28/09/2009
Rolling out a European signalling system - RFF is preparing the network of the future
Rolling out a European signalling system - RFF is preparing the network of the future ( PDF, 66.9 kb )Following a European call to tender, Réseau Ferré de France has given Alstom Transport the contract for setting up the level-1 ETCS (European Train Control System) on the national railway network’s traditional lines.
This contract aims to roll out a new signalling system along 2,200 km of lines that make up the French sections of two major European rail freight corridors: corridors C (Antwerp - Basel / Lyon) and D (Valencia - Budapest), which cross at Lyon and Ambérieu.
It will initially focus on developing and installing the system on two pilot sites with a view towards authorisation, before installing equipment along 2,200 km of lines by 2018.
This project will receive funding from the European Union as part of the trans-European transport network.
The ETCS will then be rolled on a large scale on the national railway network. Initially, it will be used on top of the current national balise-based speed control system (KVB) so that the rolling stock can be introduced gradually until the existing equipment is replaced.
In partnership with its counterparts across Europe, Réseau Ferré de France is laying the foundations for the future network by modernising the infrastructure and adapting its offer to meet European interoperability requirements. This will require a common "railway language" shared by all the networks. The ERTMS/ETCS control system, which is currently being implemented across Europe, will consolidate over twenty national signalling systems, representing major progress towards a single European network.
PRESS CONTACTS:
Jean-Marie GUILLEMOT
Tel. 01 53 94 30 14
jean-marie.guillemot@rff.fr
www.rff.fr
Manon HERAIL
Tel. 01 53 94 31 38
manon.herail@rff.fr
