ETCS - Articles and news items

Some developments on the UK Network

Issue 4 2005, Past issues / 3 November 2005 /

These are exciting times for the UK rail network and for its infrastructure manager, Network Rail and the next five years will lay the foundation for the next 50.

After nearly five years of hard work, train performance has been re-established at levels good enough to see real growth in patronage once again. Major projects, such as the rebuilding and upgrading of the West Coast Main Line and the construction of the high speed line from London to Eurotunnel, are nearing completion. Other major projects now underway, such as the building of a complete new telecoms network, are creating the backbone of tomorrow’s railway. At the same time, Network Rail has organised itself and is now transforming its processes. Being one of the first of the new European infrastructure managers, and in a complex political climate too, has made for a difficult and testing time since 1994, as has been extensively reported on elsewhere. Network Rail has approached its task of rebuilding Britain’s railways with commitment and tenacity coupled with forging open honest relationships with its stakeholders and customers. Some aspects of Network Rail’s activities are outlined here for the information of those networks now embarking on vertical separation. (more…)

The railway of the third millennium

Issue 4 2005, Past issues / 3 November 2005 /

The Euro is not sufficient to unite Europe: an international railways system is needed to sweep away the borders between the different States by overcoming technological barriers and to compete with air, inland-water and road transport. (more…)

Braking performance determination

Issue 2 2005, Past issues / 31 May 2005 /

During their historical development, the railways in Europe have adopted their own technical standards and operating rules according to national requirements. As a result, the European railways use different train control systems (INDUSI, KVB, LZB, TVM, ATB etc.) and have different warning distances (400m to 6,000m). This situation constitutes a serious obstacle for interoperable high speed and conventional trains. To overcome this obstacle, the ERTMS/ETCS standard European train control system was developed.

The ‘Specifications for the braking deceleration of trains for ETCS/ERTMS’ Project aims to ensure the interoperability as defined in Directives 96/48/EC and 2001/16/EC with respect to interoperability of the trans-European high speed and conventional rail system.

Currently, for virtually all trains in Europe operating at up to 200km/h, the only information available for the quantitative description of the braking performance is the braked weight percentage. The braked weight is usually determined empirically on the basis of stopping distances obtained in tests (according to UIC Leaflet 544-1).

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