Digitization in the Stuttgart area: wide deployment of ETCS and ATO technologies

photo: https://www.bahnbilder.de/bild/deutschland~bahnhoefe-f---k~koln-messe-deutz/238832/uebersicht-auf-den-bahnhof-koeln-messedeutz.html/Stuttgart

The aid of € 200 million has been approved by the European Commission for a railway interoperability project in the Stuttgart area. Thanks to this project, railway vehicles will be able to be equipped with ERTMS (European Rail Traffic Management System) and ATO (Automatic Train Traffic) systems.

As part of this project to modernize rolling stock traffic management equipment, the equipping of railway vehicles with onboard ERTMS devices will first be addressed. Subsequently, these vehicles will be equipped with an ATO system. ETCS and ATO devices are to be implemented across all stations within a radius of 100 kilometers from Stuttgart as well.

Financial support for this project, which will last until 2025, will take the form of direct grants to operators or car owners. This measure is part of the Digital Hub Stuttgart, which is part of the Digital Rail strategy of the German Federal Ministry of Transport. EUR 462.5 million is earmarked for the digitization of the Stuttgart railway hub.

“Not only the rails but also the trains are going digital. In addition to massive investments in the railway infrastructure in the Digital Hub Stuttgart, for the first time, we are now also promoting digital safety technology in the trains, with a EUR 200 million investment. This is how we combine mobile and digital,” said Andreas Scheuer, the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, to the media.

The railway interoperability measures provide funding for the equipment of rolling stock operating at the Digital Hub Stuttgart. This also applies to regional or S-Bahn cars. Pilot projects can receive up to 90 % financial support, 50 % is intended for serial equipment.

This pilot project aims to study the digitization of railway vehicles. The capacity of the network will also be examined if digital security technology is deployed on vehicles and infrastructure at the same time. Thanks to this the project will move from a pilot project to a serial solution. This program is provided through the German Federal Railway Authority (EBA).