The constant headache of ERTMS… The European Commission is pushing infrastructure managers and rolling stock owners to get ready for the next-generation ETCS Baseline 4. The problem? It’s still in its relative infancy. And according to the Secretary General of Europe’s largest organisation representing rolling stock lessors, the current EU aim is far too ambitious. In this full-length VIDEO INTERVIEW, she unpicks the baseline problem. 

The confusion around Europe’s standardised signalling safety system ERTMS – the scale, the various types, the complications of switching up from multiple legacy systems – is truly expansive. However, one of its key features has long been that the EU’s executive is constantly driving Europe’s infrastructure managers and rolling stock owners to keep upgrading to the latest technology.

One might think that this isn’t such a bad thing. But in the case of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS), it’s helped create a patchwork of various technologies that aren’t necessarily compatible. And this is becoming a problem, as Carole Coune, Secretary General of the Association of European Rail Rolling Stock Lessors (AERRL), explains – particularly when it comes to baselines.

Why AERRL thinks a Baseline 4 rollout is too ambitious for now

AERRL, established in 2021, represents the nine member companies that lease rolling stock across Europe. These lessors have invested heavily in the European rail sector, with current investments at 800 million euros annually and plans to increase that to 1 billion euros by 2027. They also own half of Europe’s European Train Control System (ETCS)-ready rolling stock.

One of the organisation’s primary goals is to support the EU’s vision of a single, interoperable, and safe European railway area. But AERRL differs from Brussels on how it thinks this should be achieved. Right now, the EU is pushing for an upgrade to Baseline 4, the latest version of the ETCS, which will massively enhance interoperability and introduce support for new technologies like the Future Railway Mobile Communication System (FRMCS) and Automatic Train Operation (ATO).

But as Coune tells RailTech: “This is not yet available on the market. You can’t yet buy a locomotive with Baseline 4.” In fact, the technology is still very much in development and therefore far from being ready to allow ERTMS to do what it was always meant to do: bring Europe a truly unified signalling and safety system.

“What we would like is a real European strategy to realise a deployment of a standard baseline, which is already satisfactory for the players, which is Baseline 3, and put all the effort to deploy this ETCS as Baseline 3 everywhere in Europe with GSM-R,” she says. “But the European Commission wants to force market uptake. We think that the market should never be forced, of course. It must decide if there is a real added value of a technology.”

In the video interview above, RailTech talks to AERRL about why exactly the EU’s goal of a unified Baseline 4 network is too ambitious for now, and why focusing on B3.4 and having GSM-R across the bloc should be the primary goal. If you’re interested in this discussion, sign up for our WEBINAR on Tuesday 4 March where the AERRL Secretary General will be talking about ERTMS, FRMCS, and the state of Europe’s rail network.

And why are we holding a webinar, you ask? In anticipation of RailTech Belgium, our rail-tailored Brussels-based summit on 26 to 27 March. It’s the only rail technology exhibition and conference in Belgium where we will be connecting local and international railway industries. This dynamic day-and-a-half event offers you the chance to meet with the industry’s top experts and help shape the future of the rail sector. Key topics include Belgium’s ambitious Rail Vision 2040, Europe’s ERTMS rollout, the latest developments in Smart Infrastructure innovations like AI-driven predictive maintenance, and the 5G-driven shift to FRMCS.

With plenty of other panels and workshops on the hot topics of our sector, join us at RailTech Belgium 2025 to gain actionable insights, connect with industry leaders, and shape the future of rail in Belgium and beyond. Check out our conference programme and secure your spot today – registrations are now open!