Several years ago the six railways of the ERTMS Users Group made contracts with European signalling suppliers to test their respective ERTMS equipment on test lines. Cross exchange tests were also foreseen to check the interoperability. During the development of the ERTMS/ETCS specifications, the railways focussed mainly on the specifications themselves. However, after the signing of the ERTMS/ETCS class 1 specifications in Madrid in April 2000, exact definition of the railway’s intentions regarding pilot lines became more urgent. A strategy for the consolidation of ERTMS/ETCS was drafted by the Users Group, first alone, later in co-operation with UNISIG (the combined European signalling industry). Such a strategy is a living document, evolving during the process to accommodate new insights whenever necessary. This article describes the current status of the ERTMS/ETCS consolidation stratey.