This dataset shows how The European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) brings together automatic train protection (the European Train Control System) and radio communication (the Global System for Mobile Communications - Railway).
The European Train Control System (ETCS) is the standard European system for automatic train protection. It enables interoperability at European level (rather than only at national level, as with many national Train Protection Systems (TPS)) and supports high levels of safety, reliability, and performance. In this table, ETCS is described through two approaches for transmitting signalling information between track and train: track-based (ETCS level 1), where ETCS information is transmitted via trackside equipment (balises), and radio-signal (ETCS level 2), where ETCS information is transmitted via continuous radio communication between train and infrastructure.
GSM-R (Global System for Mobile Communications – Railway) is the underlying telecom system that carries the radio-based transmission used for operational voice and data communications in ETCS level 2. In other words, within ERTMS, GSM-R acts as the communication bearer for ETCS level 2, where signalling information is exchanged by radio.
The TEN-T policy states that ERTMS shall be deployed in full on the TEN-T railway network by 2030.