Managerial Challenges in Implementing European Rail Traffic Management System, Remote Train Control, and Automatic Train Operation: A Literature Review

Abstract

This paper explores the management of digitalization projects within the railway industry. It aims to increase and understand the opportunities presented by digitalization and automation in rail operations. Employing a scoping review methodology, this research investigates the execution of European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS), remote train control (RTC), and automatic train operation (ATO) projects spanning from 2005 to 2023, with a particular emphasis on metro automation, the remote control of freight and passenger trains, fully automated trains, and highly assisted driving. The refined selection process yielded 30 papers. The analysis of the retrieved papers identified managerial issues, with stakeholder management, change management, and organizational management emerging as recurring themes. Despite the increasing trend in publications, the limited representation managerial issues in ERTMS, RTC, and ATO projects in scientific research persists, with implications for the industry’s advancement. This research sheds light on the critical intersection of change management and digitalization within the railway industry by showing the impact of ERTMS, RTC, and ATO on organizational and scope dynamics. The need for human-centered systems is highlighted, showing the necessity of involving every echelon of the organization in the change management process. These findings provide insights for practitioners, researchers, and policymakers, emphasizing the need for understanding and addressing managerial aspects for successful and sustainable digitalization implementations.

1. Introduction

Recent developments in the railway industry exemplify the growing trend of organizations addressing contemporary business challenges through digitalization [1,2,3,4,5]. Digitalization in railways is conducted through an integrated technical and service ecosystem, functioning as sociotechnical systems and networks [6,7]. Railways’ digital transition is expected to help the sector meet the escalating demands for sustainability, efficiency, reliability, and safety [6], but a successful execution of transformation and digitalization processes in a sociotechnical system requires updated managerial practices [8].

For instance, capturing the anticipated benefits of technologies like European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS), remote train control (RTC), and automatic train operation (ATO) entails addressing various organizational and managerial challenges [9,10,11,12,13,14,15]. Industry white papers have addressed these challenges [16,17,18], but academic research on the managerial aspects of introducing ERTMS, RTC, or ATO is lacking. Appropriate managerial practices are crucial for supporting the successful execution of digitalization ventures [19], and, therefore, this paper aims to explore the ERTMS, RTC, and ATO managerial challenges.

This exploration adopts an organizational perspective, since transport projects are known to engage a multitude of diverse stakeholders [20], bring major public attention [21], and involve high investment costs [22]. Adopting this perspective allows the conceptualization and analysis of the integration of these characteristics across the hierarchical structure of railway organizations [23,24,25]. ERTMS, RTC, and ATO projects are consequently considered within the broader scope and context of their parent organizations, i.e., railway organizations [24,25].

This theoretical standpoint aligns with the sociotechnical nature of digitalization in railways, emphasizing the importance of aligning technical systems with social systems at all organizational levels [7,19,26]. To achieve this alignment, a scoping review methodology is employed, following guidelines provided by [27,28] for the railway sector and by [29], as well as [30], for the managerial domain. The recommendations for such reviews in the domains of railways and management are similar, and this study is aligned with both. The authors believe that managerial implications have not been the main research focus, and the subsequent sections of the paper provide an overview of the concepts used, detail the methodological approach, present the results, and discuss their implications, concluding the paper.

2. Conceptual Overview

In the following section, the conceptual background of this paper will be outlined, starting with an overview of the literature on management and digitalization and followed by an overview of project management and digitalization within the rail sector. This section is completed with an overview of ERTMS, RTC, and ATO.

2.1. Managing Digitalization

Implementing digitalization necessitates change, and change management has two main perspectives: organizational change management and managing scope changes. Organizational change management involves navigating unique project-induced changes within organizations, often driven by project promoters’ desires and project objectives [31]. This type of change management is typically focused on the use of a project delivery, such as new infrastructure or new technologies. In other words, a project delivery is used to generate the intended value. To execute such changes successfully [32] suggest conducting an organizational analysis that highlights the necessary changes, which is followed by an assessment of factors that may influence the change, i.e., resistance and key stakeholders. A change strategy can then be built on this analysis, while continuous monitoring limits the impacts of unexpected issues. Conversely, managing scope changes focuses on managing, and often aiming to minimize, changes in project parameters [33]. This type of change management typically relates to the project execution and what the project shall deliver [34].

