The 2nd edition of the UIC ERTMS Training Programme was held on 7-9 October at the Technical University of Masarykova Kolej in Prague, upon the invitation of SZDC, CD and FD CVUT.

100 persons from various sectors (railways, national administrations, industry, European Commission, academics) and from 21 different countries took part in the training.

The training was aimed at delivering a comprehensive and complete overview of the ERTMS system to railway managers, railway administrations and suppliers.

A series of six theory lectures coordinated by Prof. Peter Winter and given by subject specialists was illustrated by country cases presented through concrete railway applications.

A full session was dedicated to demonstrate the contribution of ERTMS to a sustainable transport system thanks to increased safety, harmonized driver/machine interface, increased line capacity and potential cost reduction.

Czech Railways invited the participants to visit the CD VUZ test centre located in Velim. This centre which is accredited as notified body by the EU since 2006 is able to run tests for any kind of rolling stock with all types of power supply of up to 25 tons and at a speed of 220 km/h in two test rings: one 13 km long and the other 9 km long/in length. For more information visit www.cdvuz.cz/

The main message of the training was that railways need to work in together and develop a more harmonized approach to enable large-scale cost reductions to be made, safer operations and higher quality of service.