ERTMS/ETCS

ERTMS - a unified European railway traffic management system is one of the key activities of the UNIFE Group, of which AŽD is a permanent member, and actively participates in creating standards for the direction of European railways and the development of ETCS for higher safety of European railways.

ERTMS is a key component for the standardization of European railways, leading to higher safety, throughput and efficiency on European lines. Its goal is higher railway automation using modern signalling (ETCS) and transmission technology (GSM-R).

AŽD is one of the world's leading manufacturers who develop and integrate this modern technology. Every year, AŽD invests large resources in the development of state-of-the-art transport technologies and is involved in international research projects together with companies from the UNISIG consortium (www.ertms.net).

We are building a united Europe through a compatible railway, where it will be possible to travel between Paris, Prague and Sofia without technical difficulties thanks to the ERTMS system.

Such a solution is provided by the unified European railway traffic management system ERTMS / ETCS, the development of which has long been intensively worked on by AŽD Praha, which uses its knowledge from more than sixty years of experience in the development and implementation of signalling systems in Central Europe.

ERTMS (unified European railway traffic management system) is a unique system which, in addition to higher safety for passengers and higher traffic speeds, also brings the following benefits:

• Higher throughput on existing lines and the ability to respond to growing traffic requirements - ERTMS as a traffic management system increases track throughput, allowing up to 40% more capacity on existing infrastructure.
• Higher speeds - ERTMS allows a maximum speed of up to 500 km/h.
• Automation - the introduction of ERTMS is the gateway to higher automation systems and full autonomous control.
• Reduced maintenance costs - with ETCS L2 level, line signalling is not required, which significantly reduces maintenance costs.
• Open supplier market - customers will be able to purchase installation equipment anywhere in Europe and all suppliers will be able to bid for any opportunity. Trackside and onboard equipment can be manufactured by any of the six existing ERTMS suppliers, making the supply market more competitive.
• Simplified validation process in Europe and significantly reduced certification costs traditionally associated with the introduction of new systems.