“Live” Trackside Approval for Riedbahn between Frankfurt a.M. and Mannheim, One of the Busiest Corridors in Germany

ERTMS trackside approval is a service introduced with the 4 th Railway Package to ensure the harmonised implementation of ERTMS and interoperability at European Union level, and as such is part of the ‘authority’ tasks of ERA. The so-called Riedbahn is one of the busiest corridors in the German network with more than 300 regional, freight, and intercity trains passing daily. With a capacity utilisation of more than 150%, it was identified by DB Infra GO as one of the key bottlenecks to benefit from a general and complete overhaul – and the deployment of the ETCS Level 2 (set of specifications #2, System Version 2.0.) playing an important part in modernising the line, allowing for higher speeds, and more capacity.“The modernisation of the Riedbahn is emblematic of DB Infra GO’s commitment to modernise the German rail system, and as such, today’s signature represents an important milestone on that journey”, asserted ERA Executive Director Josef Doppelbauer. Philip Nagl, CEO DB Infra GO, stated: “The Riedbahn project is of central importance to us, and we are glad we could achieve the ERTMS Trackside Approval well within the timeframe that was foreseen. We thank the ERA team for the good collaboration and communication.” The Riedbahn’s TA was aptly celebrated in the framework of the small celebrations of ERA’s 20 th anniversary at the EU stand in hall 27(511), with many invited guests, friends, and stakeholders, who jointly appreciated the Agency’s journey from humble...