It is a long way from Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands, to Taipei, in Taiwan. Yet high-speed trains rolling into both cities’ main stations may soon both be picking up the same kinds of electronic messages from signalling equipment designed under a European Commission programme.

High-speed trains running on the HSL-Zuid – a new high-speed rail line between Amsterdam and Antwerp – should use signalling built to European Rail Traffic Management System standards when the delayed line finally opens to the public, probably some time next year. Taiwan, meanwhile, has expressed interest in fitting the equipment across its entire rail system, including the new high-speed line from Taipei to Kaohsiung at the other end of the island.