Digitalization has increasingly intersected with organizational management, driven by the imperative to enhance predictability and efficiency amid technological advancements and disruptive effects on business processes [3,35]. Effective organizational management is crucial for successful digital transformation, necessitating a long-term vision and comprehensive understanding of organizational needs [36]. Modern business operations have triggered the adoption of digital solutions, prompting updated managerial practices at all organizational levels [37]. However, digitalization and automation introduce cultural transformations within organizations, impacting stakeholders and necessitating robust, adaptable, and accessible organizational management strategies [38].

Implementing such strategies entails multifaceted initiatives engaging various organizational levels [39,40], which creates a shift towards a bottom–up team leadership that necessitates ongoing change management efforts to accommodate evolving stakeholder expectations [41]. Stakeholder management is thus intricately linked to change management, requiring the continuous adaptation of project strategies to meet evolving stakeholder needs amid digital transformations [42,43], and provides a link between organizational change management and scope change management. Indeed, digitalization projects induce organizational changes at both human and structural levels, necessitating expertise, awareness training, and organizational restructuring to fully leverage digital capacities [44]. Mitigating secondary changes and understanding the transformative potential of digitalization projects are critical for successful organizational outcomes [45].

These challenges underscore the importance of examining disruptive technologies from an organizational management standpoint [3], but existing research on digitalization predominantly focuses on specific digital tools, such as building information modeling and social media applications [46]. There is thus a notable gap in understanding the utilization and implications of technologies like ERTMS, RTC, and ATO within the railway industry from an organizational perspective. The next subsection will present the changes and challenges brought upon by infrastructure projects and digitalization projects in the transport sector.

2.2. Project Management and Digitalization in the Transport Sector

Transport infrastructure projects (TIPs) typically stretch across decades with budgets ranging from millions to billions of dollars, all while grappling with considerable uncertainties and risks, which in turn makes time and costs forecasts often inaccurate [20,22,47]. Appropriate risk management procedures are consequently a key part of success in infrastructure projects [48]. Such procedures include determining what the risk events are, integrating a mix of a bottom–up and top–down perspective on how to tackle these events, and adopting an iterative approach to develop risk management processes [49].

Even though the hardware components are most visible in TIPs, they may also contain significant elements of digitalization. In the case of rail infrastructure, they are characterized by complexity, as they undergo a life cycle from their conception through design, construction, operation, and maintenance to their end. Multiple actors, such as designers, construction companies, operators, and maintenance firms, are involved, making effective information exchange critical [50]. This can be facilitated by adopting effective project management practices. Ref. [20] analyzed 30 TIPs and showed that when proactive measures such as public engagement initiatives are taken to mitigate dissatisfaction and opposition, projects tend to progress smoothly and meet their deadlines.

Based on their study, ref. [51] demonstrated that, in TIPs, stakeholder and change management are among the least used practices in organizations. They recommend the early identification and analysis of stakeholders in the planning phase. Managing stakeholders from the outset will aid in coordinating issues, which can prevent conflicts later [52]. This proactive approach also enhances the public acceptance of the project and potentially reduces the planning duration, especially the approval phase [51]. Regarding change management processes, organizations should address and prepare changes stemming from unclear task definitions, regulatory shifts, evolving political opinions, and alterations post-approval. Clearly defining tasks and objectives early in the planning phase, especially during preparation, is crucial to minimize changes in the specifications and scope [51].

Ref. [20] demonstrated that the introduction of new technology in a TIP is linked to poor performance and delays in the planning phase. They showed that such technologies require more front-end management, which can delay the start of the planning phase. Such delays can also pose a threat to approval, especially if stakeholders are unfamiliar with the technology [20]. Moreover, ref. [21] showed that the introduction of intelligent transport systems is hindered by many aspects. They concluded that there is an inability to tailor technological solutions that match the real operational needs, a tendency to overlook critical interaction challenges with the technology’s supplier, and a business approach that does not consider the supplier as a collaborative partner but rather as a provider. The deployment of such technologies is also slowed by unclear system requirements, the limited understanding of comparable challenges, a procurement emphasis on technology rather than needs, and contracts not aligned with performance and support processes [21].

In addition, when such a technological project is undertaken in railways, it is prone to be delayed in the construction phase [20]. It is claimed that the sector has yet to catch up in adopting cutting-edge methods and technologies as compared to other transport fields. This delay is partially attributed to the requisite expertise and readiness of personnel, since managerial considerations have emerged as key obstacles to the progression and implementation of Industry 4.0 technologies in the railway industry [53,54,55]. Yet, digitalization stands as an important objective within the railway sector, shaping its future trajectory [56]. The sector’s pivotal challenge lies in delivering efficient and appealing transportation projects to customers while capitalizing on the transformative potential of digital advancements [56].

