Lord Berkeleyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the Train Protection and Warning System complies fully with the European directives on interoperability. [HL4211]
§ Lord Macdonald of TradestonCouncil Directive 96/48/EC on the interoperability of the trans-European high-speed rail system lays down requirements for compliance with Technical Specifications for Interoperability (TSIs) which, subject to provisions for derogations, must be met when certain categories of work are undertaken on the railway lines covered by the directive. No TSIs have yet been published, but the latest draft TSI relating to control-command and signalling subsystems, if adopted, would require that signalling systems compliant with the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) should be installed as part of these works.
The draft TSI also recognises that existing systems, which include the Train Protection and Warning System (TPWS), may continue to be used after the TSI has been published. TPWS therefore could be said to comply with the directive. However, TPWS does not comply with ERTMS specifications, which use different technology and provide a higher level of protection.