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Norwich - Lowestoft / Yarmouth resignalling

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DaveHarries

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Hi all,

Not sure if anyone saw this in "The Times" yesterday (20-Feb-2016, page 20).....

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/business/industries/transport/article4695178.ece

The traditional track-side signal box, which has been a feature of Britain’s railways for at least 150 years, is to be made redundant as part of radical plans to upgrade the Victorian network.

More than 500 boxes, including many that still rely on hand levers and Morse code-style messages, will be retired to update a network that is described as still being in the Dark Ages.....
..... which was accompanied, on page 27, by an item in the "Leading Article" section of the paper - I would link into that but you can't read it without being a subscriber: fortunately my Dad gets "The Times" on Saturdays so I have cut out both articles. The page 20 item seems to imply that the boxes between Norwich and Lowestoft / Great Yarmouth will be abolished later this year. Does anyone know for certain if my assumption is correct, or will the two systems run alongside each other for a while?

I have been thinking of a photographic trip to get these East Anglia boxes in but, then again, I had also been thinking of doing North Wales Coast but I believe that isn't now going to be done until 2017.

Dave
 
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RailUK Forums

Class 170101

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The date has been moving to the right for sometime. I think final commissioning may be in 2017 or possibly pushed back to 2018.

Looking at NR's website there are currently possessions planned during February and October half terms in 2017.
 

TheEdge

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Whenever it happens seems to be the case. At one point the Wherry Lines were going to be moving into the ROC at Romford very early. It keeps moving back and no doubt will continue to do so!
 

Tio Terry

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Part of Digital Railway.

Other projects, like Cambridge relock/recontrol, are to be delayed to allow the Norwich/Yarmouth/Lowestoft (NYL) project to progress using ETCS. Don't have details of dates but likely to be more than 18 months to completion. Will be interesting to see how they integrate the Swing Bridges and huge number of Level Crossings in to an ETCS system.
 

Bald Rick

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Part of Digital Railway.

Other projects, like Cambridge relock/recontrol, are to be delayed to allow the Norwich/Yarmouth/Lowestoft (NYL) project to progress using ETCS. Don't have details of dates but likely to be more than 18 months to completion. Will be interesting to see how they integrate the Swing Bridges and huge number of Level Crossings in to an ETCS system.

There's not that many controlled Level Crossings; 7 by my reckoning. A lot of User Worked Crossings though, but then that's the same on the Cambrian.

I suspect it will be the first ever ETCS swing bridges, what an achievement ;)
 

ac6000cw

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There is something about the 'Digital Railway' side of this in Roger Ford's latest 'Informed Sources' preview email - http://live.ezezine.com/ezine/archives/759/759-2016.02.22.02.54.archive.txt

To quote:

"In the event, apart from my usual protest that the 40% gain in capacity from ETCS is not supported by any experienced railway operator or signal engineer of my acquaintance, I spent an engrossing 40 minutes sharing some top level insights presented by Euan Clifford. NR’s Head of Programme Engineering - Digital Railway.

What Euan made clear is that while the technical systems at the heart of the Digital Railway (DR) – the European Train Control System (ETCS), Connected-Driver Advisory System (C-DAS and Traffic Management(TM) all exist, NR still needs to ensure that ‘we understand how this package of technologies work together’. As a result, NR is considering the use of the Norwich-Lowestoft/Great Yarmouth ‘Wherry line’ for a ‘proof of concept’ pilot scheme to demonstrate the integration of the three systems.

I queried whether, since TM demonstration suites I had played with included C-DAS as a modular option, did we really need another pilot? Euan was firm that ‘we don’t want to roll out something brand new and wonder why we can’t do it; this is about building confidence’. "
 

moggie

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There is something about the 'Digital Railway' side of this in Roger Ford's latest 'Informed Sources' preview email - http://live.ezezine.com/ezine/archives/759/759-2016.02.22.02.54.archive.txt

To quote:

"In the event, apart from my usual protest that the 40% gain in capacity from ETCS is not supported by any experienced railway operator or signal engineer of my acquaintance, I spent an engrossing 40 minutes sharing some top level insights presented by Euan Clifford. NR’s Head of Programme Engineering - Digital Railway.

What Euan made clear is that while the technical systems at the heart of the Digital Railway (DR) – the European Train Control System (ETCS), Connected-Driver Advisory System (C-DAS and Traffic Management(TM) all exist, NR still needs to ensure that ‘we understand how this package of technologies work together’. As a result, NR is considering the use of the Norwich-Lowestoft/Great Yarmouth ‘Wherry line’ for a ‘proof of concept’ pilot scheme to demonstrate the integration of the three systems.

I queried whether, since TM demonstration suites I had played with included C-DAS as a modular option, did we really need another pilot? Euan was firm that ‘we don’t want to roll out something brand new and wonder why we can’t do it; this is about building confidence’. "

And not only all of the above. The target interlocking system and lineside interface to whatever exists will be a first for the UK and a first for the design contractor delivering it - as if the rest wasn't enough. I've no doubt they'll get it to work. I'd not risk a penny farthing on betting when.
 
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