This was noted by [57], who asserted that technological advancement within railway networks is intricately tied to the implementation of expansive, capital-intensive endeavors. These projects require collaboration and coordination among numerous organizations interconnected within an innovation network [58]. Consequently, project-based organizations, such as the technology supplier, and the rail operator are intertwined, which illustrates a tendency to share technical and organizational components [57]. This means that project-based activities are regarded as essential parts of new technology implementation in railways, since they are crucial for sustaining system efficiency, resolving significant obstacles hindering network expansion, and enabling system adaptation to emerging regulatory or market demands [57].

In brief, the stakeholders and components of railways need to collaborate effectively to deliver safe services and maintain the desired level of performance [20]. However, project-based activities, such as the implementation of ERTMS, RTC, and ATO, have a significant influence this collaboration, making it imperative to examine and understand their managerial impact for their successful implementation, an endeavor that will be completed in the next subsections.

2.3. European Rail Traffic Management System

European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) aims at unifying the diverse national train control and command systems in Europe to enhance rail transport safety, capacity, and efficiency [59]. It thus aims at assuring the interoperability of rail transport within Europe, since the standardization of rail signal control systems facilitates the transport of goods and passengers within the continent [60]. ERTMS is designed with various levels of specification tailored to different operational needs. Depending on how it is implemented, ERTMS can bring forth a range of advantages such as cab signaling, automatic train protection, and the potential for future advancements like moving block train separation [61]. These features enhance the safety and efficiency of rail operations and pave the way for technological advancements and increased capacity in the rail network.

The establishment of this technology comes with novel managerial challenges and impediments that must be addressed to capture its full benefits [62,63].

2.4. Remote Train Control

RTC is recognized as an essential technological foundation necessary for the implementation of ATO systems [64]. RTC enables a remote operator to assume control and oversight of rolling stock, engage with other remote agents and entities (whether technical or human), and ensure complete safety, even when confronted with operator-related faults, environmental challenges, or technical system malfunctions [64]. Remote driving finds application in situations where assuming remote control over an automatic train becomes imperative, particularly following a malfunction in the ATO components [65]. In such scenarios, achieving RTC capability becomes a primary objective to be attained before the full deployment of ATO on mainlines can be considered safe and viable [65]. According to [66], there are currently three main applications for RTC: (1) the coordination of activities encompassing the segments between the yard and the client’s site, with the aim of minimizing extended transportation periods and driver waiting times; (2) the administration of technical routes connecting maintenance centers and stations, ensuring the efficient functioning of this infrastructure; (3) the retrieval and recuperation procedures associated with automatic trains, whether they are experiencing failures or not.

RTC can enhance operational resilience by remotely overseeing, controlling, and intervening in cases of disruptions, but the realization of this necessitates the development of innovative operational strategies, as highlighted by [67]. Upon introducing RTC, organizations must establish clear protocols dictating the time and manner in which decision-making authority regarding train control transitions from one entity to another. This transition process follows an incremental trajectory, involving extensive deliberations that engage a broad range of stakeholders [67]. For instance, there are scenarios in which a driver may need to engage in physical tasks during unforeseen events, such as evacuations. In such cases, the driver’s responsibilities extend to collaborating with traffic control, as they need to formulate the most effective approach and effectively communicate it to the passengers [68].

2.5. Automatic Train Operation

ATO serves as a comprehensive framework, since there are four different stages of automation, referred to as Grades of Automation (GoA) in the international standard IEC 62290-1 [69]. In GoA1, the train driver manually operates the train, potentially with the assistance of driving advisory systems. In GoA2, acceleration, deceleration, and stopping are automated. The train driver retains responsibility, actively monitors the ATO system, and steps in when necessary. In GoA3, the ATO system operates the train independently, allowing the train driver to be outside the cab and engage in other tasks. In GoA4, the ATO system operates the train autonomously and intervenes in the event of potential incidents. No train driver is onboard, and disruptions are managed remotely or by a maintenance team [69]. The global automatic train market grew from $9.08 billion in 2022 to 9.79 billion in 2023 [70], while automated metros are expected to reach 2200 km globally by 2025 [71].

