Rollout of cruise control on trains in Belgium almost complete

Fifteen years after the train disaster in the Flemish-Brabant village of Buizingen, the rollout of the rail safety system ETCS, a train cruise control, is almost complete. The rollout was accelerated after the disaster, which killed 19 people.

As of the end of this year, no trains not equipped with this cruise control will be allowed to circulate in Belgium.

Cost of more than €3,7 million

The train disaster occurred on Monday, February 15, 2010, near the Buizingen station. A P-train from Leuven to ‘s Gravenbrakel collided almost head-on with the IC train from Quiévrain to Liège-Guillemins at 8:28 am. One of the two train drivers had driven through a red signal. A train driver, railroad company NMBS/SNCB, and rail network operator Infrabel were deemed responsible.

Following the train disaster, the rollout of safety systems on the Belgian rail network was accelerated. At first, it was the Belgian automatic stop system TBL1+ (Transmission Balise Locomotive), which intervenes when a train is still moving faster than 40 km/h at 300 meters from a red signal.

This was followed by the European Train Control System (ETCS), a kind of cruise control for trains that constantly monitors speed and automatically intervenes in case of speeding or failure to respect signals. When the accelerated rollout of the safety systems was proposed in 2011, the cost was 3,7 billion euros.

Decline in the number of signal overruns

Meanwhile, the rollout of ETCS is nearing completion. At the beginning of this year, the safety system was installed on over 5,000 kilometers of main tracks, or 79%. In fact, by the end of this year, all trains will be required to have ETCS to operate in Belgium. NMBS/SNCB, for which, like Infrabel, it also received European support, was at 95% at the beginning of this year.

With the introduction of ETCS, among other things, the number of signal overruns has also declined. Last year, 51 trains passed a red signal, the lowest number since 2010, when 104 trains passed a red signal. The number of signal overruns with potential danger, where a train crosses another track, for example, fell from 51 to 14 during that period.

A memorial ceremony will take place on Saturday in Buizingen.