3. ERTMS-ETCS

ERTMS/ETCS is the new European rail signalling system developed by the industry's major manufacturers and operators back in the 1990s at the request of the European Commission. The Commission's aim was to standardize rail signalling for mainline railroads, with a number of objectives, the first of which was to ensure interoperability at border crossings, and to enable all types of train to operate on all infrastructures in the future.

Other benefits of ERTMS/ETCS include improved traffic safety (when no speed control is in use, or when lines are only equipped with stop control or other simple systems) and lower costs (lower costs in the long term, and due to the use of more standardized products manufactured in larger quantities).