By mid-2022, only 14% of Europe’s core network corridors had ETCS equipment installed. This slow deployment represents one of the most significant barriers to achieving railway interoperability across the continent.
UNEVEN PROGRESS ACROSS CORRIDORS
Progress varies dramatically. Europe consists of several critical corridors which define the communication arteries. Rhine-Alpine and Baltic-Adriatic corridors lead with 29% coverage of the ERTMS deployment. Others rate between 7-18%. This uneven rollout means trains operating across Europe still require equipment for multiple signaling systems—defeating much of standardization’s purpose.
NATIONAL RULES REMAIN THE BOTTLENECK
The European Union Agency for Railways identifies two primary obstacles:
- First, ERTMS deployment pace remains inadequate despite being critical infrastructure
- Second, national rules continue creating technical barriers to vehicle authorization and cross-border traffic, adding complexity and cost to every international project
THE COST OF RUNNING PARALLEL SYSTEMS.
National systems compound the problem. Each country’s legacy infrastructure demands specific equipment. A train intended for international service must carry hardware for every national system it encounters, plus ETCS equipment. This redundancy adds weight, increases maintenance, and raises procurement costs.
A PATH FORWARD
The solution requires reducing national rules to absolute necessities. Every country-specific requirement replaceable with standardized ETCS functionality should be eliminated. International test centers support this transition by detecting interoperability issues before systems enter service—saving time and resources while accelerating full ETCS deployment.
