The European Railway Traffic Management System (ERTMS) is a single interoperable system to replace the more than 20 different national train control and command systems currently in operation throughout Europe. Implementation of the system will deliver enhanced cross-border interoperability, creating a seamless, Europe-wide railway system.
ERTMS is a major industrial project co-developed by eight UNIFE members (Alstom Transport, Ansaldo STS, AZD Praha, Bombardier Transportation, CAF, Mermec, Siemens Mobility and Thales) in close cooperation with the European Union, railway stakeholders and members of the Global System for Mobile Communications – Railways (GSM-R) industry.
ERTMS is made up of two main components:
European Train Control System (ETCS): A single automatic train protection system (ATP) to replace the more than 20 train control systems currently in use throughout Europe
Global System for Mobile Communications – Railways (GSM-R): A radio system for providing voice and data communication between the track and the train, based on standard GSM using frequencies specifically reserved for rail application
Currently all systems in operation across Europe are stand-alone and non-interoperable, requiring extensive integration and engineering efforts to achieve compatibility, raising total delivery costs for cross-border traffic. This combination of factors restricts competition and hampers the competitiveness of the European rail sector vis-à-vis road transport by creating technical barriers to international journeys.
The implementation of ERTMS is therefore key to improving cross-border connections, increasing international freight and passenger capacity, delivering higher reliability rates, opening up the supply market, and most critically—improving standards of safety.
By improving rail sector competitiveness, ERTMS can also help to level the playing field between rail and road and ultimately provide significant environmental gains, with passengers and freight moving from road to rail.
European Coordinator for ERTMS, Matthias Ruete
Matthias Ruete has been European Coordinator for ERTMS since January 2019.
Matthias Ruete supervises the implementation of ERTMS on the entire trans-European network. He has dealt with ERTMS and trans-European networks throughout his professional career in the European Commission, notably as Director and as Director-General. As Director-General, he was the most senior civil servant dealing with Transport for over eight years (2006 to 2014) before becoming Director-General for Migration and Home Affairs (2014 to 2018).
He joined the European Commission services in 1986. His tasks were Director for Competitiveness (2005), Director coordinating the enlargement negotiations (2000 to 2004) and Director in International Transport, Galileo and trans-European infrastructure networks (1998 to 2000). He also worked in Internal Market, Industry, Energy, Media, Education as well as in Innovation and Research.
Matthias Ruete was born on 29 August 1950 in Marburg, Germany and was educated in schools in Japan, USA, India and Germany. He studied law and political sciences in Marburg, Cologne, Berlin, Giessen and London. He holds a master's in law (London) and a doctorate in intellectual property law (Giessen) and both German state exams in law. Before joining the European Commission, Matthias Ruete lectured in Constitutional, European and International Public Law at Warwick University, Justus Liebig University Giessen and Philipps University Marburg.
Academic qualifications
1984: Dr. juris., University of Giessen, Law faculty
1978 - 1979: LLM (Lon), University of London
1975 - 1978: Assessor iuris (Second State Exam in Law), Government of Hessen
1968 - 1975: Law degree and bar studies, university of Marburg, Köln, Berlin, Giessen
Professional experience in the European Commission
2018: Advisor 'hors classe', Secretariat General
2014 - 2018: Director-General DG Migration and Home Affairs
2010 - 2014: Director-General DG Mobility and Transport
2006 - 2009: Director-General DG Energy and Transport
2005: Director DG Enterprise and Industry, Coordination for Competitiveness
2003 - 2004: Director DG Enlargement, "Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey and coordination"
2000 - 2003: Director DG Enlargement, "Coordination of negotiations, pre-accession and financial instruments"
1998 - 2000: Director DG Transport, “International relations, trans-European transport and infrastructure networks"
1995 - 1998: Member, afterwards Deputy Head of Cabinet - Cabinet of the Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Education
1993 - 1995: Head of Unit DG Industry, "Industrial co-operation"
1987 - 1993: Administrator, afterwards Assistant to Director-General Ricardo Perissich DG Internal Market and Industrial Affairs
1986 - 1987: Administrator DG Social Affairs
1982 - 1985: Visiting Lecturer in Law, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
1979 - 1982: Scientific collaborator/assistant/lecturer at the two Institutes for Public Law (Constitutional; European; International Public Law)
Matthias Ruete, European Coordinator
move-ertms
ec [dot] europa [dot] eu (move-ertms[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu)
Mr Christof Schoser, Adviser of the European Coordinator
Christof [dot] Schoserec [dot] europa [dot] eu (Christof[dot]Schoser[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu)
+32 (0) 2 29 53523
Postal address:
European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) / TEN-T
Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport
Rue de Mot 28
1049 Brussels
Belgium