Government: ETCS System and Cameras in Engines to Increase Safety on Tracks

Bratislava, 3 December (TASR) - The action plan to increase rail-transport safety in Slovakia that was approved by the government on Wednesday includes measures in eight key areas, including, for example, the expansion of the European Train Control System (ETCS) on tracks and in engines, as well as the GSM-R radio system. Cameras are also to be installed in engines, and the working hours of train drivers monitored. The material related to the draft measures to reduce the number of rail accidents, which the government approved on 12 November, was submitted by Transport Minister Jozef Raz (a Smer-SD nominee) in response to two serious railway accidents - near Roznava (Kosice region) on 13 October and near Pezinok (Bratislava region) on 9 November. The introduction of the ETCS train control system on eight sections of track is expected to cost €1.36 billion, while the estimated timeframe for deploying this system on these sections, without their comprehensive modernisation, is between 2029-2034. ETCS should be added to another five sections as part of their modernisation between 2031-2034, at an estimated cost of almost €5 billion. ETCS is currently in place on 220 kilometres of track, which makes up 29 percent of the basic trans-European transport network (TEN-T). ETCS units need to be installed in more than 200 train engines belonging to railway operators, at a cost of almost €170 million. The GSM-R system, costing more than €77 million, is to be added to several sections between 2027-2030. It currently covers 728 kilometres. The purchase of 400 cameras for train drivers on duty and docking stations for charging and downloading recordings at 28 boarding points will cost approximately €400,000. This precautionary measure is intended to prevent accidents and ensure that employees' actions while driving trains are recorded. am/df