Brussels, 14th December 2009 – UNIFE, the European Rail Industry, welcomed today the entry into service of the first high-speed ERTMS cross-border connection.

“This new Thalys operation represents a major leap forward for European transport as a whole, because with the highly sophisticated ERTMS technology, all technical differences stemming from a rail age prior to European integration are now overcome. Passengers may now enjoy a faster, even more reliable service at the highest level of safety, and lowest environmental impact conceivable. ERTMS clearly illustrates the competitive advantages of rail over other modes of transport today, and will, once properly installed on other pan-European corridors, facilitate modal shift towards rail transport”, said Michael Clausecker, UNIFE Director General.

Previously, seven different types of signalling systems were required to travel between Paris, Brussels, Cologne and Amsterdam. These are gradually being replaced by ERTMS (European Rail Traffic Management System), which is now operational on the high-speed lines between Liège and Aachen, and between Antwerp and Amsterdam respectively. With a centre-to-centre travel time reduction of 51 minutes between Paris and Amsterdam, and 36 minutes between Paris and Cologne, the Thalys will entice even more passengers away from air travel.

Train operators will equally benefit from ERTMS technology as locomotives will no longer need to be equipped with more than one signalling system for whichever pan-European route they take. It will furthermore help European railway operators to diversify their sourcing: along the high-speed lines used by the Thalys, five different rail manufacturers supply trackside and onboard equipment, which is made possible through the use of ERTMS as a unique European standard.

The entry into service of Thalys trains follows a series of successes for high speed operations using ERTMS. Whilst the ICE3 runs on the Liege-Aachen section since June 2009, the 13th December also marks the putting into service of the Bologna-Florence and Novara-Milan lines in Italy. High Speed ERTMS service also started recently on the 1,000km-long Wuhan - New Guangzhou line in China.

Source: http://www.unife.org/press_release_detail.asp?n=Seamless-cross-border-traffic-becomes-reality-as-Thalys-trains-start-service-with-ERTMS&pid=41