ETCS Roll-Out on ECML South Confirmed

[Snow1964]

The next phase of the ECML resignalling has been authorised by Government, extending it from Kings Cross to Stoke tunnels (south of Grantham)

• government makes £1 billion digital signalling investment on one of UK’s busiest rail routes
• will deliver safer, more reliable and more resilient services on East Coast Main Line
• new technology will mean fewer delays while creating around 5,000 jobs

More than £1 billion of government funding will be used to replace outdated Victorian infrastructure with cutting edge digital signalling technology.

One-third of the nation’s population live within 20 minutes of a station on the East Coast Main Line and, together, produce more than 40% of the UK’s GDP, making it one of the UK’s busiest rail routes while also playing a vital role in the prosperity of the nation’s economy.

The technology, which will be rolled out across the entire southern section of the line – from London’s King’s Cross to Stoke Tunnels, just south of Grantham – will mean faster, safer and more regular trains for millions of people.

A week after union leaders brought much of the nation’s railway to a standstill with strikes, this investment is a key example of how the government wants to bring the industry into the 21st century.

Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps said:

While union bosses waste time touring television studios and standing on picket lines, I am busy getting on with the job at hand and modernising our railway.
This £1 billion investment will allow us to replace unreliable Victorian infrastructure with cutting-edge technology which will mean fewer delays and more regular services for millions of passengers.
The world is changing and, despite the best efforts of unions, I am determined to help our railway change with it.

£1 billion technology investment to bring railway into 21st century

New funding for a more reliable and sustainable rail network.

www.gov.uk

 

[jon0844]

The next phase of the ECML resignalling has been authorised by Government, extending it from Kings Cross to Stoke tunnels (south of Grantham)

£1 billion technology investment to bring railway into 21st century

New funding for a more reliable and sustainable rail network.

www.gov.uk

Grant Shapps: "While union bosses waste time touring television studios and standing on picket lines, I am busy getting on with the job at hand and modernising our railway."

Erm, yes, but this project has been in the works since long before you became Transport Secretary. It would seem ridiculous for all the current works to have taken place if it wasn't going to be signed off!!

Plus, at one point in time, wasn't all this to have been done for around 2019? I wonder who first set things in motion?

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

The DfT has given funding approval for the installation of ETCS on the southern ECML between King's Cross and Stoke Tunnel (100 miles, 160 km).
This £2 billion scheme will remove "lights on sticks" south of Peterborough (76 miles, 122 km).

Government confirms further funding for ECML ETCS rollout

UK: The government has confirmed a £950·5m tranche of funding for the East Coast Digital Programme to deploy ETCS Level 2 on the section of the East Coast Main Line between London's King's Cross and Stoke Tunnel, south of Grantham. The funding announced by Secretary of ...

www.railwaygazette.com

UK: The government has confirmed a £950·5m tranche of funding for the East Coast Digital Programme to deploy ETCS Level 2 on the section of the East Coast Main Line between London’s King’s Cross and Stoke Tunnel, south of Grantham.
The funding announced by Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps on June 29 will enable Network Rail to install lineside equipment, and train operators to install onboard systems across the 160 km route. Conventional colourlight signals are due to be removed from much of the route, although they will be retained between Peterborough and Stoke Tunnel to facilitate the operation of unfitted trains on east-west services crossing the ECML.

There has been some twitter rage about the term "replacing outdated Victorian signalling" in the press release when the route has had modern signalling since the 1970s.
But I think lineside-based signalling is essentially a Victorian concept and the fact that this is being replaced by cab signalling on a classic main line is transformational.

 

[Class 466]

The DfT has given funding approval for the installation of ETCS on the southern ECML between King's Cross and Stoke Tunnel (100 miles, 160 km).
This £2 billion scheme will remove "lights on sticks" south of Peterborough (76 miles, 122 km).

Government confirms further funding for ECML ETCS rollout

UK: The government has confirmed a £950·5m tranche of funding for the East Coast Digital Programme to deploy ETCS Level 2 on the section of the East Coast Main Line between London's King's Cross and Stoke Tunnel, south of Grantham. The funding announced by Secretary of ...

www.railwaygazette.com

There has been some twitter rage about the term "replacing outdated Victorian signalling" in the press release when the route has had modern signalling since the 1970s.
But I think lineside-based signalling is essentially a Victorian concept and the fact that this is being replaced by cab signalling on a classic main line is transformational.

I think the 'twitter rage' is more down to Grant Shapps not having a clue about how the railway works at all. This will however be transformational!

 

[Snow1964]

Was some rather strange stats in the announcement, eg one third of population is within 20 minutes of ECML station

When you think 20 minutes doesn’t get very far south of Elephant and Castle, and clearly doesn’t reach cities like Birmingham and Manchester etc, I do wonder how this was calculated, possibly by helicopter rather than rail, bus or driving.