The potential benefits of utilizing ATO technology are numerous [5]. Notably, it is expected to contribute to a decrease in accidents and an overall improvement in safety. Railway companies can anticipate a reduction in operational costs with the deployment of automatic trains. A decrease in emissions produced is envisaged, while the capacity for passengers will be expanded, thus contributing to environmental and transport sustainability. With these outcomes, railway services are anticipated to become more sustainable, reliable, robust, and efficient [5,72].

However, it must be noted that the deployment of ATO is mostly confined within metro lines (around 40 cities in the world have automated rail lines) and the usage of such technologies on mainline railways is quite limited [5]. Indeed, attaining the desired levels of autonomy in train systems is met with several challenges. For instance [15], conducted a comprehensive survey focusing on driverless train operations within urban transit rail systems. Their investigation revealed multifaceted challenges, encompassing safety concerns, train technology intricacies, and communication issues. The successful realization of automated train systems thus hinges on the active involvement and collaboration of a diverse array of stakeholders, including manufacturers, fleet operators, infrastructure developers, labor unions, citizen organizations, and government officials. Their collective engagement and cooperation are indispensable for the effective implementation and operation of ATO systems. To respond to these challenges, organizations are undergoing structural and cultural transformations to integrate this new technology, thereby giving rise to organizational and managerial complexities [5].

3. Research Gap

The previous conceptual overview allowed the identification of a research gap that will be uncovered in the following section.

In the first subsection of the conceptual overview, it was shown that effective change management encompasses organizational change management and managing scope changes, which are essential for successful digital transformation and require comprehensive strategies to address evolving stakeholder needs and mitigate the transformative impact of digitalization on organizational structures and processes. Then, it was demonstrated that TIPs, especially in rail infrastructure, span decades and face significant uncertainty, but effective project management practices and processes can mitigate delays and foster public acceptance. In light of this, digitalization remains a key objective in the railway sector, yet its implementation is slowed by managerial considerations and organizational readiness, thereby highlighting the importance of collaboration among various stakeholders for successful technology integration and system efficiency in railway networks. Next, ERTMS, RTC, and ATO were presented as examples of digitalization projects within the rail sector, while their respective implementation faces challenges that require collaboration among stakeholders and organizational transformation.

There is thus a gap in the detailed exploration into the specific managerial challenges associated with the implementation of ERTMS, RTC, and ATO in railways. While some of the literature acknowledges the importance of using established managerial practices for digitalization ventures in the transport sector, it does not delve into the factors that may hinder the successful adoption of these aforementioned technologies, which justifies the dual research question of this paper: what are the managerial challenges associated with the deployment of ERTMS, RTC, and ATO addressed in previous studies, and how can these challenges be discussed from both an organizational change and a scope change management perspective?

As these challenges are integrated and analyzed from an organizational perspective, it is important to situate them in the broader context of the projects in which they take place, which is illustrated in Figure 1, showing how project attributes evolve during different project phases [33,73].

It is well established in the project management literature to use illustrations like Figure 1 to indicate how project attributes change during different project phases. Even though the detailed shapes of the curves vary between different authors and models, they share the underlying logic. This figure summarizes two groups of curves, with the time of the project on the x-axis, and the general low to high scale on the y axis. One curve begins high in the front-end and moves to low as the project progresses. Uncertainty, the significance of decisions, and the degree of the freedom to maneuver typically show this development, being high at the beginning of the project and low at the end. The other curve begins low and ends up high towards the end of the project. This includes variables such as the accumulated cost, available information, and cost of scope changes. Even though the actual shapes of the individual curves vary between different variables and studies, they can be clustered in the two general groups.

The next section will outline the methodological approach used to answer this study’s question.

4. Methodology

A scoping review methodology was employed. This methodology allows for a broader scope and is useful for emerging or underexplored research topics, which is the case in this study. Scoping reviews are thus exploratory in nature and seek to identify research gaps and key concepts, while systematic literature reviews seek to answer narrowly focused research questions that involves stricter inclusion criteria for selecting, appraising and synthesizing studies [76,77]. Given the evolving nature of the ERTMS, ATO, and RTC managerial challenges, the flexibility of the scoping review allowed for the inclusion of a wider variety of study designs and methodologies, making it an ideal choice for synthesizing the current state of knowledge and offering a broad overview of the literature [76,77].

