ECDP: An update

Network Rail recently gave a press briefing in York to provide an update on progress with the East Coast Digital Programme (ECDP) and to outline how this supports the rollout of ETCS across parts of the network during Control Periods 7 and 8, laying the foundations for the longer-term signalling strategy.

The presentation started with Toufic Machnouk, director, Network Rail Industry Partnership Digital, outlining the fundamental reasons that require the railway to move to in-cab signalling based on ETCS. The fundamental point is that traditional signalling is infrastructure heavy, especially in terms of the lights on sticks scattered across the network, as well as the other supporting equipment including control equipment and cables, repeater signals, advance junction indicators, the control logic within the interlocking systems that make sure only safe indications are given, and so on.

This equipment is capital intensive and, because much of it is distributed across the network, it has a high maintenance cost that ends up being reflected in operational and maintenance charges. Add to this the compromises necessary because signal spacing must accommodate trains with different performance characteristics, and the human factors risks of the driver reading the wrong lineside signal or misunderstanding the significance of that particular signal, and you get an underperforming railway.

In-cab signalling provides a means to both reduce cost and increase performance, and it provides comprehensive Automatic Train Protection (ATP). To emphasis these points, the target is a 42% reduction in signalling unit costs helped by a 46% reduction in track access requirement for digital signalling with a 33% uplift in railway system capability. Finally, the move to digital signalling has a sustainability advantage by reducing embedded carbon by 39%.

Scope of the challenge

The major challenge is not really the technology but the scale of the change process it brings. To move to in-cab signalling requires every train operating on the relevant section of line to be fitted with the necessary onboard equipment. On the national network that can be a significant portion of some fleets, especially, but not exclusively, freight. Once fitted, the drivers need to be trained as well as their supervisors and others in the train operating community. Additionally, without lights at the end of the platform there will potentially be changes to train despatch arrangements at some major stations, further increasing the scope of change.

The move to in-cab signalling also impacts on the rules for how the railway is designed and operated, so the training needs to address those rule changes as well as the functioning of the new kit. Then there are the changes in terms of design, operation, and maintenance affecting many aspects of railway operation.

This is all without mentioning the equipment suppliers and other contractors involved in building, fitting, and maintaining the railway. At present, changes to systems are managed through the Network Code but this was not really established to cope with this scale of change. It is therefore essential that the whole industry works in partnership to manage and coordinate the change. The industry partnership digital programme, with a whole industry partnership board overseeing the plan, is essential. This is particularly necessary because of the way the railway industry in the UK is currently organised with different units having different short-term targets. The whole industry change required needs a strategic whole industry approach to the project.

Five-stage plan

The digital signalling masterplan is a five-stage plan to move to a situation where in-cab signalling is the norm. It started with the Cambrian pilot project back around 2010 which fundamentally demonstrated the system was technically able to perform the task of safely controlling train movements. This was augmented by the Thameslink core project and fitment of ETCS for the Heathrow spur and Paddington to Heathrow route.

The next stage is the pathfinder project on the Northern City Line. Here the primary objectives are not to technically prove the system but to demonstrate that processes for implementation can be developed which show such projects can be delivered to meet the business need. Currently, the pathfinder project on the Northern City Line to Moorgate is using ETCS on more than 60% of the train movements although lineside signals are still present until all drivers on the route are trained in the use of the system. The lineside signals will then be isolated, which is expected to happen around springtime 2025, and later removed.

The pathfinder project has involved nine project implementation topics of which five have worked well but four, namely system proving, system approvals, train upgrade processes, and driver training can be said to have been “lived through” and require more work to streamline them. Step three of the masterplan is the pioneer phase which is now developing between Welwyn and Hitchin and will later progress north along the East Coast Mainline between now and 2028.

The Welwyn to Hitchin section has now been converted to operate in both conventional signalling mode and as an ETCS mainline railway. Indeed, at the end of June, the first test train was run through the section under ETCS control. Once the vehicles have been fitted and the staff trained this section will operate under ETCS control but with lineside signals retained to enable training to continue. This will be followed by resignalling with ETCS sections from Hitchin to Fletton just south of Peterborough without lineside signals, and from Fletton to Stoke tunnel south of Grantham retaining lineside signals because of the additional vehicle types joining this route at Peterborough.

Stage four of the masterplan, the portfolio stage, has now begun and looks to build the whole industry’s capability to run multiple projects simultaneously. This is just starting, but there is an expectation that ETCS will form the backbone of the signalling systems, not just on the ECML but also the Transpennine Route Upgrade and in future the resignalling of the northern end of the English portion of the WCML from Warrington to Carlisle. From a signalling renewal perspective, it is also likely to include resignalling of the Brighton and Midland mainlines partly driven by the shared vehicle types using these routes and the ECML. Finally, stage five, expected to start around 2029, is when resignalling projects will begin to consider ETCS rollout as the normal form of resignalling.

Pioneer phase

Ed Akers, Network Rail’s industry partnership director, provided greater detail of the scope and scale of the ECML’s pioneer phase. Six different onboard systems – two from Alstom, two from Hitachi, one from Siemens, and one from CAF – will be fitted across 40 different vehicle classes involving a total of over 700 vehicles. Then, there are more than 3,000 drivers to be trained to drive using cab signalling, plus around another 7,000 who will not drive along ETCS fitted routes but need to be familiar with the new equipment in the cab and its operation in Level NTC, i.e. how it functions when running in areas of conventional signalling. Finally, more than 30 organisations involved in or working to deliver the ECDP.

On the Northern City Line between Finsbury Park and Moorgate the first passenger service ran in November 2023 with over 60% of services now signalled under ETCS control as drivers complete training. So far it is reported that driver acceptance is going well. It is hoped that all drivers on this section will be trained by early 2025 and thus all movements will be under ETCS control.

