ETCS Corridors
Based on the proposal for 30 TEN-T Priority Axes and Projects during 2003 a cost/benefit analysis was performed by the UIC which was presented in December 2003 ("Implementing the European Train Control System - Opportunities for European rail Corridors", P. De Cicco). This study identified 10 rail corridors covering about 20% of the whole TEN network that should be given priority in changing to ETCS. These rail axis were included in the decision 884/2004/EC by the European Commission.
In 2005 the UIC combined the EC priority axis into the following ERTMS/ETCS Corridors that were subject to international development contracts:
- Corridor A: Rotterdam - Duisburg - Basel - Genoa
- Corridor B: Naples - Bologna - Innsbruck - Munich - Berlin - Stockholm
- Corridor C: Antwerp - Strasbourg - Basel / Antwerp - Dijon - Lyon
- Corridor D: Valencia - Barcelona - Lyon - Milan - Turin - Trieste - Ljubljana - Budapest
- Corridor E: Dresden - Prague - Vienna - Budapest - Constanta
- Corridor F: Aachen - Duisburg - Hanover - Magdeburg - Berlin - Poznan - Warsaw - Belarus
The Trans-European Transport Network Executive Agency (TEN-T EA) publishes ERTMS funding announcements showing the progress of trackside equipment and onboard equipment installation. Corridor A gets the trackside equipment from January 2007 to December 2012 (2007-DE-60320-P German section from Betuweroute to Basel) and June 2008 to December 2013 (2007-IT-60360-P Italian section). The Betuweroute in the Netherlands is already using ETCS Level 2 and Switzerland will switch to ETCS in 2015. Corridor B gets trackside equipment from January 2007 to December 2012 (2007-AT-60450-P Austrian part) and January 2009 to December 2013 (2009-IT-60149-P Italian section from Brenner to Verona). Corridor C gets trackside equipment from May 2006 to December 2009 (2006-FR-401c-S LGV-Est). Corridor D gets trackside equipment from January 2009 to December 2013 (2009-EU-60122-P Valencia to Montpellier and Torino to Ljubljana/Murska). Corridor E gets trackside equipment from June 2008 to December 2012 (2007-CZ-60010-P Czech section) and May 2009 to December 2013 (2009-AT-60148-P Austrian section via Vienna). Corridor F gets trackside equipment form January 2007 to December 2012 (2007-DE-60080-P from Aachen to Duisburg/Oberhausen).
The Corridor A has two routes in Germany - the double track east of the Rhine (rechtsrheinisch) will be ready with ETCS in 2015 (Emmerich, Oberhausen, Duisburg, Düsseldorf, Köln-Kalk, Neuwied, Oberlahnstein, Wiesbaden, Darmstadt, Mannheim, Schwetzingen, Karlsruhe, Offenburg, Basel) while the upgrade of the double track west of the Rhine (linksrheinisch) will be postponed. The Corridor F will be developed in accordance with Poland as far as it offers ETCS transport - the section Frankfurt - Berlin - Magdeburg will be ready in 2012 and section from Hanover to Magdeburg - Wittenberg - Görlitz will be ready in 2015. At the other end of Corridor F the section from Aachen to Oberhausen will be ready in 2012 while the missing section from Oberhausen to Hanover will be ready until 2020. The other two corridors are postponed and Germany chooses to support the equipment of locomotives with STMs to fulfill the requirement of ETCS transport on the corridors,
Read more about this topic: European Train Control System