On 11 and 12 June 2025, the UIC Human and Organisational Factors Working Group (HOFWG) held a two-day workshop to collect feedback on the human and organisational factors aspects of the European Train Control System (ETCS) design and implementation process.
The aim of the workshop was to share real life experiences of ETCS and to begin to develop a community to share best practices in resolving issues in terms of human and organisational factors that commonly arise in the implementation of ETCS.
Five main topics were discussed over the two days, across various different groups:
- Driver Machine Interface (DMI) issues
- ETCS onboard behaviour issues
- ETCS signalling issues
- ETCS training issues
- Migration to ETCS, and issues relating to the co-existence of Class B systems and ETCS Level 1 and 2
The discussion process was organised into three parts:
- Identifying where an issue is coming from
- Describing the human performance implications of the issue
- Identifying possible solutions and mitigation measures
There are three outcomes in the works:
- A UIC webinar to share the results
- The creation of a network of HOF ETCS experts
- Proposals for change requests to the specifications
UIC hopes that this workshop marks the start of effective collaboration to apply HOF principles in the implementation of ETCS around the world.
