Slow rollout on-board ETCS ‘really bad news’
The deployment of ETCS on locomotives is too slow, which is ‘really bad news’, says Matthias Ruete, European Coordinator ERTMS at a digital event organised by UNIFE, the association of Europe’s rail supply companies. Current figures show that 5000 locomotives and traction vehicles are equipped with ETCS, while there should be something like 14.000 vehicles contracted, according to Ruete.
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The basic error in ERTMS policy thinking is (quoting Mr. Ruete):
“we need to phase out the class B systems”.
No. There is no urgent need to phase out all Class B systems. That’s a multiple zillions costing technocratic ghost hunt. Only some obscure Class B should be phased out, e.g. Integra/ZUB, crocodile/memor and Dutch subsystem ATB-NG & belgian twin TBL. But that’s progressing quite well.
What we really need is a ‘free-to-lease’ multiple systems STM, including L3/L3+, ATO, V2V etc.