Repeat bills, fewer bids and supplier lock-in: EU study maps cost of ERTMS fragmentation

EUROPE: Trackside ERTMS deployment needs to accelerate almost fivefold to meet national plans, but a European Commission study warns that fragmentation and supplier dependency could drive costs higher still.

Published on October 1, the study by the Commission’s ERTMS Deployment Management Team describes infrastructure managers reporting repeat payments for similar work, rival suppliers deterred from bidding and a market yet to deliver standardised products for an estimated €75–85bn programme. The study draws on 36 interviews with infrastructure managers, suppliers and other industry stakeholders to examine why deploying a common European signalling system continues to entail extensive national engineering and repeated costs.

Much of the rollout gap is already well documented. Only around 10% of the TEN-T trans-European rail network had been equipped with trackside ERTMS by the end of 2024. National implementation plans envisage equipping more than 28 000 km over six years, equivalent to approximately 4 700 km annually.

By comparison, the industry achieved roughly a fifth of that annual rate during its most productive three-year period, equipping just 2 909 km between 2022 and 2024. The study describes meeting deployment targets as ‘problematic’, with most infrastructure managers reporting ‘a risk of serious capacity issues in the industry’.

This story was originally published by Railway Gazette. Read the full story at Railway Gazette →