ETCS

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ETCS

ERTMS ("European Rail Traffic Management System") is a major industrial project being implemented by the European Union, a project which will make rail transport safer and more competitive.

Over the last years, ERTMS has become a trending topic when talking about European railways. But what is it exactly and what are its goals?

ERTMS, which stands for ‘European Railway Traffic Management System’, is the European standard for the Automatic Train Protection (ATP) and command and control systems. It creates an interoperable railway system in Europe that is more efficient and safer. It contributes to making rail operation between the Member States much easier and is an essential element of the Single European Railway Area.

ETCS functionality

The Radio Block Centre (RBC) and the Eurobalises in the second application level form the trackside part of ETCS. The RBC monitors and communicates with individual trains. It knows the position, direction of travel and speed of the trains and reserves a clear, safe space for their onward movement. It monitors whether the driver of the train maintains the speed and reacts correctly to the situation on the track. Knows how to stop a train before a stop signal or when the driver is indisposed. For the system to work well, the infrastructure and vehicles of all carriers wishing to run on such a line must be equipped over time.

There is also a simpler version of the track-side part of ETCS (first application level) which does not require GSM-R radio system to communicate with trains and is particularly suitable for less congested routes.

ETCS levels

Level 0

Level 0 applies when an ETCS-fitted vehicle is used on a non-ETCS route. The trainborne equipment monitors the maximum speed of that type of train. The train driver observes the trackside signals. Since signals can have different meanings on different railways, this level places additional requirements on drivers' training. If the train has left a higher-level ETCS, it might be limited in speed globally by the last balises encountered.

Level 1

involves continuous supervision of train movement (i.e. the onboard computer is continuously supervising the maximum permitted speed and calculating the braking curve to the end of movement authority) while non-continuous communication occurs between train and trackside, generally through Eurobalises.

Lineside signals are necessary. Train detection and train integrity checks (i.e. the train is complete and has not been accidentally split) are performed by the trackside equipment beyond the scope of ERTMS.

etcs-level-1.png

Level 2

Involves continuous supervision of train movement with constant communication via GSM-R between the train and trackside.

Lineside signals are optional in this case, and train detection and train integrity checks are performed by the trackside equipment beyond the scope of ERTMS.

etcs-level-2.png

Level 3

Involves continuous train supervision with continuous communication between the train and trackside. The main difference with Level 2 is that train location and integrity are managed within the scope of the ERTMS system, i.e. there is no need for lineside signals or train detection systems on the trackside other than Eurobalises. Train integrity is supervised by the train.

etcs-level-3.png

In addition, there are two more levels: Level 0, which applies to trains equipped with ETCS running on non-equipped lines; and Level STM, which is meant for trains equipped with ETCS running on tracks where the Class B system needs to be operated. With regard to the STM level, ETCS acts as an interface between the driver and the national ATP.

ETCS LC

Low cost option for local routes. The system should work the same as L3, only the number of balises would be minimized. The balises would be used only in circuits with track branching, satellite navigation for locating the position of the train on the line is also considered.

What does ETCS consist of?

The ETCS equipment consists of a track-side and an on-board part. The information between them is in the form of data transmissions.

  • Mobile or on-board part is mounted on vehicles
  • Trackside or infrastructure part is installed along the tracks

Some variants of ETCS also use the GSM-R wireless network for communication between the track-side and mobile parts.

Screenshot of the Driver Machine Interface of ETCS, highlighting the areas of the display.

Operation modes in ETCS

Abbreviation DMI symbol Full name Used

in level

Description
FS ERTMSmodeFS 01.png Full Supervision 1, 2, 3 The locomotive pulls the train, ETCS has all required information
LS ERTMSmodeLS.png Limited Supervision 1, 2, 3 This mode is new to SRS 3.0.0
OS ERTMSmodeOS.png On Sight 1, 2, 3 On-sight ride
SR ERTMSmodeSR.png Staff Responsible 1, 2, 3 The driver was granted permission to pass faulty signals
SH ERTMSmodeSH.png Shunting 0, 1, 2, 3
PS (no symbol) Passive Shunting 0, NTC, 1, 2, 3 This mode is new to SRS 3.0.0
UN ERTMSmode UN.png Unfitted 0 The line is not fitted with ETCS: the system will only observe master speed limit and train protection is left to older systems
SL (no symbol) Sleeping 0, NTC, 1, 2, 3 Second locomotive controlled from the leading one
SB ERTMSmodeSB.png Stand By 0, NTC, 1, 2, 3
MO 03.png
TR ERTMSmodeTR.png Trip NTC, 1, 2, 3
PT ERTMSmodePT.png Post Trip 1, 2, 3 The train overpassed the order to stop, full braking will be executed
SF ERTMSmodeSF.png System Failure 0, NTC, 1, 2, 3 Trainborne ETCS equipment detected its failure
IS (no symbol) Isolation 0, NTC, 1, 2, 3 Driver disconnected ETCS
NP (no symbol) No Power 0, NTC, 1, 2, 3
NL ERTMSmodeNL.png Non Leading 0, NTC, 1, 2, 3 Second locomotive with its own driver
SE (no symbol) STM European NTC This mode has not been implemented by any vendor and was removed by SRS 3.1.0
SN ERTMSmodeSN.png National System NTC
RV ERTMSmodeRV.png Reversing 1, 2, 3

DMI symbols

Other symbols

MO 21.png text DR 03.png text
LX 01.png text DR 04.png text
DR 01.png text DR 05.png text
DR 02.png text text

Level symbols

LE 01.png text LE 04.png text LE 08 10.png text LE 10.png text
LE 02.png text LE 05.png text LE 08a.png text LE 11.png text
LE 02 0.png text LE 06.png text LE 09.png text LE 12.png text
LE 02 10.png text LE 07.png text LE 09 0.png text LE 13.png text
LE 02a.png text LE 08.png text LE 09 10.png text LE 14.png text
LE 03.png text LE 08 0.png text LE 09a.png text LE 15.png text

Status symbols

ST 01.png text
ST 02.png text
ST 03.png text
ST 04.png text
ST 05.png text
ST 06.png text

Track Condition symbols

TC 01.png text TC 11.png text TC 21.png text TC 31.png text
TC 02.png text TC 12.png text TC 22.png text TC 32.png text
TC 03.png text TC 13.png text TC 23.png text TC 33.png text
TC 04.png text TC 14.png text TC 24.png text TC 34.png text
TC 05.png text TC 15.png text TC 25.png text TC 35.png text
TC 06.png text TC 16.png text TC 26.png text TC 36.png text
TC 07.png text TC 17.png text TC 27.png text TC 37.png text
TC 08.png text TC 18.png text TC 28.png text
TC 09.png text TC 19.png text TC 29.png text
TC 10.png text TC 20.png text TC 30.png text

DMI - Planning area

dmi planarea1.pngdmi planarea2.png text

ETCS in SimRail

In Poland, only part of the CMK section (Grodzisk Mazowiecki - Idzikowice) and the section Włoszczowa Północ - Zawiercie are operated in Full Control - L2 mode.

ETCS-equipped locomotives and units

- ED250

- Dragon

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Used materials:

Wikipedia, SZDC (CZ), ec.europa.eu, ERA_ERTMS_015560

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