European railways on the way to the digital future

Abstract

The issues of development and practical implementation of control systems and devices and traffic safety assurance, which lead to the digital future of railways, are considered. The main directions of digitalization of European railways are presented. The role and importance of the European Train Management System (ETCS) and the European Train Management and Safety Management System (ERTMS) are shown. Both systems are being implemented on the railways of European countries in stages (levels). Various systems of centralization of points and signals are gradually being replaced by digital centralization (DSTW). At the same time, much attention is paid to equipping railway crossings with modern automation and traffic safety. In different European countries, research and development work is being carried out and projects for the automation of train control are being implemented. At this stage, the automation process is being carried out more actively in public transport, especially successfully in the metro. The increasing use of distributed diagnostic components in rail transport has been observed along with the growing demand for a centralized diagnostic system. The works in the field of using the capabilities of artificial intelligence, machine learning and other modern technologies are noted.
The study of foreign experience in digitalization of railway transport is useful to take into account when solving the problems of development and digitalization of Russian railways.