The completion date for the introduction of ETCS Level 2 Baseline 3 on the main line network has been pushed back from 2021 to 2023, while the rollout of CBTC on the 170km Copenhagen S-Train network will be completed in 2021, a year later than originally scheduled.

“More time is needed for testing on both the S-Train and main line networks than we originally planned for,” says Banedanmark’s signalling programme director Mr Jan Schneider-Tilli. “It is taking longer than expected for both Banedanmark and our suppliers to get the comprehensive documentation in place that is required for the approval of the new systems.”

Banedanmark has therefore developed a new deployment plan with the programme’s suppliers, Alstom, Siemens, and Thales-Strukton. The main line rollout will start with the Roskilde - Køge - Næstved and Frederikshavn - Lindholm - Hobro lines, followed by the Copenhagen - Ringsted line. All three routes will be equipped with ERTMS by 2018.

Banedanmark says the remainder of the network will be upgraded in a sequence which takes into account the needs of passengers as well as other infrastructure work planned for the next few years. A priority will be to minimise the number of transitions between legacy signalling systems and ETCS.

This means that on some routes, such as Odense - Svendborg, ETCS deployment will take place earlier than previously planned.

“We are starting to tighten up our management and our processes to reflect the plan we now have in place,” says Schneider-Tilli. “At the same time we are working with suppliers to establish more effective business processes for our documentation, using our experience from the S-Train to ensure we allow adequate testing time for the main line network.”

Additional costs, particularly in fibre-optic cabling, onboard equipment, and testing and approval, will push the project into its 20% contingency fund although Banedanmark says the full programme can still be delivered within the overall DKr 24.9bn ($US 3.75bn) budget.