The primary goal of this review is to examine the execution of ATO, RTC, and ERTMS projects in past instances. Our aim is to shed light on the most common managerial challenges and pinpoint any possible hurdles that need to be addressed. The scope of these cases encompasses a range of areas, including metro automation, the remote control of both freight and passenger trains, fully automated trains, and highly assisted driving, as documented in the works of [14,67,78]. To conduct the review effectively, the authors adhered to established guidelines proposed by [27,28,29,30]. A database search was performed in Web of Science and Scopus.

In the first step, keywords were used to initiate the search in the selected databases. The keywords used are presented in

Table 1. Keywords search in databases.

Main Keyword	AND	OR	OR	OR	Web of Science	Scopus
ATO	Costs	Management	Challenges	Implementation	161	157
Automatic Train Operation	Costs	Management	Challenges	Implementation	193	157
RTC	Costs	Management	Challenges	Implementation	286	259
Remote Train Control	Costs	Management	Challenges	Implementation	108	73
ERTMS	Costs	Management	Challenges	Implementation	27	42

. The scope was restricted to papers in English from 2005 to 2023, including only peer reviewed journal papers. In the second step, the titles, keywords, and abstracts were checked manually, and the selection was refined by removing all the papers that were not addressing ATO, ERTMS, or RTC. In the third step, the research was refined again by excluding papers that were only addressing specific technical aspects of the rail sector and not assessing the challenges, costs, and managerial, organizational, or human aspects. In the fourth and final step, a final refinement was conducted, sorting all the papers based on the full texts. The Prisma flow chart of this process, which is inspired by the methodology in [79], is illustrated in Figure 2. A total of 30 papers were reviewed.

5. Results

As previously mentioned, the review encompassed 30 papers spanning the years 2005 to 2023. The annual publication rate remained steady until 2022 when a notable surge occurred, with five articles published that year and an additional seven in 2023. This illustrates that managerial issues arising from ERTMS, RTC, and ATO deployment are gaining prominence both in industrial and academic circles, as illustrated in Figure 3.

The most frequent publication channels are charted in Figure 4. The Journal of Rail Transport Planning & Management stands out as the publication channel with the most publications, with five publications. It is followed by WIT Transactions on the Built Environment, IEEE Access, and Research in Transportation Business and Management, with each having two publications.

Figure 5 illustrates the distribution of the technology discussed in the publications. Of the thirty papers, three analyzed RTC, thirteen analyzed ERTMS, and twelve analyzed ATO. Two papers studied ERTMS and ATO, bringing the total for each to fourteen and fifteen. This shows that research on RTC and its managerial implications are considerably lacking, in comparison to ERTMS and ATO. It also shows that no research has been conducted on the relationship between the three technologies or on the relationship between ATO and RTC and the relationship between RTC and ERTMS.

Figure 6 illustrates the different research methods from the retrieved papers. Thirteen of them utilized a qualitative methodology, while three of them utilized a quantitative methodology. Eight of them had a mixed approach (quantitative and qualitative) and six of them were conceptual papers.

The analysis of the retrieved papers identified various management themes. The most frequent ones were stakeholder management, change management, and organizational management; some papers had implications related to all three of these managerial aspects. Stakeholder management was identified 14 times, change management 13 times, and organizational management 14 times. These findings, presented in

Table 2. Distribution of project management themes per paper.

Sources	Stakeholder	Change	Organizational	Others	ERTMS	RTC	ATO
[80]		X					X
[81]				X	X
[12]	X						X
[82]	X	X	X		X
[83]				X	X
[84]			X		X
[85]	X				X		X
[14]	X	X	X				X
[86]				X			X
[63]			X		X
[87]				X		X
[88]	X	X	X			X
[89]		X	X		X		X
[90]				X			X
[5]	X	X	X				X
[61]	X	X			X
[91]	X						X
[92]		X	X		X
[93]	X					X
[94]	X				X
[95]		X					X
[66]		X	X		X
[96]			X				X
[97]	X	X					X
[68]	X	X	X				X
[98]			X				X
[99]	X				X
[100]		X	X		X
[101]	X				X
[102]			X				X
30	14	13	14	5	14	3	15

, set the stage for an examination of the implications in the upcoming sections.

6. Discussion

As shown in Table 1 and Table 2, the most recurring themes are stakeholder management, change management, and organizational management. This highlights the growing managerial challenges faced by railway organizations when engaging in remote or automated functions [103]. These three managerial themes will thus be explored in the following paragraphs.