 

[BoroAndy]

It's typical though..... The London end of the ECML rather than for example, Newcastle to Edinburgh. So much for levelling up or Northern powerhouse rail.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Is there such thing as portable ETCS yet (is that even possible?), or is this now the end of steam and classic diesel charters from Kings Cross?

 

[Bryson]

Is there such thing as portable ETCS yet (is that even possible?), or is this now the end of steam and classic diesel charters from Kings Cross?

The 'Tornado' steam locomotive is been fitted with ETCS equipment so it must be possible. However I guess that the number of heritage loco's that will be fitted will be small.

 

[Bletchleyite]

The 'Tornado' steam locomotive is been fitted with ETCS equipment so it must be possible. However I guess that the number of heritage loco's that will be fitted will be small.

So I guess this is the start of the slow death of mainline steam in practical terms after it having survived so many things that you'd think would kill it off?

Sad, but such is life I guess. I suppose it will be a while before ETCS gets anywhere near the S&C or the Scottish rural lines, and it could well be that total global bans on burning fossil fuels (which are likely coming) kill it before ETCS does.

 

[43066]

But I think lineside-based signalling is essentially a Victorian concept

To be fair the railway itself is essentially a Victorian concept!

So I guess this is the start of the slow death of mainline steam in practical terms after it having survived so many things that you'd think would kill it off?

Sad, but such is life I guess. I suppose it will be a while before ETCS gets anywhere near the S&C or the Scottish rural lines, and it could well be that total global bans on burning fossil fuels (which are likely coming) kill it before ETCS does.

What a future we have to look forward to!

 

[MarkyT]

The 'Tornado' steam locomotive is been fitted with ETCS equipment so it must be possible. However I guess that the number of heritage loco's that will be fitted will be small.

Tornado's fitment is a bit of a pilot scheme so could form a template for other locos. The number of mainline certified heritage locos is fairly small so shouldn't be too much of a problem when off the shelf systems are available for the application. They all had to be fitted with TPWS a few years ago, and that didn't prove to be a show stopper.

 

[GLC]

Would this news also mean a conversion to metric line speeds and measurements as well?

 

[Bletchleyite]

Would this news also mean a conversion to metric line speeds and measurements as well?

Ssh, don't tell the "124mph is a travesty" brigade over on that other thread!

 

[swt_passenger]

The 'Tornado' steam locomotive is been fitted with ETCS equipment so it must be possible. However I guess that the number of heritage loco's that will be fitted will be small.

There was a thread about this in the railtours forum last year, in it I cross-referred back to an earlier thread including a detailed presentation about what was being done. I also remember highlighting that Tornado in as built condition had a far more complex electrical system than typical kettles:

Tornado to be fitted with in-cab signalling as part of East Coast Digital Programme

Interesting one this I thought: ECML Upgrade: Steam locomotive Tornado to be trial fitted with in-cab signalling Thales and Atkins have been chosen by Network Rail to deliver a new Pathfinder Project for heritage locomotives as part of the East Coast Digital Programme. The project will see...

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[43096]

It's typical though..... The London end of the ECML rather than for example, Newcastle to Edinburgh. So much for levelling up or Northern powerhouse rail.

Probably more to do with the age of signalling equipment in the Kings Cross and Peterborough PSB areas than anything else.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Probably more to do with the age of signalling equipment in the Kings Cross and Peterborough PSB areas than anything else.

It's also got nothing to do with "levelling up" because it won't really make any difference to the service operated, which is what the customer sees. Who cares if the signalling is ETCS or Absolute Block with semaphores (as long as there's TPWS for the safety angle) provided the timetable is acceptable?

 

[HSTEd]

Will there be a forum pool on how late and over budget this project will end up?

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

It's typical though..... The London end of the ECML rather than for example, Newcastle to Edinburgh. So much for levelling up or Northern powerhouse rail.

Well, apart from HS2 and the new bits of NPR, the northern WCML (Warrington, Preston, Carlisle) are likely to go ETCS fairly soon.
The signalling there is of a similar vintage (early 70s) to that being replaced on the ECML.

 

[paul1609]

Will there be a forum pool on how late and over budget this project will end up?

Do we base our estimates on Dft descoping when it passes 500% of budget like GW electrification?

 

[Chiltern006]

Was some rather strange stats in the announcement, eg one third of population is within 20 minutes of ECML station

When you think 20 minutes doesn’t get very far south of Elephant and Castle, and clearly doesn’t reach cities like Birmingham and Manchester etc, I do wonder how this was calculated, possibly by helicopter rather than rail, bus or driving.

was miles, not minutes

 

[D365]

It's typical though..... The London end of the ECML rather than for example, Newcastle to Edinburgh. So much for levelling up or Northern powerhouse rail.

