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FEATURE
U
K Rail is undertaking an unprecedented period of digital innovation and revitalisation. Infrastructure dating back to the era of the steam engine (and steam trains themselves) are being upgraded to create a modern, higher capacity network. It’s an exciting time of progress and digitalisation is accelerating. Yet novelty requires a focus on integrity to maintain and improve safety standards, requiring effective collaboration to efficiently deploy and test new technology. This rigour is essential to realising the potential of digitalisation – moving people and goods even more sustainably as we strive to deliver Net Zero. Our railway constantly needs to evolve. From lowering cost and carbon to increasing capacity, safety and reliability, we’re being challenged to improve almost every aspect of rail. But our infrastructure is built on aging technology,
Rail Engineer | Issue 200 | Jan-Feb 2023
especially the signalling system. To meet this growing demand to improve capacity and reliability, the UK rail industry has embarked on a journey to digitalise the railway, including the transition from lineside signalling renewals
to digital signalling through the European Train Control System (ETCS). Pioneering the latest generation of this digital signalling technology across the route on the East Coast Main Line (ECML), one of the UK’s busiest rail routes, is revealing both the challenges and benefits of the digital signalling rollout. By validating and optimising it on a high-speed, mixed-use railway involving all operator sectors, ECML’s digitalisation establishes the pattern for other lines to follow. Network Rail’s Long Term National ETCS Masterplan, supported by government and