6.1. Stakeholder Management

A recurring topic within stakeholder management is the question of how to respond to changes in stakeholder responsibilities engaging with digital, remote, or automated systems, especially train drivers’ responsibility. In the case of ERTMS [94], demonstrated that it takes about one year for a train driver to become proficient with the technology. They further recommended that this would require performing at least 10 to 19 duties per quarter with at least one ERTMS route. After that year, the frequency can be readjusted according to driver’s needs, but a minimum of six duties per quarter should be performed with at least one ERTMS route [94]. Also, ref. [85] noted that technological progress, such as ERTMS, creates ambiguity regarding certain areas of responsibility. Such ambiguity thus requires clarified roles for drivers [85]. Indeed, a systematic literature review by [61] illustrated that the use of ERTMS transposes the visual focus of the driver inside of the cabin, rather than outside, potentially leading drivers to omit crucial information that necessitates their attention.

Such findings corroborate the research in [88] on how RTC revolutionizes the railway industry by reshaping collaboration dynamics among stakeholders, as team members now must cooperate with machine agents. The remote operators, disconnected from the train, cannot independently gather environmental data and make real-time decisions. Instead, they rely on an advisory system that collects information, performs comprehensive analyses, and generates predictive insights about the driving process. These insights then inform the actions of the remote operator [88]. Likewise, when implementing ATO, neglecting the duties and expertise of drivers could result in negative effects on service quality and pose safety concerns.

Thus, when deploying ATO, it is crucial to establish new strategies to make up for the absence of drivers’ observational advantages. These strategies involve comprehensively defining their roles to assert how an automated system can fulfill them [12]. Ref. [89] recommend that, to fill the void between human operation and novel technologies, diminish human errors, and improve performance within railways, it is necessary to develop employees’ competencies with new technologies. Unions have frequently expressed significant resistance towards the heightened implementation of automation, primarily citing concerns related to the potential ramifications such as job losses and staff relocations [14].

Moreover, as noted by [14], the public acceptance of driverless trains is mixed, and passengers should be informed that they are using an automated system. This is also shown by [97], who demonstrated that GoA3 and GoA4 trains are generally accepted, but certain demographic or socioeconomic characteristics can affect an individual’s perspective on unattended trains. The research in [104] revealed that RTC with human operators can foster the acceptance of automated trains. They also noted that driverless operators are supported, but passengers still prefer the presence of onboard personnel.

These findings corroborate the assertion of studies in digitalization management [2,39,41] that the implementation of digital tools will have the most significant impact on project team members, who are key stakeholders in the process. Effectively including team members in the digitalization process will entail major organizational changes, such as a novel bottom–up approach [41], the cultivation of a collaborative organizational culture [2], and the redistribution of resources [39]. Since railways are sociotechnical systems and do not evolve in isolation within their network [6,7], the deployment of ATO and RTC impacts a broad range of external stakeholders, such as passengers and unions.

However, some key issues regarding stakeholder management were not found in the retrieved literature. For instance, in the case of RTC and ATO, there was no mention of the business relationship that is maintained by the operator with the supplier of the technology. This confirms the findings in [21] that, in the railway industry, challenges and interactions with the technology suppliers are often overlooked, leading to suboptimal outcomes. Also, as noted by [57], digital ventures in railways require interconnectedness between the involved organizations, thus exemplifying the sociotechnical nature of the sector. Finally, the findings expose that most of the studies on the impacts of deploying ERTMS, RTC, or ATO are focused on the train drivers. While pertinent, not considering the impacts on managerial personnel and other internal stakeholders perpetuates the assertion in [55] that managerial issues are a major impediment to deploying and harnessing the benefits of novel technologies in railways, which also shows that stakeholder management could be improved [51].

In brief, a wide range of stakeholders influence and impact the implementation of ERTMS, RTC, and ATO. These stakeholders are found both at the macro and micro level of railway organizations. For instance, changes in train drivers’ and other employees’ responsibilities can be analyzed from a micro perspective, while passenger behavior or relationships with the technology supplier can be viewed from a macro perspective. Having such a variety of stakeholders highlights the need for stakeholder mapping strategies [52]. Indeed, key stakeholders need to be identified to assess which of these are most affected by the project and who asserts a high degree of influence over the outcome of the project [105]. The process of stakeholder management thus starts by establishing stakeholders who have an invested interest in the project and comprehending the nature of these interests. The influence of each stakeholder to assert their interest should then be analyzed and addressed strategically to minimize their impact on the project’s definition and execution, ensuring a smoother project progress [106,107]. The mapping of the stakeholders identified in the reviewed literature is illustrated in Figure 7, which is inspired by [108].

