STREAMLINE – Optimisation of ETCS vehicle approval in Europe

With ERTMS/ETCS*, European rail transport will have a standardised cross-border train control system. The introduction now faces the major challenge of combining the guidelines and technical principles already implemented on many national "islands" into a supranational European corridor network.

The STREAMLINE project identifies and highlights the bottlenecks in vehicle authorisation in cross-border ETCS rail traffic. Recommendations and tools are intended to streamline the approval process and thus increase capacity - for a faster roll-out of ETCS.

The current approval processes for ETCS/ERTMS are associated with high costs and an almost unpredictable amount of time. Legal and functional differences within Europe require specific authorisations per country or even per route. In addition, there are different requirements for the documents, so that these are not centrally specified either. The authorisation of new vehicles and renewed vehicles (retrofit) as well as modifications to authorised vehicles (upgrade) generate an exponentially growing effort that threatens to suffocate the market. Therefore, a significant shortening of the approval processes for vehicles with ETCS and a single authorisation for the ERTMS commissioning of vehicles in Europe is urgently required. Test procedures, processes, the legal framework and institutional roles and responsibilities must be aligned accordingly.

The STREAMLINE project identifies the problems with the authorisation process for ETCS and sets a realistic target for its improvement. In the form of a preliminary study, it is determined at which points in the process a detailed investigation or application of tried and tested or new methods makes sense. After an initial rough analysis of the bottlenecks, an initial status of the current situation is presented. An assessment based on the Swiss model, which is widely regarded as "best practice", results in a realistic, achievable target for a desired process duration. (The authorisation procedure in Switzerland is clearly defined. Roles and rights are tried and tested, the authorisation process is plannable, deterministic, calculable and allows for viable business models for operators).

STREAMLINE undertakes a systematic evaluation of all sub-processes (testing - certification/ type testing - operating licence), the legal framework, institutional roles and responsibilities, involving all European stakeholders. In a subsequent broader-based European project, the results of STREAMLINE will be underpinned and implementation scenarios developed that also take into account the special responsibility and role of the European Railway Agency ERA.

* ERTMS = European Rail Traffic Management System, ETCS = European Train Control System

Project title:
STREAMLINE

Duration:
10/201 to 06/2017

Contracting authority:
DMG

Project participants:
DLR Institute of Transportation Systems
IKEM

This project is managed by the department:

Research Verification and Validation

The department's task is simulation-based verification, validation, and approval of vehicles and infrastructure in the transportation system.

Contact

Lennart Asbach

Head of Department
German Aerospace Center (DLR)
Institute of Transportation Systems
Research Verification and Validation
Lilienthalplatz 7, 38108 Braunschweig