Railway safety performance in the European Union

.
.
Infrastructure
Three CSIs concern railway infrastructure: one is a measure of the coverage of automatic train protection (ATP) systems
on the lines; the second is the number of level crossings, normalised by the length of the network expressed in track-km;
and the third gives information on the level of protection at level crossings.
Figure 9: Percentage of tracks equipped with automatic train protection (2007–2009) ( 6 )
100 %
0.99
0.99
0.99
90 %
80 %
70 %
0.66
6
0.68
0.88
0.9
0.9
0.87
0.87
0.87
0.75
0.77 07
0.83
0.9
0.91
0.92
0.7 07 0.74
0.74
066
0.66
0.72
0.64
0.67
0.67
60 %
50 %
0.53
0.53
0.59
0.46
0.47
0.44
0.46
0.51
0.51
0.51
0.5
0.52
0.48
054
0.54
40 %
0.35
0.39 039
30 %
20 %
10 %
0.08
0.07
00
07
0.11
0.14
0.11
0.11
0.17
0.17
0.17
0.24
0.23
0.23
0.05
0.05
0.05
0.25
025
0.25
015
0.15 0.19
0.19
0.04
0.04
0.04
0 %
AT BE BG CT CZ DE DK EE EL ES FI FR HU IE IT LT LU LV NL NO PL PT RO SE SI SK UK
• 2007 • 2008 • 2009
In 2008 (the data are more complete for this year), 58 % of
tracks were fitted with ATP in the EU ( 7 ). A relatively high
density of protection is typical in countries with extensive
track usage such as the Netherlands, Italy and Germany.
This can be seen in Figure 9.
In order to overcome the slow process towards
interoperability, a new ATP system has been promoted by the
European Commission. The European Train Control System
(ETCS) is based on cab signalling together with spot and/or
continuous track to train data transmission. It ensures trains
operate safely at all times by providing a safe movement
authority directly to the driver through the on-board driver’s
display and by continuously monitoring train speed.
Automatic train protection
Definition
Automatic train protection (ATP) means a system that
enforces obedience to signals and speed restrictions by
speed supervision, including automatic stop at signals.
Guidance
Systems where track signalling information is
substituted and/or supplemented by cab signalling
are included. The part of the definition relating to
‘automatic stop at signals’ is intended to include
also automatic stops at conflict points between
clearance gauges.
( 6 ) CT is the abbreviation for Channel Tunnel
( 7 ) Exact value 57.7 % for EU-27 excluding Greece, Hungary, Luxembourg, Poland.
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