ETCS Level 2 testing conducted on HST power cars

The successful fitting and Level 2 testing of European Train Control System (ETCS) in-cab signalling to the first three Class 43 HST power cars is a “major step forward for the UK Digital Railway Programme”, says rolling stock owning company Porterbrook.

The power cars (43013/014/ 062) form part of Network Rail’s New Measurement Train. Fitting ETCS is a priority to enable continued data recording on the East Coast Main Line (ECML), as the technology is rolled out.

The project is the first time that Thales has fitted ETCS in the UK. Installation started at the end of March, and after two weeks of testing at Network Rail’s Melton Rail Innovation & Development Centre the power cars are back in service.

Preparation is in hand for the trio to undergo full testing and reach service-approval by the end of the year.

Porterbrook is the lead rolling stock company (ROSCO) for the pre-production installation of ETCS into Class 43s, under the National Joint ROSCO Programme supported by Angel Trains, Eversholt Rail and First Rail Holdings.

The company awarded a contract to carry out the designand-fit project to Thales in 2018, funded by the Department for Transport.

“This milestone proves Thales’s capability to modify existing cabs with ETCS. Multiple stakeholders worked collaboratively to get us to where we can trial the system on an operational railway,” said Mark Newill, Head of On-board Portfolio at Thales.

ETCS is claimed to improve performance and boost the capacity of existing networks by up to 40%. Lineside signals are removed, and instead a continuous data link to trains provides in-cab signalling.

The UK’s first major main line running at Level 2 will be 106 miles of the ECML from King’s Cross to Stoke Tunnel (near Grantham).