Treinbeveiliging met het Central Safety System (CSS) van ERTMS: de uitleg
By ProRail
Summary
## Key takeaways - **Old safety systems are 70+ years old**: A significant portion of the Dutch railway's safety electronics are over seventy years old and are becoming obsolete due to parts no longer being manufactured and technicians retiring. [02:12] - **ERTMS: Europe's new train standard**: ERTMS is the European standard for train safety, designed to make train travel easier across Europe for both passengers and goods transport. [03:09], [03:20] - **CSS is the digital heart of ERTMS**: The Central Safety System (CSS) is the digital core of the new ERTMS, managing components, communicating with all involved parties, and ensuring safe routes. [03:31], [03:47] - **Transitioning from analog to digital**: The upgrade to ERTMS involves moving from an analog system to a digital one, akin to switching from a Walkman to Spotify or a landline to 5G. [04:06] - **Major changes for rail sector workers**: While travelers may not notice significant changes, the transition to ERTMS represents a massive undertaking for the 15,000 individuals working in the rail sector. [04:25], [04:41]
Topics Covered
- The Critical Need for a Digital Railway Upgrade.
- Unifying European Rail with a Single Standard.
- The Central Safety System: Digital Heart of Future Rail.
- The Immense Scope of Modernizing National Rail Infrastructure.
Full Transcript
Every day more than one million people travel on the Dutch railway.
Here is an example:
You can easily fill all football stadiums in the Netherlands.
Also many goods are transported by railway.
In 2021 there were even more goods-trains than ever!
You can imagine that it is quite a task to steer that in the right direction.
Trains are big and heavy. They have steel wheels and ride on iron railway.
They drive through the Dutch landscape at high speed
But... They have to stop at some point...
...And for that we need a long braking distance.
Sometimes up to one kilometer.
Also, a train can't swerve from left to right...
...and therefore safety must be in order.
At one time it was a quite difficult job to let the train drive safely.
One man has to create order.
The train dispatcher.
He decides when and where the trains will come in.
Back then, security was still physically arranged, with keys, large handles and locks.
But thanks to the American Marshall Aid from just after the Second World War...
...is the railway now electronically secured.
We call that the Signalling Control System. That control system takes care of three things.
First of all, it ensures that the rail switch is in the right position.
This prevents derailments and collisions.
It also ensures that two trains never drive at the same place at the same time.
Suppose: the train from Leiden to Utrecht runs on rail A...
...then the train from The Hague to Utrecht will only have access to that piece of rail after a few minutes.
That way, two trains can never drive too close from each other.
And we prevent collisions.
The automatic signalling control system ensures that all crossings that a train makes on its route...
...automatically close and reopen.
Therefore a part of our railway is protected with electronics that are more than seventy years old.
But the technology has an expiration date...
...parts will no longer be made and the technicians who know this system...
...will eventually retire.
The current system is therefore ready for a replacement.
Now that there is more and more attention for sustainable transport...
...is the train becoming an increasingly popular way to travel than going by car or by plane.
This is a big challenge because it has to be safe of course.
With good train connections across Europe...
...it must become easier for goods-transporters to cross the border by train.
Travelers will not only be able to do it more easily by train to Paris or Berlin.
...but also to Vienne or to Milan.
For those French croissants...
...the Vienna Opera...
...or even the Olympics from 2026...
...it is important that the different European train systems act the same...
...and work well together.
That is why there has been decided to introduce one technical standard.
The European Rail Traffic Management System.
In other words:
ERTMS.
To be able to comply with the ERTMS standard we need one crucial part.
And that also includes a fancy title.
The Central Safety System.
Or:
CSS.
This forms the digital heart of the new signalling control system.
We use this system to control components and communicate with all parties involved.
The CSS ensures safe routes, monitors them and controls switches and level crossings.
It talks to traffic control, drivers and security systems in nearby countries.
In the coming years, ProRail will give the old signalling control system a major upgrade...
...to meet the European standard.
So from analog to bits and bytes.
From Walkman to Spotify.
And from a wire telephone to 5G.
We are renewing many IT systems...
...we carry out tests on the railway...
...install a new fiber optic network...
...and remove almost all light signals.
In addition, fifteen thousand people must be trained...
...who have to deal with ERTMS.
As a traveler you won't notice and you can enjoy your train ride in peace.
But for everyone who works in the rail sector these are going to be big changes.
It's a huge job.
But this switch to ERTMS ensures that Dutch railway remains safe and reliable.
And that there will be more trains in the future riding on that railway.
This is how we bring every destination closer.
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