DIGITAL RAILWAY
The next Control Period will be different in “a key way. It is the real start of Digital Railway,” Network Rail Chief Executive Mark Carne said on February 12.
“63% of existing signalling needs renewal in the next 15 years. Lots of it from the 1970s and 1980s will be life-expired,” he said, adding that the key question was whether NR replaced it ‘likefor-like’ or via the Digital Railway.
Carne explained: “CP6 will be predominantly a rollout of traffic management system, some European Train Control System (ETCS) and Driver Advisory System (DAS).”
The NR Strategic Business Plan said: “CP6 must mark a turning point for Britain’s railway. CP6 will see the end of major analogue resignalling - digital signalling is the future that this plan ushers in.”
It states the railway faces three major challenges:
■ A capacity crunch caused by the doubling of passenger numbers since the 1990s.
■ A failure to embrace digital technology, resulting in an overreliance on manual processes that are still controlled by a 19th century system.
■ A continued rise in the cost of renewing outdated conventional signalling - “a major problem given that almost two-thirds of the rail network’s signalling system needs to be replaced in the next 15 years.”
It confirmed there is a plan to fit rolling stock with the required equipment for the Digital Railway in CP6 and CP7, with the East Coast Main Line, trans-Pennine Route Upgrade, West Coast Main Line and the HS2 interface, Wessex Route and Anglia routes all mentioned. Initial business cases have been prepared, and these cover more than 70% of all passenger journeys.
It’s planned that the Digital Railway takes advantage of the rolling stock investment. There is planned extension of train control software across the South East Route and into Sussex; initial funding for in-cab ETCS is needed between King’s Cross, Moorgate and Peterborough to improve CP7 performance; and NR and HS2 are working closely regarding the interface between the national and HS routes.