UIC Webinar on ETCS & HOF: Return of Experience 2025

Share this article

On 5 November 2025, UIC hosted a webinar to collect feedback on the European Train Control System (ETCS) & human and organisational factors (HOF), which was held both online and at the UIC Headquarters in Paris. The event brought together over 100 participants and followed on from the June 11-12 workshop at UIC, where ETCS and HOF experts from across Europe met, with the session resulting in a report being developed.

Coordinated by Virginie Papillault, UIC; Nora Balfe, Irish Rail; and the UIC HOF Working Group, the webinar highlighted the key role of HOF in ensuring the safety and performance of ETCS.

The programme addressed six key topics, focusing on operational challenges, their impact on human and system performance, and potential mitigative action:

Language issues – Eric Pebret and Jean-Emmanuel Leroy (National Railways of France (SNCF) Voyageurs) discussed message variability in procedures and communication between France and Luxembourg. The European Agency for Railways (ERA) ETCS Working Group is developing standardised messages to reduce misunderstandings. A proposal will be made for a text message when crossing a border, inviting the driver to switch the driver-machine interface (DMI) language.
Release speed management – John Gunnell (AtkinsRéalis) explained how defining system-controlled release speeds supports drivers and improves system performance, proposing design and engineering mitigations. Gunnell also provided real life project experience showing where the release speed design has impacted the drivers speed awareness.
System diversity and bugs – Nora Balfe (Irish Rail) highlighted the challenges of having multiple ETCS systems and versions, focusing on the need for drivers to build and maintain multiple mental models of how different versions of ETCS work in practice. Conducting a detailed human error analysis on specification updates was proposed as a potential mitigation measure, as well as clear labelling of versions on DMI displays.
Signaller–driver communication – Frederik Calleeuw (Infrabel) highlighted how the complexity of procedures, terminology, and varying interfaces can lead to communication errors between drivers and signallers. To reduce this risk, both procedures and technology need to be enhanced to provide better support for signallers and drivers, ensuring clearer and more reliable communication.
Fault management – Richard Bye (Network Rail) outlined improved approaches to fault handling to enhance reliability and operator response.
Training standardisation – Bernard Penners (Infrabel) stressed that tailor-made, effective training is vital for ETCS safety, seeking system-wide understanding to support workers’ situational awareness and efficiency.

To close the session, Balfe gave an overview of the next steps, including:

Publication of the workshop report
Expansion of the ETCS-HOF expert network
Planning a second workshop in 2026, focusing on topics such as ETCS migration, text message design, tones, and simulation use, and so on

Finally, Papillault thanked all of the speakers and participants, emphasising the initiative’s goal “to create a collaborative space for ETCS and HOF experts to share knowledge and progress together.”

The ETCS-HOF network, currently comprising about 18 experts, will meet again in Paris in 2026 for the next in-person workshop.

Interested in joining the network? Contact papillault at uic.org.

The June workshop report, the video recording of the webinar and speakers presentations are now avialiable at https://railhof.org/category/in-practice/hof-in-etcs/