Lner Train Simulator
Curtis Boykins
Designing and implementing a digital first mainline in the UK is a huge undertaking and one which has meant cooperation has been needed across multiple stakeholders on a scale rarely seen on the countries rail network.
ETCS is all about improving safety, performance, efficiency and reliability, bringing the UK in line with its European counterparts and ensuring progress and innovation within signalling is where it needs to be as the industry moves forward. The work on the line has been split in several phases, with the phase one migration happening in London on Northern City Line first and the next phases seeing ETCS rolled out in stages on the southern section of the mainline from Kings Cross to Stoke Tunnel (South of Grantham).
As a project, along with the technology that it is being utilised, is rather complex. Working with multiple stakeholders on one of the key arteries for the countries transport infrastructure has meant collaboration has been vital and one of the biggest challenges.
There are real examples of this collaborative nature with LNER providing access to their ETCS simulator at their Training Academy in York to others across the programme and industry, which adds to the sharing and collaborative culture that ECDP is fostering.
Some of the models that we have for training and competence have drawn on what our colleagues in the industry have already done. The core idea that sits behind ECDP and ETCS is that it drives forward the digitalisation of the rail network and is one which has meant there is keen interest across the industry to see how it unfolds and what the learnings can be for other large rail infrastructure projects.
ETCS is a complex but necessary development for signalling rail in the UK. It has the ability to transform how we interact with our railway. It also provides an opportunity, as Paul has outlined, to define how we develop and manage projects of this scale in the future.
Cognitive Publishing. View All Articles. How the East Coast mainline ETCS roll-out will unlock opportunities across the whole of the network
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