České dráhy will be equipping 13 prototype railway vehicles with a mobile part of the ETCS railway safety system. Due to the communication between the trackside and train equipments, a further increase in safety on the Czech railways will be achieved. The carrier has succeeded with its application for the financial support under the CEF Community programme call.
České dráhy, a.s. has succeeded with its application for a subsidy under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) programme for a project titled "Equipment of selected prototypes with ETCS". The objective of this CEF instrument is to finance the selected activities in the energy infrastructure, telecommunications and transport sectors. In accordance with a decision by the European Commission, the CEF programme is administered by the Brussels-based Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA). On October 20, 2020, the Grant Agreement was signed for the subsidised project, which sets out the terms for the implementation of the project, including determination of the amount of the subsidy, which will be realized in the form of a financial contribution per one vehicle with ETCS amounting to EUR 450 000/vehicle, i.e. the total amount of the subsidy (for 13 prototypes) will reach EUR 5 850 000.
The train control systems currently in use in the Member States of the European Union (EU) are technically outdated, their most significant drawback is a difference and incompatibility with the systems of other Member States, which prevents the trains from entering the territory of a foreign state. This difference led to the idea of development and introduction of a new, unified, significantly improved and safer train control system device within the EU. In 1995, the European Commission adopted a global strategy for the development of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) in order to prepare its future implementation on the European rail network and reflected this strategy in the Interoperability Directive and, subsequently, in the Technical Specifications for the interoperability of the control subsystem, also for the European conventional rail system.
ETCS (European Train Control System) is a European train control system that enables transmission of the information to the train driver on the driving authorisation and on the speed limit and, simultaneously, to control the train driver’s compliance with these instructions. Through ETCS, the trackside part transmits information to the on-board part of the train system, which keeps setting the maximum speed limit and checking whether it is complied with by the train driver.
Under the implementation of the project, 13 prototype vehicles of České dráhy operating on TEN-T corridors within the Czech Republic will be equipped with the ERTMS elements, specifically the on-board components of the ETCS system Specifically, the protototype vehicles of 380, 471, 640, 650, 650avv, 660, 661, 750.7, 841, 842, 844, 954 and 961 series are involved.
Anticipated amount of eligible costs: EUR 5 850 000
Amount of the subsidy: 450 000 EUR per 1 vehicle
Total amount of the financial support: EUR 5 850 000
Contact person:
Ing. Jiří Dejmek
dejmek@gr.cd.cz