Sustainable transport on the line

Eskil Sellgren, WSP Civils, and Frank Walenberg, KEMA Rail Transport Certification on enhancing the standards and level of interoperability of the regions rail infrastructure.

As a region, we are becoming increasingly aware of the unsustainable nature of our transport systems today – freight is clogging up the roads, fuel prices are rocketing and the environment is suffering. In the search for more viable long-term solutions to the problem, Europe need look no further than its extensive, but much neglected, railway network. With the European Union actively working to enhance the standards and level of interoperability of the regions rail infrastructure, the huge potential may soon be realised.

Eskil Sellgren, Managing Director, WSP Civils, and Frank Walenberg, General Director of KEMA Rail Transport Certification, go head-to-head on some of the challenges facing the region in achieving the above goals and discuss some of the possible solutions.

INFRA. What do you see as the predominant trends in the European transport sector today?
ES. The European railway business is currently undergoing fundamental structural change. The market is now opening up for international competition after a century’s history of national monopolies. As a result, former national railway administrations are split into traffic operators, infrastructure managers, maintenance companies, regulators, etc. A major driving force in the changes under way is the European Union, through a combination of legislation and funding.

FW. The European Commission is having a strong influence, leading EU member states to gradually introduce a common legislative system for the railways. Two railway packages have been adopted, the third is on the way. To date, we have nine Technical Specifications for Interoperability (TSI), and this will double in the next few years. The European Railway Agency, which is now entering its second year, will continue to have an impact in the coming years.

Europe is extremely interested in its railways, largely because of another trend that became manifest some 15-20 years ago: the loss of market share of the railways. Of course, there is some 10 years’ time lag in the new member states, but the trend is still clearly visible. This is the situation we faced, whatever the reason – road traffic development, the appeal of private cars, no level playing fiel, etc. The solution has been found in reviving the railways. But do they want to be revived?

This is quite a normal situation; the patient doesn’t like the medicine. But we now see new trends emerging, as implementation of interoperability has started and the first effects of this can be seen in practice. The first international corridors for high speed traffic and freight will soon be operational on an interoperable basis. Questions on the effect of all the changes in the European railway sector will remain, but the only way to answer these questions is to face the challenge of operating railways under these new conditions.

INFRA. Customers are increasingly seeking to develop more ‘sustainable transport’ systems. What is driving them to do this and what are some of the solutions?
ES. The EU has declared railways to be one of the most important means for a sustainable transport system in the common market. The decline in railway freight in Western Europe over a period of several decades has now been halted and the market share of railway transport has stabilised. In some segments it is even growing. Railway passenger transport is today competing successfully with road and air on medium distances with modern comfortable high-speed trains. Around big congested cities, commuter trains are increasing their market share.

The main drivers for our customers to develop more ‘sustainable transport’ systems are that sustainability is in many cases more economical for them, the railways also consumer less energy than other transport systems and also because the users require it.

FW. Can railways support a system of ‘sustainable transport’ in the first place? From an environmental perspective, I am still convinced that railways offer major advantages, based on the railway technology, while from a social perspective, safety is also important. From an economical perspective we must prove that railways can regain their ability to grow and to do so faster than the competition. I believe that this is possible.

However, how does the European railway sector support this. I think it depends largely on the particular position and interests of the parties. The European Commission has shown its concern and taken initiatives. Infrastructure managers, railway undertakings and railway industries react on this differently. Where large investments are involved to harmonise technical systems, reluctance to invest is understandable. At the end of the day, the figures count. Who invests and takes the risk? Why is cross-acceptance of rolling stock such a big issue? Of course, technical systems may be incompatible and not all incompatibilities can be simply resolved. How can we make these rail systems work together? I’m convinced that within the normal budgets opportunities can be found by improved cooperation and by willingness to adapt the operational practices.

INFRA. What currently are the biggest challenges in achieving greater interoperability between the railways?
ES. The European rail industry is confronted with huge investments and challenges. The introduction of common systems and procedures for achieving interoperability is the key factor in the further development of the railway business. One of the most important steps in achieving this goal is the roll-out of ERTMS, the European Rail Traffic Management System.

