The German ERTMS coordination office for the digitalisation of rolling stock and infrastructure launched as a programme organisation on 17th April 2026. It serves as the operational control unit for coordinating the trackside and on-board implementation of ERTMS and acts as a point of contact for the sector. The central decision-making body is a steering committee chaired by the German Federal Ministry of Transport BMV, in which the federal states, the German regional rail transport association BSN, Mofair, the German rail freight transport association Die Güterbahnen, and the association of German transport companies VDV, as well as network operator DB InfraGO are represented with voting rights. The federal government holds the majority of votes. The steering committee addresses strategic issues related to implementation planning, technical design, and the management of funding. It also appoints the management team upon the recommendation of the BMV. The coordination office is initially located at public consulting company PD Berater der öffentlichen Hand and started operations immediately. According to sources within the federal states, PD was to outsource some tasks to a group led by former DB Systemtechnik Managing Director Hans Peter Lang, with a focus on vehicle-related issues. The federal states and associations generally support the current plan but do not consider the structure final. They continue to demand a binding limited liability company (GmbH) structure, clarity regarding independence, staffing, and financing, as well as a minimum ten-year digitalisation strategy for DB InfraGO's infrastructure operations. The organisational form will be evaluated by 30th June 2027.
