ETCS (European Train Control System)

The ETCS is a single pan-European signalling system that will secure the single European railway and ensure its safer operation. It will also ensure that trains of railway undertakings can move freely, without problems and from one country to another.

This system replaces a large number of different, mutually incompatible and often obsolete systems which exist in the different countries.

The system consists of 2 major parts - trackside equipment and on-board equipment:

• The mobile or on-board part is mounted on vehicles.
• The trackside or infrastructure part is installed along the lines.

To allow communication between the trackside and the mobile part, in some variants of the ETCS system we also use the GSM-R wireless network.

The planned introduction of the exclusive operation of trains under the control of the single European Train Control System will be phased in over a four-week period in January 2025. In total, the system will be used on 622 kilometres of the most important lines in the Czech Republic.

• from 1 January 2025: Česká Třebová – Olomouc – Dluhonice – Prosenice/Přerov.
• from 8 January 2025: Břeclav – Bohumín
• from 15 January 2025: Česká Třebová – Adamov and Modřice – Břeclav
• from 22 January 2025: Praha-Běchovice – Pardubice – Česká Třebová

After the launch of the exclusive operation of the European Train Control System on the main lines in January next year, there will be 50,000 trains a month running under the control of the ETCS. This will represent 42 % of all the operational performance on the entire network of the Správa železnic in terms of mileage and tonnes of the freight transported.

The Rail Authority has further extended the provision by which it assigns railway undertakings to ensure the operation of trains under the full control of the ETCS to also include the line Praha Běchovice - Česká Třebová since 15 September 2024.

Since 1 August 2024, the provision has applied to the following tested line sections:

• Česká Třebová – Adamov
• Modřice – Břeclav, Hustopeče u Brna – Šakvice, Hrušovany u Brna – Židlochovice
• Břeclav – Přerov – Bohumín
• Česká Třebová – Olomouc – Dluhonice passing siding – Prosenice, Dluhonice passing siding – Přerov
• Beroun – Ejpovice

Since 15 September 2024, the list has been extended by the inclusion of the following section:

• Praha Běchovice - Česká Třebová

Railway undertakings have the obligation to ensure that the ETCS would be activated on trains which run on these sections, provided that the vehicle is equipped with the active mobile part of the ETCS and the driver has completed proper training.

Further information on the ETCS including the plan of the ETCS implementation on the corridor lines in the Czech Republic can be found at 👉 ETCS