Open signaling
Open signaling: Built to evolve, not expire
Modern rail systems shouldn’t become obsolete. With open signaling, infrastructure owners can adapt and upgrade their systems – without tearing everything down.
As demand for rail capacity grows, systems must evolve faster, stay safe, and stay open.
Locked-in. Left behind.
The railway industry faces growing pressure to expand capacity, modernize infrastructure, and reduce the cost of developing and maintaining signaling systems. Yet many operators are stuck with aging, vendor-specific architectures that weren’t built for change.
These proprietary systems make even small upgrades complex and costly – you can’t replace one part without risking the whole. This leads to vendor lock-in, high maintenance costs, limited flexibility, and obsolete components that disrupt operations.
The problem isn’t just cost – it’s time. Development delays, integration complexity, and vendor dependencies hold back progress and stifle innovation.
The lack of open standards in signaling system architecture plays a central role. While ERTMS has improved interoperability in some areas, vendor-specific adaptations still dominate the landscape.
“Replacing the whole system for one part? That’s not progress.”
Modern, open, and interoperable solutions offer a way forward. By shifting to modular architectures and shared standards, infrastructure owners can finally escape lock-in, reduce costs, and respond faster to evolving demands.
Open signaling addresses the root of the problem – enabling flexibility by design, not exception.
A modular way forward
Open architectures shift how you design, upgrade, and maintain signaling systems. With open signaling, you can evolve on your terms, step by step. It’s built on open standards, modular architecture, and certified tools that work together – giving you full control over your system’s future.
Build smarter. Adapt faster.
With open signaling, you can replace outdated components instead of entire systems, modernize without interrupting operations, stay ahead of regulatory and operational demands, and avoid being tied to one vendor’s roadmap. You move from reactive maintenance to proactive evolution.
Safety by design, not by exception.
Open signaling isn’t just a vision – it’s already in use. Combined with certified, formally verified tools, it delivers systems that are safe by design, architectures that adapt and scale, and long-term flexibility through modularity.
From legacy to future-ready.
We help you migrate legacy systems step by step, design modular, standards-based architectures, verify safety mathematically with Prover Certifier, and keep full control from design to deployment.
“Own every step – from design to deployment.”
COTS works – when the architecture does
What is COTS?
COTS (commercial off-the-shelf) refers to ready-made hardware and software available on the open market. In railway signaling, this often means PLCs and other components that can be used without custom development.
COTS enables faster implementation, lower costs, and the use of standard interfaces and open specifications. It’s a scalable way to modernize, without reinventing the system for every project.
Why COTS needs open signaling
COTS only works well when the architecture allows it. That’s what open signaling provides: an environment built on open standards, modularity, and certified tools.
With open signaling, you can safely integrate COTS in high-integrity systems — across vendors, updates, and entire lifecycles.
An ecosystem built for collaboration
Open signaling and COTS create new opportunities – but delivering them at scale requires collaboration across the industry. To accelerate adoption of open signaling and make COTS-based rail control solutions viable in real projects, Prover is actively developing an ecosystem of partners that work together to deliver long-term value.
This ecosystem includes engineering companies acting as system integrators and delivery partners, COTS hardware vendors offering standards-compliant components, and software vendors with complementary tools and platforms.
Together, we make it easier for infrastructure owners to specify, procure, implement, and maintain modern signaling solutions – based on openness, interoperability, and formal safety assurance.
Start your open signaling journey today
Get in touch to discuss how Prover can support your next signaling project – from migration strategies to certified tools and partner integration.
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Related resources
Starting in May 2025, Prover will lead a 24-month project to develop standardized approval methods for modular digital interlockings. Using formal verification and automated testing, the project supports EULYNX and Europe’s Rail goals for interoperable, vendor-independent signaling. Partners include DLR and ESE Engineering.
Aging relay-based systems are nearing their limit. Spare parts are scarce, costs are rising, and critical knowledge is fading fast. This guide shows you how to take control of your infrastructure’s future – by migrating to open, COTS-based signaling systems in a step-by-step, low-risk way.
Backed by real-world case studies like the Stockholm Metro, and trusted by leading European operators, this guide gives you the tools to modernize with confidence.
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