estimated to be the most cost-effective among the four tested systems. The new systems are expected to be safe, with segments of the rail being powered only when a vehicle is traveling over them. The rails have been tested while submerged in salt water and were found to be safe for pedestrians. The co-director for one of the French Ministry of Ecology working groups on electric road systems stated that rail-based ERS are the most advantageous, though the specific rail technology has yet to be standardized. France plans to invest 30 to 40 billion euro by 2035 in an electric road system spanning 8,800 kilometers. Two tenders for assessment of electric road technologies are expected to be announced by 2023. Ground-level power supply technologies are considered the most likely candidates for electric roads. Standardization Alstom, Elonroad, and other companies have, in 2020, begun drafting a standard for ground-level power supply electric roads. The European Commission published in 2021 a request for regulation and standardization of electric road systems. Shortly afterward, a working group of the French Ministry of Ecology recommended adopting a European electric road standard formulated with Sweden, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Poland, and others. The first standard for electrical equipment on-board a vehicle powered by a rail electric road system (ERS) has been published in late 2022. The standard, CENELEC Technical Standard 50717, specifies the following: an ERS voltage of 750 volts; a contact shoe capable of withstanding impact of gravel and similar road debris at the maximum operating speed; a weak link that breaks off the current collector at the structural fixing points if the force is larger than the maximum specified by the vehicle manufacturer; automatic monitoring of the presence of ERS infrastructure; automatic engagement and disengagement; a presence signal that may be analog or digital, and optional standard bidirectional communication; ease of inspection and replacement for the wearing parts of the sliding contact; and standard tests, markings, maintenance, and operational environment conditions. The 50717 standard does not encompass, but specifies for normative purposes, three architectures for ERS infrastructure: Type A architecture with two parallel surface-level conductive rails, one positive and one negative; Type B architecture with a single surface-level or raised track with short segments where each two segments in series have one positive and one negative segment; and Type C architecture with three parallel conductive rails, one positive and one negative below surface