23 Sep 2026
Australia gains direct access to Europe’s digital railway expertise
A new partnership was signed today to connect Australia to Europe’s most experienced digital railway operators.
The Australian Rail Industry Standards Organisation (ARISO) today announced a strategic partnership with the European ERTMS Users Group, strengthening Australia’s access to global technical expertise as the nation prepares for the long-term transition to digital railway systems.
The partnership was announced at InnoTrans 2026 in Berlin and supports ARISO’s five-year strategy to improve interoperability, harmonisation and digital railway readiness across the Australian rail network.
The new agreement will provide ARISO with access to technical expertise, industry working groups, operational experience and lessons learned from more than three decades of ERTMS development and deployment across Europe.
Alan Fedda, Chief Executive Officer of ARISO, said the partnership will ensure Australia can draw upon international experience rather than duplicating work already undertaken overseas.
“Australia’s rail industry is entering an important period of digital transformation. As our networks increasingly adopt European train control technologies, it makes sense to learn directly from the organisations that have been developing, implementing and refining these systems for decades.”
“The ERTMS Users Group has played a leading role in delivering interoperability across multiple countries, operators and infrastructure managers. Their experience offers valuable insights as Australia works towards a more nationally consistent and connected railway system.”
The agreement establishes a framework for mutual collaboration and technical knowledge sharing. Through the partnership, ARISO will participate in ERTMS Users Group activities and gain access to technical discussions, deployment experience, standards development insights and implementation learnings relating to digital train control systems, to share with Australia.
This knowledge will help inform ARISO’s development of standards, guidelines, technical notes, rules and codes of practice to support Australia’s transition to digital railway operations. The partnership will also assist Australia in aligning with internationally proven approaches while reducing unnecessary duplication, project risk and implementation costs.
A key focus of the collaboration will be understanding how European railways have addressed challenges associated with interoperability, systems integration, technical assurance, implementation planning and long-term asset management.
Alan Fedda said ARISO’s role is to ensure Australian industry benefits from the knowledge and experience already gained by leading international rail organisations, while ensuring the operational realities of its members are understood.
“Our objective is not simply to adopt new technology, but to create a safer, more productive and more interoperable railway system for Australia that works here.
“This partnership provides a direct connection into one of the world’s most experienced communities of digital railway operators and technical experts. It will strengthen Australia’s capability to develop nationally consistent standards and support the successful rollout of future digital railway programs.”
The partnership reflects ARISO’s Strategic Direction to become Australia’s connection point to international rail standards expertise and supports the organisation’s growing role as the national technical coordinator for rail interoperability and harmonisation.
The announcement was made following meetings between ARISO representatives and ERTMS Users Group Managing Director Sverre Kjenne during InnoTrans 2026 in Berlin.
Mr Kjenne said the partnership reflected the organisation’s focus on international knowledge sharing and collaboration.
“As a Centre of Excellence for ERTMS, the ERTMS Users Group is built around sharing experience and learning from one another. I am convinced that ARISO will bring new perspectives to our discussions and help challenge and broaden European thinking.
It is important that Australia remains closely connected to European standardisation efforts as digital rail develops, helping to support interoperability and avoid unnecessary fragmentation.
I look forward to welcoming ARISO into our community and to the knowledge and experience we can share in both directions.”
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