Confusion on the runway. Traffic lights to be demolished, new European system fails

The ETCS signalling equipment failures in mid-March and at the end of March showed a huge weakness of the Czech railway. A large part of the train traffic depends on a new technology that suddenly failed. Some connections were delayed by up to two hours and trains were running at reduced speeds. The Czech Republic only switched to the modern European ETCS system three months ago. So far, it is working on 600 kilometres of corridor lines.

The old system, the Czech Line Train Controller, was no longer envisaged for the future. It saved most trains from standing motionless in the fields during an ETCS outage. In fact, the drivers switched seamlessly to the original signalling system as an alternative solution.

Now the state admits that the intention to get rid of the old signalling system, when the light signals on the lines were to be literally cancelled and dismantled, was hasty. It will remain in operation for at least two more years.

idnes.cz/gnews.cz-jav