Federal government launches ERTMS coordination office for rail

The office aligns all ERTMS and ETCS measures, acts as the contact point for the rail sector and coordinates funding for retrofitting existing trains; a steering group chaired by the ministry and made up of the Länder, public transport authorities, operator associations and DB InfraGO decides, and the organisational form is to be evaluated by 30 June 2027.

The Federal Transport Ministry launched the ERTMS coordination office on 17 April 2026; the round table on digitalisation had agreed to set it up on the ministry's initiative. It is to align all measures around ERTMS and ETCS, serves as the contact point for the rail sector and coordinates funding for retrofitting existing trains with the new technology, because Germany has ground to make up in both digital infrastructure and on-board equipment. Decisions are taken by a steering group chaired by the ministry and made up of the Länder, public transport authorities, operator associations (VDV, mofair, DIE GÜTERBAHNEN) and DB InfraGO; the office is initially based at PD – Berater der öffentlichen Hand, and its organisational form is to be evaluated by 30 June 2027 (LOK Report, 17 Apr 2026).