FW. No doubt, the biggest is developing a readiness to change and considering both your own working methods and principles and those of others. Railway operations have developed over many years, and every rule has its background and reason. Accidents of the past have often led to the rules in the present and it can be difficult to determine what the real reason for a rule is.

Introducing changes in working methods, however, also leads to risk, and railways don’t like risk, they like certainty. That is both their strength and their weakness. We should learn from the past; vision is not sufficient to solve the problem, it also takes courage. That’s not to say that we should take unacceptable risk, but we can and should bring the risk back to a level where we can honestly say that we have done everything humanly possible to prevent accidents. This includes studies, consultations and tests.

Railways should not, of course, give up their safety rules; we should not merely abandon existing principles, but decide together about the best way to operate the railway under interoperable rules, with minimum total risk. In this picture, the railway safety directive and the development of common safety targets (CST), common safety methods (CSM) and common safety indicators (CSI) fit perfectly.

INFRA. What progress has been made towards these aims and what work is on-going?
ES. The roll-out of ERTMS represents a huge challenge and a considerable investment for all European countries, as the entire financing of the project and the bulk of the costs may be focused in the period 2007-2013. Naturally, the exact outlay will depend on the transition speed and the technological choices made. A number of steps have been taken already, but there is still a long way to go.

FW. If we consider that the first railway directive was back in 1991, it seems a long time ago. Clearly, the field is changing, and this change is accelerating. The principles of interoperability are now understood, supported and applied. The first effects can be seen now and will be more so in the next few years. ERTMS/ETCS and GSM-R, for example, certainly contribute to this.

We may not yet have achieved development of a stable system, but in practice the systems to go into operation this year and the next will work on a satisfactory level of interoperability. I consider this a major step.

The paradox now is that the development of European requirements will slow down. The railway sector would benefit greatly from quicker improvements and updating of these vitally important systems like ERTMS/ETCS and GSM-R. From defining improvements in the TSI, through translating and issuing it until it comes into force will normally take a year or more. This is too long for essential improvements and correction of errors. If this process continues, we’ll see a new trend, rather scepticism over the European legislation, for the railway sector to urge the EC to issue its legislation more quickly.

INFRA. What do you see as the wider advantages of a more integrated and interoperable European transport network, for example, in improving the competitiveness of the region, etc?
ES. Railways play an important role in the EU enlargement process. In Eastern Europe, they formerly enjoyed a privileged position because all long-distance transport was obliged to use railway. However, after the fall of the Soviet Union, this is no longer the case and the extensive network has seriously deteriorated. The integration of new member states includes upgrading their transport infrastructure to EU-standards and connecting them to the European network. Substantial funds are therefore directed to railway projects in these states. The development of the railway network is therefore an essential factor to integrate the EU states.

FW. Logic dictates that interoperability develops along a system of priorities, starting with the high-speed rail traffic market, in which ROI is considered the highest. Although high speed began on a national scale in various countries, the high-speed transportation system is a European project. The next priority is rail freight, where improvements are possible and needed and, with the development of freight corridors, it is well supported in Europe. The next priority will clearly be (inter)national passenger traffic, towards which new rules and regulations (TSI) will be developed in the next years. The final priority is regional traffic, where the major advantage will be the open market for products.

We can view the technical, social and economical advantages of railways in general as supporting sustainable transport. Interoperability, however, is not about connecting any spot in Europe to any other spot in Europe without limitations. It aims to provide the liberty to optimise the boundaries of the railway system, thus enabling efficient market strategies. Internationally operating passenger and freight rail transportation companies, by themselves and together, can choose the best conditions for their services in terms of locations and distances. Operational harmonisation will be inevitable in achieving this, but technical harmonization is a tool to support the process. Technical harmonisation plays a more important role from the perspective of the market for railway products and systems. However, this is not a European issue, but has a global impact.

INFRA. Looking forward, how do you predict the transport sector in Europe will look 20 years from now? What role do you hope your company can play in any changes?
ES. The railway market in Europe continues to be strong, the driving forces often being political with the objective of reducing pollution and traffic congestion. The ongoing enlargement of the European Union requires integration of the new member states in many areas, transport infrastructure being one of the most important.

Substantial grants and funds from the EU budget are directed to railway projects. Investments are mainly focused on railway corridors that will make up a modern European transport network. There will be huge investments in the entire Europe to develop a modern railway network, which is essential for the development of the entire society.

