ERTMS – European Rail Traffic Management System
(ERTMS) is a system of standards for management and interoperation of signaling for railways by the European Union (EU). It aims to ensure interoperability of the national railway systems, reduce the purchasing and maintenance costs of the signaling systems, and increase the speed, capacity and safety of rail transport.
ERTMS consists of two main components: the European Train Control System (ETCS), which is a cab-signalling system that incorporates automatic train protection, and the Global System for Mobile communications for Railways (GSM-R), which provides voice and data communication for train drivers and signallers. ERTMS also defines operating rules and technical specifications for these components.
ERTMS is still under development and implementation, with the involvement of the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA), ETSI, 3GPP, Shift2Rail and other organisations. ERTMS has been deployed in several countries in Europe and beyond.