6.2. Change and Organizational Management

Papers studying the implementation of ERTMS present numerous factors impacting change and organizational management in railway companies. Notably, ref. [82], mention that failing to properly define the specificities can produce changes during the development and validation of such projects. They thus suggest that member states should, at an organizational level, foster a culture that enhances collaborative efforts between them and prioritizes similar safety considerations [82]. Similarly, ref. [62] found that the deployment of ERTMS was slowed by the diverse business models of the organizations and the organizational tendency to favor their own safety approaches. A collaborative culture is consequently needed, coupled with raising awareness on the effects of system changes produced by the introduction of ERTMS. However, technical aspects, rather than organizational ones, are the focus of such projects [62]. This is also highlighted in the study in [100] that demonstrated that uncertainty and changes in ERTMS projects were caused by behaviors from certain stakeholders and not from technical features.

Moreover, deploying and operating ATO requires involving every echelon of the organization in the change management process [80]. It ensures that all the required factors are assessed when converting to an automated system, which includes the following: the operational and service benefits expected from the technology, the safety and risks mitigation strategy, the acceptance of the system by the relevant stakeholders, and the integration and migration of the old system into the new system [80]. This is shown in the study in [68], where six categories are presented, in which the drivers play a role, that automated systems must be able to undertake: detect, report, inspect, adjust, manage passengers, and respond to train orders. Indeed, attaining the desired autonomy by switching the imputability of these roles to an ATO system requires the participation of every organizational echelon, as it changes the operational paradigms of railways [5].

Such studies show the need for updated organizational strategies when setting up ERTMS, RTC, or ATO. This supports organizational change management theories that assert that the complete harnessing of the benefits of digitalization is contingent upon the implementation of novel organizational management strategies [36]. Thus, as proposed by such theories [36,37,44], railway companies should undertake a comprehensive overhaul of their work processes, organizational structures, and cultures, while developing effective communication strategies to optimally harness the benefits of ERTMS, RTC, and ATO [36,37,44].

This review can be used to elaborate on both perspectives of change management: organizational change management and scope change management. Building on Figure 1, Figure 8 illustrates that a key concern in scope change management is to manage the rise in the “cost of scope change” curve over time in a project. This indicates that late changes in a project are costly, since they can trigger redesign and contract amendments. However, from an organizational change perspective, the project in itself represents the “change” which needs to be managed. This is by definition a major change and a desired one; the purpose of the project is to introduce something new such as a new piece of transport infrastructure or a new technological system (or, commonly, both). The scope changes only represent adjustments in this big desired change (even though such changes may be costly).

The y-curve in Figure 8 can be seen as an illustration of a project generating organizational change, such as introducing ERTMS, RTC, or ATO. The big desired change is an organizational and managerial answer to the introduction of these technologies. This study and previous studies have highlighted the importance of utilizing the room for maneuvering in the front-end of projects. However, there are indications that the stakeholder acceptance of organizational change may require continuous change to gain acceptance. While it is likely that technical scope and configuration changes in ERTMS, RTC, or ATO systems have a scope change cost as indicated in the figure, the authors find that organizational change may not follow that curve. In fact, there are indications that organizational change and at least change resistance is not a low-to-high type of curve, but rather a high-to-low, as suggested in Figure 8. This highlights the need to be aware of the different characteristics of project change management; organizational change does not follow the common knowledge curve for scope changes.

Finally, some of the retrieved literature presented quantifiable metrics on ERTMS, RTC, or ATO systems, but none addressed the cost or benefits of change and organizational management. This underlines the need for performance indicators on the implementation of change management strategies to reflect on project success rates. Such indicators should include metrics related to workforce retraining and complexities arising from retrofitting. Other indicators should quantify stakeholder satisfaction and the organizational readiness to operate the technology. By using such indicators, railway organizations can better assess the real benefits of undertaking a digital transition, and this will lead to more informed decision-making processes throughout their projects.

7. Conclusions

This study has delved into the managerial challenges associated with the deployment of ERTMS, RTC, and ATO. Changes in stakeholder roles and responsibilities, coupled with the transformation of organizational and managerial frameworks, present hurdles that demand careful consideration and strategic solutions. Sociotechnical systems, such as railways, demand a collaborative exploration of value-creation processes, with a particular emphasis on aligning technical and social systems across organizational levels [6,24].

