The Implementation Phase Implementation Plan (ToTo) is a comprehensive description of how and what kind of ERTMS system will be implemented on the entire Finnish railway network by 2040. In the spring, the ToTo project focused on, among other things, securing resources and planning the content of project work. As the summer and autumn progressed, the volume of work increased and important decisions were made regarding the technical solutions for the Digirail systems. Next year, the project’s main task will be to draw up the requirements for the procurement of the most crucial equipment for the implementation phase.
Year 2025 has seen a clear upward trend in the ToTo project. The beginning of the year saw the start of drawing up a development model for defining the operating concept and scenarios as well as the evolution of the systems for Digirail. The project has also produced several preliminary technical reports that have guided system development towards Digirail’s objectives.
In the early part of the year, a high level of expert collaboration was needed to redefine the content and scope of the implementation plan.
“The work of our experts included assessments on the issues that need to be addressed at this stage, as guidelines for the entire implementation phase, and on those that can be left to be dealt with in the individual track-section projects. Although the implementation plan focuses on the guidelines covering the entire implementation phase, we have also not ignored specific issues related to individual track sections, such as the special requirements regarding the Helsinki region or the assessment of the functionality of extended transition periods at some of the network’s intersections,” says Project Manager Saara Haapala.
The survey was carried out through workshops, interviews and external consultations. At the same time, we identified key milestones for the implementation plan and updated the project schedule that has guided our work during the year.
Project activities accelerated during the summer and autumn
In the spring, the focus was on securing resources and organising the work, which led to a significant acceleration in project work during the summer and autumn.
In the autumn, key decisions were made on the technical solutions for Digirail’s centralised safety system and object controllers. The decisions will lay a foundation for the requirement specification of CSS and OC systems to be completed in spring 2026, and these decisions will directly affect future equipment procurement.
In spring 2026, the main task of the ToTo project will be to prepare the requirements for the most important equipment purchases in the implementation phase as well to draw up the supporting reports.
Harmonisation of operating models for the implementation phase
In addition to technical solutions, the ToTo project will involve designing the management of work and day-to-day operating models for the implementation phase. Digirail will be deployed in 11 phases, following broadly similar principles.
“The aim is to develop project implementation into a process that is as coherent and repeatable as possible, to allow projects to benefit from the experience gained in the previous phases,” says Haapala.
The implementation plan defines, among other things, the basic steps of the implementation projects, the responsibilities and interfaces of the various actors, the procedures that complement the existing safety and risk management guidelines, and the models for cooperation across organisational boundaries. Information exchange practices will also be designed for situations where several implementation projects are progressing at the same time.
The work will make use of operating models already implemented in the Tampere-Pori/Rauma project. As the planning work progresses, the focus will gradually shift to the deployment of the implementation plan and provision of orientation training on the operating models.
Interim releases support dialogue within the project
From the very beginning, the ToTo project has emphasised the significance of dialogue within the Digirail community. In 2025, two interim internal releases were published to support the internal situational picture.
The next interim release will also provide external stakeholders with a view of the contents of the implementation plan. The release will present the Operating Concept, considered as the bedrock of Digirail’s implementation phase, as well as the operating scenarios and technical descriptions that further detail the concept.