8. Future developments based on ERTMS

ERTMS is a new concept in railway signalling, and the applications currently being deployed are a continuation of the systems still in service, and for many years to come we'll have to manage the presence of several systems of different designs. But the day will come when ERTMS will stand alone on a significant part of the network.

Possible applications for current deployment projects include :

• ERTMS level 3: a system that could make it possible to do away with a large proportion of trackside installations (particularly track circuits and axle counters), and therefore be very economical. This system can only be deployed on a large scale once experience has been gained with the other levels;

• applications on regional lines: the idea is to use a GSM network to manage single lanes. Only...