Due to considerable investments over the last decade, many companies are now operating on the European railway market for technical consulting services. This market expansion is also based on the outsourcing and divestment of services from national railway administrations. This has created new strong players in several countries, which are looking more and more to the international market. WSP is one such company and hopefully will become one of the main players on the European rail market during the coming decades.

FW. Looking back 10 years, the word ‘interoperability’ was just being invented. Today we are start to realise it. It will certainly accelerate, but as long as we don’t do away with the traditional wheel rail contact, I don’t expect dramatic or revolutionary changes. From an interoperability perspective, this is already a restrictive interface and many more other comparably restrictive or more restrictive interfaces exist today in the railway system, so we should not strive towards even more complicated interfaces. Interoperability is served by coherence of the network.

I would expect a more rapid development of interoperability in three or four years, starting from the new member states, where the technical need for replacement is higher. The eastern part of the European high speed and conventional rail network could well be interoperable sooner then the west. Apart from gauge differences, why should this then not link to the Russian system in 20 years’ time? The same applies for the market of railway products.

But more important are the global changes in this timeframe. Japan is no longer an exception in offering high speed travel. We must foresee that other developments in Asia and certainly in China will affect the European situation in the next 10 years. We don’t have much time to deal with the interoperability issue, we need to face this next challenge for the railways.

Eskil Sellgren is Managing Director for WSP Civils Sweden, which with 620 employees is the principle business area of WSP Sweden. With increasing demand for sustainable transport systems, WSP is playing a leading role in major transport and infrastructure initiatives for governments and transport organisations around the world and has a long and successful track record of looking after clients in both the public and private sectors.

Sellgren is the Chairman of Swedish Deep Stabilization Research Centre, Vice-chairman of Nordic Road Association and former Chairman of Swedish Geotechnical Society. He is also active in the Swedish initiative Re-thinking Construction, FIA. Sellgren has a long and sound experience as a head and leader in different types of roles. During 1983-1998 he has the position as a Technical Director of the geotechnical department of WSP in Stockholm. He was also project manager in many big infrastructure projects in Sweden during the nineteen-nineties.

Frank Walenberg is General Director of KEMA Rail Transport Certification, a Dutch based but European oriented railway notified body and certification body. The company is involved in the acceptance and certification of many Dutch and foreign railway infrastructure and rolling stock projects.

Prior to joining KEMA Rail Transport Certification, Walenberg worked with the Dutch Railways in the Technical Research Centre and in the Rolling Stock Department. He held different positions as project engineer, project manager, head of the electrical department and head of research and development and was involved in most of the large railway studies in the Netherlands. Walenberg is a member of a number of international committees within ERRI (ORE), UIC, AEIF and NB RAIL of which he was the first president from 2001 till 2003.

ERTMS – Project history
The ERTMS project was first conceived by the EC back in 1989, aimed at analysing the problems relating to signalling and train control. In 1990, the European Rail Research Institute (ERRI) created a group of railway experts to develop the requirements of ETCS and, the following year, the industry and railways agreed the principles of cooperation necessary to create the specifications at the basis of industrial development.

The project framework would include various new elements, including an on-board system based on open computer architecture (EUROCAB), a discontinuous system for data transmission (EUROBALISE) and a new continuous transmission system (EURORADIO). The EU council issued then the High Speed Interoperability Directive (96/48) and the Conventional Rail Interoperability Directive (2001/16) and pushed for a more defined structure to the Technical Specification for Interoperability. The High Speed TSI was published on 12 September 2002, whilst the Conventional Rail TSI will be submitted for approval within 2004.

In 1995, at the beginning of the 4th Framework Programme, the EC defined a global strategy for the further development of ERTMS with a view to future implementation in Europe. This strategy included a development and validation phase in which full-scale tests would be performed at different sites in the region.

In the summer of 1998, Unisig, comprising the European Signaling companies was formed to finalise the specifications. The Class P SRS was delivered on 23rd April 1999. With the final signature on ERTMS specification, Class 1, on 25th April 2000, ERTMS finally arrived providing substantially higher performance levels for the railways.

Success has already been achieved in testing the interoperability on EMSET and Vienna-Budapest trials and a number of commercial projects at varying stages are under way.