Initiatives like the R2DATO project underscore the potential of ATO and RTC to revolutionize the railway sector [9]. However, realizing these benefits requires addressing numerous organizational and managerial challenges, as illuminated by the research findings. The study emphasizes that the effective management of ERTMS, RTC, and ATO projects is paramount for successful digitalization in the railway sector. The scoping review methodology adopted aligns with the sociotechnical nature of digitalization in railways. The research question guiding the exploration—what are the managerial challenges associated with the deployment of ERTMS, RTC, and ATO that are addressed in previous studies, and how can these challenges be discussed from both a change management and scope management perspective?—has enabled the identification of prospective organizational risks and obstacles that may surface during the implementation of these digital technologies.

The results emphasize the need for comprehensive organizational change strategies that address the evolving nature of such projects. Indeed, the findings underscore the importance of stakeholder management, change management, and organizational management in navigating the novel challenges posed by the integration of digital technologies in the railway industry. Moreover, the impact of ERTMS, ATO, and RTC on organizational dynamics and the need for human-centered systems have been highlighted, emphasizing the necessity of involving every echelon of the organization in the change management process.

Regarding the second part of the research question (how can the observed challenges be discussed from an organizational and scope change management perspective?), Figure 8 provides an illustration of the nuances and aspects of change management in railway digitalization projects. Both organizational and scope change management emerge as key success factors for railway digitalization projects.

Future research endeavors should delve into transitioning from project implementation to day-to-day operations. The existing literature focuses on the managerial challenges inherent in the development and deployment phases of ERTMS, ATO, and RTC projects, neglecting the ongoing operational and organizational adaptations required post-implementation. It is indeed imperative to recognize that the introduction of digital technologies initiates profound organizational changes across multiple dimensions [44]. In the human dimension, modifications in stakeholders’ roles create demands for expertise, awareness training, and communication. In the organizational dimension, firms must reconfigure their work, organizational structures, and cultures to fully leverage the advantages of digitalization [44], which entail continuous change management efforts [41,42,43]. Thus, future research should not only bridge the gap between project and operational phases but also explore the intricate interplay between technological implementation and organizational transformation. By doing so, researchers can provide valuable insights into the holistic implications of digital technology adoption in railway operations and facilitate informed decision-making processes for industry stakeholders. In the transport sector, the transformation process induced by ERTMS, RTC, and ATO is illustrated in Figure 9. In the first stage, organizations undergo traditional project processes where they acquire new systems and integrate it in their business processes, while engaging with relevant stakeholders such as regulators. In the second stage, change management is underway with the retraining of personnel and the retrofitting of old systems. In the last stage, new digital systems have transformed the operations, thus requiring constant change management and continuous learning, which impacts the organizational structure.

In this review, the retrieved studies identified challenges arising primarily during the two initial stages of the transformation process, illustrated in Figure 9. These two phases are marked by temporary and transitional changes. Although these phases are fundamental for the successful integration of technologies, inadequate preparation for operational shifts and permanent organizational adjustments can limit the realization of anticipated benefits, potentially leading to suboptimal outcomes. Consequently, there is a need for researchers to explore the transition from ERTMS, RTC, and ATO projects into the operational landscape of railway operators (last stage of Figure 9). This exploration is necessary for mitigating the challenges associated with the permanent organizational transformation triggered by the introduction of novel digital technologies.

Future research should also dive into the supplier–operator relationship, especially in the case of RTC and ATO. Further research should seek to distinguish the challenges arising from different project phases in the cases of ERTMS, RTC, and ATO, since, in the retrieved literature, no distinction was made. More research on the interactions between these technologies is needed, as well as more attention on RTC, which was underexplored in the retrieved literature. Finally, future research should assess the deployment of ERTMS, RTC, and ATO from a risk management perspective, since safety concerns from the involved stakeholders are of paramount importance in a complex environment like railways.

In closing, this research sheds light on the critical intersection of change management and digitalization within the railway industry. By considering ERTMS, RTC, and ATO projects within the broader organizational context, this study provides valuable insights for practitioners, researchers, and policymakers alike. As the railway sector navigates the challenges and opportunities presented by digital technologies, understanding and addressing the managerial aspects become imperative for successful and sustainable implementations. Research in this domain should continue to explore and refine management strategies tailored to the evolving landscape of digitalization projects in the railway industry.