GPS and (I kid you not) wheel rotation. So how it will fare in leaf fall season where wheel rotation doesn't equal distance travelled is anyone's guess - these units barely touched NwR metals last autumn and certainly not with ASDO in use. The ASDO requires very precise positioning of the unit on platforms to work properly - stop marker boards will be provided on all routes these units operate, we are told drivers can't allow the front of the unit to pass the relevant marker board at all or the ASDO won't work. There is a tolerance of up to three metres on approach to the stop marker board too, but zero tolerance if you pass it. Three metres might sound like quite a distance but it certainly isn't from a train cab where your lateral vision isn't great.
In my opinion the training package leaves a lot to be desired, I can't see it changing for the foreseeable though. On the practical handling, any idiot can get an ECS up to line speed and sit there for an hour, four hours is the handling time. Crewe-Preston and back a couple of times is poor preparation for then taking one in service with passengers on, maybe many weeks after having passed the traction exam after your training. There are issues with the training resources, no proper manual for these units is issued to drivers and you have to remember that a decision was made not to acquire a simulator with the fleet which would've made the training ten times more comprehensive, on the things which matter, than what it is. Instead of a manual, drivers are told to carry their training notes round with them.
The degraded mode with no functional TCMS can't be done with passengers on because it bypasses a lot of vital safety systems. There is even growing reluctance to do the 'TCMS isolate' mode on the training ECS, the units don't respond well when waking up after having the TCMS switched off.
