughout EU rail networks.
More than 20 different computerised safety systems are currently in use - the high speed thalys train from Paris to Brussels has seven different safety systems installed - and the European Commission and rail companies want to streamline the system.
"The European Rail Traffic Management System (ERMTS) is a major industrial project being implemented by Europe, a project which will serve to make rail transport safer and more competitive,” said EU rail chief Jacques Barrot.
"We cannot create a European rail system without an overarching instrument to link the national rail systems together."
The system works by transmitting information from the ground to the train via an on-board computer calculates the maximum authorised speed and automatically slows down the train if necessary.
The use of ERTMS will enable trains travelling across Europe to carry a single EU wide system - rather than one of the 20 different ones currently in use.
The system, that will run primarily on trans-European networks - is expected to take 10 - 12 years to phase in.
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