Today, at the occasion of the 2016 InnoTrans Trade Fair, the European Commission, the European Union Agency for Railways and the representatives of the European Railway sector signed the fourth Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the cooperation for the deployment of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS).

The Memorandum of Understanding represents a milestone in the history of rail interoperability in Europe. It contains important provisions aimed at deepening cooperation between its parties in order to further promote the timely and coordinated deployment of ERTMS in Europe. The parties to this MoU commit notably to the stability of the specifications (further to the Second Release of Baseline 3 in July 2016), compliance to the Control Command Signalling Technical Specification for Interoperability (CCS TSI), reduction of national rules and preparation, in coordination with Shift2Rail, of the future evolution of the ERTMS system.

Antti Vehviläinen, President of EIM said, “Today an important milestone has been achieved in the history of rail interoperability in Europe. I am much honoured that EIM is part to this commitment, which will ensure stability of the specifications and commitment of the industry to the development of ERTMS along the European railway network.”

Monika Heiming, Executive Director of EIM said, “EIM is fully engaged with the long-term
commitments laid down by this Memorandum of Understanding, which represents a fundamental opportunity for the sector as a whole.”