6. ERTMS operation

Standardized rules of conduct

When driving a train, as when driving a car, a number of rules need to be observed, if only to know the meaning of the indications displayed. ERTMS distinguishes itself from other signalling systems by :

• the use of the same screen and displays for traffic on several different networks, on lines with very different characteristics (high-speed and conventional lines) and for the different ERTMS levels;

• the possibility of superimposing ERTMS on existing ground-based signalling ;

• the possibility, in the same mission, of running both ERTMS track sections and others with other signalling systems.

It was therefore essential to have a single set of rules that could be...