Corridor description
The total length of the Scandinavian - Mediterranean corridor (SCM) is 14 100 Km. It crosses 7 countries: Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Austria, and Italy.
Crossing the Baltic Sea from Norway and Finland to Sweden and passing through Germany, the Alps, and Italy, it links the major urban centres and ports of Scandinavia and northern Germany to continue to the industrialized high-production centres of southern Germany, Austria, and northern Italy and further to the Italian ports and Valletta. The SCM ETC is a crucial north-south axis for the European economy.
Key railway projects on this corridor are the fixed Fehmarnbelt crossing and Brenner base tunnel, including their access routes.
ERTMS deployment on the corridor
Overall, ETCS is operational on 1 700 km(12%) of SCM, under construction on 3 000 km (21%) while GSM-R is operational on 88% of the corridor. 45% of the Core TEN-T network is expected to be equipped by 2030.
The deployment status per Member State where the SCM corridor runs is as follows:
- According to the Finnish national implementation plan, the commissioning of ETCS on most SCM sections is planned by 2033 and 2036. Only the section from Turku to Karjaa will already be commissioned by 2029.
- In Norway, there are in total three lines on the SCM corridor. All three lines connect Norway with Sweden. According to the Norwegian plan, the commissioning of the Narvik – Bjørnfjell (border NO/SE) is planned by 2028. For Oslo – Magnor (border NO/SE) line, the section between Lillestrøm and Magnor is planned to be operational by 2029, while the section between Lillestrøm and Oslo is expected to be completed by 2034. The section Oslo – Kornsjo (border NO/SE) is planned by 2032.
- In Sweden, ETCS on some lines in the SCM is already in operation. According to the Swedish plans, Kiruna – Boden and Malmö – DK border sections are scheduled for ETCS implementation between 2027 and 2029, while the majority are planned for completion by 2033 and 2044. Moreover, a significant number of sections within the SCM Corridor are currently not included in the Swedish ETCS deployment plans.
- In Denmark, ETCS is already in operation on some SCM lines. There are plans to deploy ETCS across most of the network by 2033. However, the last mile of Aalborg, currently equipped with no train protection system, are not planned to be equipped.
- In Germany, ETCS is already in operation on some SCM lines. According to the German plan, some lines are scheduled for 2028 and 2029 (e.g. Waren - Oranienburg, Celle – Hamburg-Harburg, Würzburg – Treuchtlingen) but the majority of German lines in SCM are planned for 2037 or 2043. There is also a new line not included in the German ETCS deployment plan.
- The Austrian lines in the SCM corridor are already operating with ETCS with the exception of the high-speed line between Brenner and Innsbruck planned for 2032, and some lines near the Innsbruck node planned for 2029.
- In Italy, ETCS is already in operation on some SCM lines. According to the Italian plans, most of the Core lines are scheduled to be commissioned between 2026 and 2030 (e.g. La Spezia – Empoli, Campiglia Marittima – Rome, Cancello – Taranto), with some exceptions extending until 2033 (e.g. Praia a Mare - Villa San Giovanni, Bologna – Ancona, Pisa – Campiglia). Meanwhile, the Extended Core lines are planned for between 2033 and 2038. There are short new lines not included in the Italian ETCS deployment plan.