What a strange comment. Why would a programme to upgrade the signalling on a mixed-traffic railway not start at the most trafficked section.

Will there be a forum pool on how late and over budget this project will end up?

Scope creep? Surely not!

 

[zwk500]

It's also got nothing to do with "levelling up" because it won't really make any difference to the service operated, which is what the customer sees. Who cares if the signalling is ETCS or Absolute Block with semaphores (as long as there's TPWS for the safety angle) provided the timetable is acceptable?

It won't have too many noticeable changes, but there are some important aspects of ETCS that will change the service - SRTs and Junction margins will get rounded to 15 seconds rather than 30 seconds, The Braking Curve control replaces approach control signalling and cautionary aspects for a smoother approach and (I think) overlaps effectively become redundant, being replaced by the braking curve supervision. Which has implications for compact layouts such as at Peterborough.

Do we base our estimates on Dft descoping when it passes 500% of budget like GW electrification?

It's a bit late to descope a resignalling scheme from ETCS to anything else once you're halfway through the project.

 

[Mollman]

I think the 'twitter rage' is more down to Grant Shapps not having a clue about how the railway works at all. This will however be transformational!

It is a typical DfT press release full of half truths and labelling everything as outdated. Yes lineside signalling is a Victorian concept but they didn't have AWS, TPWS etc. Yes the signalling on the ECML South doesn't do what ECTS can, but there are ways that it could (Driver Advisory System etc.).

 

[SouthEastBuses]

Will this also mean speeds increasing to 225 km/h or 140 mph on the southern section of the ECML?

 

[popeter45]

is any of the ECML South built for >125mph speeds like how the racetrack is but due to signalling was limited?
could we see any speed increases as part of this?

 

[Jonny]

The DfT has given funding approval for the installation of ETCS on the southern ECML between King's Cross and Stoke Tunnel (100 miles, 160 km).
This £2 billion scheme will remove "lights on sticks" south of Peterborough (76 miles, 122 km).

Government confirms further funding for ECML ETCS rollout

UK: The government has confirmed a £950·5m tranche of funding for the East Coast Digital Programme to deploy ETCS Level 2 on the section of the East Coast Main Line between London's King's Cross and Stoke Tunnel, south of Grantham. The funding announced by Secretary of ...

www.railwaygazette.com

There has been some twitter rage about the term "replacing outdated Victorian signalling" in the press release when the route has had modern signalling since the 1970s.
But I think lineside-based signalling is essentially a Victorian concept and the fact that this is being replaced by cab signalling on a classic main line is transformational.

Do they mean block signalling (as a system), which dates from the Victorian era, rather than PTC-style movement authorities?

Is there such thing as portable ETCS yet (is that even possible?), or is this now the end of steam and classic diesel charters from Kings Cross?

I think the classic diesels should be mostly OK as they have desk-type controls, certainly, but steam may prove more awkward.

The 'Tornado' steam locomotive is been fitted with ETCS equipment so it must be possible. However I guess that the number of heritage loco's that will be fitted will be small.

The trouble is that the ECTS equipment will likely need to at least be able to implement a brake demand automatically, to pass the safety case. It is do-able, but may need some modification (such as an attachment point), which is probably do-able, however. Whether part of it will be removable is another matter.

 

[zwk500]

Will this also mean speeds increasing to 225 km/h or 140 mph on the southern section of the ECML?

is any of the ECML South built for >125mph speeds like how the racetrack is but due to signalling was limited?
could we see any speed increases as part of this?

My understanding is not immediately, but that the signalling would now be capable of it. Things like maintenance/alignment etc would not be done as pushing the tops speeds up to 140mph can have big impacts with things like swingnose points and cant deficiency.

 

[Speed43125]

is any of the ECML South built for >125mph speeds like how the racetrack is but due to signalling was limited?
could we see any speed increases as part of this?

Catenary and trackwork would both need upgrading. I do recall that GWML catenary would be up to the job though, incidentally.

 

[HSTEd]

It's a bit late to descope a resignalling scheme from ETCS to anything else once you're halfway through the project.

I feel you have too little faith in the ability of the people who decide descoping!

It may be insane but the will find a way to do it.

 

[Starmill]

ETCS could lead to changes in the permissible speed here and there where it is currently limited by signal sighting, but that's not going to be many nor very large increases. As others have said a few other things such as the shorter overlaps, better placed block sections and more timing granularity will help it trains to run 'smoother' and slightly closer together. But as others have pointed out there's probably not value for money in replacing hundreds of millions of pounds worth of points, track, platforms and OHLE.