Euro Standards Organizations Sign MOU with European Railways Association
May 25, 2007 // Published as a news service by IHS
| |
| Tools for Engineers |
IHS sells flexible standards collections and software to maximize your workflow.
To learn more, and for a free quote, please complete the form below. |
|
| |
The heads of the European Committee for Standardization (CEN), European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC) and the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the European Railway Agency (ERA).
The MOU clarifies the relations between ERA and the three European standards organizations (ESOs) regarding the political and technical framework for cooperation for European standardization in the field of railway.
This MOU will improve the specifications for interoperability on the European rail network, said ETSI. Each of the ESOs has a history of ensuring rail travel in Europe is safe and efficient.
The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) specification for telecommunications was adopted as the GSM-Railway (R) standard by the International Union of Railways. It is the European standard for railway communications used in all European Union (EU) member states.
The ETSI Railway Telecommunications Technical Committee (ETSI RT) met with the ERA. Future ETSI RT specification work will seek cooperation and participation from the ERA.
CENELEC's "Electrical and electronic applications for railways" and its subgroups responded to the needs of the directives for the Railway sector, said ETSI. CENELEC contributed to the Interoperability Directive for high-speed rail through the direct reference to CENELEC European standards.
With the production of standards supporting the Conventional Rail Interoperability Directive, CENELEC is also contributing to the harmonisation of national and regional networks in Europe.
There are more than 50 major manufacturers, infrastructure owners and operators in the mechanical part of the rail sector. These organizations employ more than 150,000 workers in the EU. There are also hundreds of smaller suppliers and other small and medium enterprises (SMEs) employing a similar number of people who provide goods and services to the larger players in the industry.
All of these players adhere to CEN's more than 100 safety and quality standards, said ETSI. This is a key factor in the maintenance of rail travel's impressive safety record in Europe. This MOU will further the process of simplifying the lives of railway users, employees and operators in Europe, said ETSI.
Source: European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI).