ETCS-VB - Customisation and Tests on Site for the ERTMS/ETCS Level 1 Pilot Installation Vienna-Budapest
Overview
Background & policy context:
Research initiatives aiming at the development of a harmonised European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) date back to the early 1990s, when work was launched to define the architecture of a generic train control and command system. Now that the main components of the European Train Control System (ETCS) have been specified, the focus has shifted to proving the feasibility of these new technologies on pilot railway links.
Objectives:
The purpose of ETCS-VB was to make a pilot installation of the European Train Control System (ERTMS/ETCS) on the Vienna-Budapest line.
This first complete installation aimed to demonstrate both the performance of the new ETCS and its interoperability with the existing Austrian and Hungarian national automatic train protection (ATP) systems. The tests were pivotal to the process of consolidating the ERTMS/ETCS specifications, allowing them to reach their present status of mandatory European specifications.
The test programme allowed a full validation for the following operating modes/functions:
- full ERTMS level 1, complying with the European Functional System Specification;
- interoperability tests with the existing Austrian and Hungarian ATP systems, via the utilisation of Specific Transmission Modules;
- evaluation of an infill function through the use of Eurobalises;
- proof of concept of a standardised Man Machine Interface (MMI) for the drivers.
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