What is ERTMS: definition

The acronym ERTMS (European Railway Traffic Management System) refers to the European standard for rail transport management, which aims to replace the various national train control and command systems with a single European system.

ERTMS is a unique opportunity to create a seamless railway system in Europe.

The benefits of ERTMS

Currently, there are more than 20 train control systems in Europe, and each one is autonomous and non-interoperable. This fractioning requires more management and maintenance efforts from individual countries, and holds up the competitiveness of the European rail sector compared to road transport.

After 20 years since it was supported by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport (DG Move) as a European standard, ERTMS is about to be adopted across Europe bringing significant benefits to the industry:

1. Increased traffic capacity: interoperability between rail operators from different countries can meet growing transport demands.
2. Increased reliability: improved vehicle performance and punctuality, which are important for both passenger and freight transport.
3. Reduction on production and maintenance costs: a single, integrated system is easier to install, maintain, and produce.
4. Increased passenger safety: the system provides the driver with all the information required for instrument driving, continuously monitoring his or her work.
5. Energy savings: better regulation of train speed, acceleration, and braking enables greater control of resources.

ERTMS and EMC shielding

ERTMS is a sensitive system, and electromagnetic interference can, for example:

• have adverse effects on the performance of the vehicles in terms of speed;
• cause technical problems and signaling errors putting passenger safety at risk;
• increase the possibility of human error.

Therefore, now more than ever, effective and efficient shielding is critical to ensure the reliability of the entire system, enable its deployment throughout the European network, and develop a more sustainable and safer rail network worldwide.

We have been working with leading rail industry companies for years to meet all technical regulatory requirements and design the most appropriate Low Frequency EMC shielding to protect ERTMS from possible interference.

If you are a railroad operator and are interested in learning about our electromagnetic shielding for ERTMS, please contact us.