The section from Welwyn to Hitchin was commissioned in February 2024 and now provides both lineside signals and an ETCS capability. This will be an important test site to demonstrate improved capability because of the two-track section between Digswell Junction and Woolmer Green. The first train to be signalled over this section using ETCS was a Class 717 emu on the 2 June 2024. Ongoing, mainly overnight testing is being performed to fully understand the interactions between the train, the Radio Block Centre (RBC) and the trackside. This phase is being led by Siemens Mobility as the train control partner, albeit with involvement of many other members of the partnership.

The future roadmap for the ECDP envisages testing, approvals and assurance work continuing through the rest of 2024 and much of 2025. The Northern City Line to Moorgate should achieve no signals operation in spring next year followed toward the end of 2025 by the start of regular ETCS operation of some trains over the Welwyn Hitchin section. The volume of trains operating will gradually increase as the number of trains fitted and drivers trained grows, with full ETCS service anticipated to occur in 2027. That year is also expected to see the first section of ETCS being prepared for operation without lineside signals. There is still discussion as to whether this will be Biggleswade to Fletton or the Hertford Loop although the primary aim is the former.

Finally, it is planned that full ETCS operation from Kings Cross and Moorgate to Stoke tunnel will be operational in early 2030 with signals only remaining from Peterborough to Stoke tunnel because of the additional traffic joining the route at Peterborough.
AtkinsRéalis has partnered with a test laboratory at Egham which is being used to provide additional and independent test resources supplementing those of Siemens at Chippenham. These are being used to test several systems but especially to check fleet fitment plans and ensure compatibility with the proposed trackside configuration. Dynamic testing is then taking place at the Rail Innovation and Development Centre (RIDC) at Melton where a portion of line has been equipped to facilitate such tests.

Train fitment

Train fitment is one of the major challenges, especially for freight. The Class 66 is a common sight across the network but despite their similar external appearance there are many subtle variations across the set of Class 66 locomotives. A common base design has been agreed among the operators. This needed a significant level of cooperation between all parties. The First in Class (FiC) 66 is now at Melton RIDC and about to complete dynamic testing.

Another Freightliner Class 66 is about to undergo FiC fitment using a fitment model where the Freight Operating Company (FOC) delivers the fitment programme itself on its own asset. Ideally this is the preferred fitment model as the vehicle owner can then manage fitment in the wider context of vehicle utilisation. A Class 67 locomotive is also progressing through FiC and will in due course visit Melton RIDC. In terms of electric freight locomotives, an FiC design for the Class 88 is complete and ready for fitment.

Fleet fitment for passenger service on the ECDP route is perhaps a little easier as a significant portion of the rolling stock is either fitted or has provision for ETCS. In particular, the Class 717 units providing the suburban service are already fitted for ETCS operation. The Class 700s which provide the wider Thameslink services are fitted with ETCS although this needs to be upgraded to comply with the standards applicable to the ECDP roll out. A contract is in place for this work to be done. The other major outer urban stock in use is the Class 387 unit. The FiC is underway on 387 101 and, given the scale of the Electrostar fleet across the south eastern network, this is seen as strategically important.

One class of Intercity train is being retrofitted, namely the Class 180, while the Class 800 and other 80x units are having their pre-fitted ETCS system upgraded. The FiC for the Class 800 is currently underway with dynamic testing expected to commence at Melton RIDC in September while the Class 180 design is approaching the approval in principle stage having previously been fitted with ETCS during heavy maintenance. It is notable that the Class 91 locomotives are not part of the plan due to their scheduled replacement by new trains.

Fleet fitment does not finish there. The ECML is significant in charter train operation and of course needs regular track maintenance. In consequence there are plans to fit some heritage vehicles for charter operation, as well as a range of on-track machines and monitoring trains. In particular, the steam locomotive Tornado is currently undergoing static ETCS testing while one of the Class 55 Deltic locomotives is currently being fitted. The fitment of Tornado is seen as something of a pioneer experience, being, to the best of our knowledge, the first steam locomotive in the world to be fitted with ETCS. Class 43 HST power cars are also being fitted to support high speed track recording.

Summing up

During the Q&A session that followed the initial presentation it became clear that the project is not running in isolation and ongoing changes to the technical environment are expected during its life cycle. In particular, there were questions about updates to the track-to-train communication system initially to enable ETCS to use packet switched messages as well as, early in the 2030s, the move from GSM-R to Future Railway Mobile Communication System (FRMCS) which will become essential as ongoing support for GSM declines.

There are also new train classes to be considered and further developments to the ETCS specification especially in terms of methods and accuracy of train positioning. It is also true that the scope of the migration will be subject to changes in priority as a result of business justification and funding.

Overall, Network Rail provided a good presentation highlighting some of the challenges of making major changes on a diversified railway and exposed some of the reasons for the extended timeframes of the programme.

As a footnote to the presentation, on 22 August Network Rail announced that the First in Class 66 freight locomotive 66 039 had completed trials at the Melton RIDC, demonstrating transition in to and out of ETCS level 2 and various other tests to confirm operation in degraded modes. The locomotive was fitted with Siemens’ Trainguard 200 onboard system and will now do mileage accumulation runs prior to the start of fitment to other class 66 locomotives.

It was also confirmed that 387 101 had similarly completed its First in Class tests at Melton RIDC fitted with Alstom hardware and likewise will do mileage accumulation prior to fitment at Hornsey depot of the remaining 28 Class 387 trains used by Great Northern. During fitment, Great Northern will be assisted by Porterbrook along with Alstom as systems provider and train designer.

Image credit: Network Rail