ERTMS – ON TRACK FOR SUCCESS PART 3: ERTMS 3


responsible for the specification, and in spite of the high number of requirements, the specification is not yet complete. In March 2011, ERA held a seminar where it summarised the situation and necessary work needed to finalise the specifications. A conclusion is that having a vehicle fitted with fully approved ERTMS onboard equipment will not make it possible to operate on any line equipped with the same version of ERTMS trackside equipment. It will still be necessary to approve every vehicle specifically to each line with ERTMS it will operate on2


. The requirement for full


interoperability can therefore not be met without further development of the standard. The Scandinavian countries are basically


following the vehicle strategy for ERTMS deployment. This means the vehicles shall be equipped for handling both ERTMS and old legacy systems. The key issue is installation of ERTMS equipment onboard together with the different national STMs. It is also a complex task as each STM corresponds to a national legacy signalling system. An independent STM fulfilling TSI requirements is extremely important for getting a supplier market for onboard equipment. If the STMs are not available, only suppliers who themselves have developed STM


functions integrated in their own ERTMS equipment can be selected. Normally it is only the traditional equipment supplier in a country that has the skills and resources to do such development tasks, a situation contradicting the purpose with ERTMS. So far none of the Scandinavian countries


have an independent STM available for the market. In Sweden, Trafikverket have ordered an independent STM, but the project has been delayed in several steps. Present plans are delivery of the first units for installations at the beginning of 2012. Norway and Sweden have a joint venture regarding STMs and the same technical unit will be used for the Norwegian STM. Denmark is also developing a Danish STM but it is still unclear when it will be on the market for the operators. When STMs for the different countries are


available it will be possible for the operators to start modifying their vehicles. Experience from complex technical development is that sufficient time for testing and approvals must be allocated. A typical time schedule for modification of a fleet is taking the first vehicle as pilot installation. Design, installation and approval for the first vehicle will take at least six months. After that, a test period of a full year is


necessary, especially in the Scandinavian climate with harsh winter conditions. Serial installation can only start after the system has been proven and is reliable. Limiting the number of vehicles out of traffic simultaneously then gives approximately three and a half years for the complete conversion of a fleet. For the infrastructure holder there is a major


challenge in converting an existing line from legacy system to ERTMS without having the two systems running parallel along the track. Basically, the whole northern part of Corridor B has intensive traffic where both passengers and freight customers depend on regular services. The traffic is so intense that the parts of the corridor only can be closed for a day or two in connection to major holidays. So far, none of the infrastructure holders have presented a plan for how this conversion shall be made while continuing to give service to rail customers.


Administrative challenges The process for approving vehicles equipped with ERTMS starts to find its form. However, it is both time consuming and costly. The requirements for ERTMS are set in the TSI and are the same in all member states. This makes it possible to have cross acceptance between the


ERTMSCamCorder


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Contact us to organize a demonstration on your premises Scandinavia


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