ERTMS, the European Railway Traffic Management System, has been designed by the European railways and the supply industry supported by the European Commission to meet the future needs of the European Railways.

ERTMS has two basic components:

• ETCS, the European Train Control System, makes it possible not only to transmit permitted speed information to the train driver, but also to monitor constantly the driver’s compliance with these instructions;
• GSM-R, based on standard GSM but using various frequencies specific to rail as well as certain advanced functions. It is the radio system used for exchanging voice and data information between the track and the train

ERTMS activities within UNIFE are carried out by 2 working groups:

• The UNIFE ETCS Steering Committee (UESC) is responsible for the coordination of ERTMS activities at a political level. The work of the UESC includes the follow up of the Memorandum of Understanding for ERTMS deployment.
• The ERTMS Marketing Group is in charge of promoting ERTMS at a global level.

The working group is responsible for the ERTMS website (www.ertms.com) which aims at informing interested parties (railway operators, public authorities) of the benefits of ERTMS for rail transport. It should serve as a focus point for all initiatives concerning ERTMS that occur in Europe and elsewhere.

For more information refer to www.ertms.com

The complete technical standards for ERTMS can be found on the ERA website, at www.era.eu.int, as ERA is mandated by the EC as system authority for developing and maintaining the Technical Specifications for Interoperability (TSI).

Contact
Magali Merindol, ERTMS, Public Affairs International Manager
Email: magali.merindol@unife.org
Tel: +32 2 626 12 67