The digital signalling system recently installed on the Northern City Line between Finsbury Park and Moorgate is now ready for passenger service.

Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) and Network Rail have carried out tests of the system that proved successful. They consider this an important step forward in the first phase of the East Coast Digital Programme (ECDP), which will introduce the European Train Control System (ETCS) to a intercity mainline in Great Britain for the first time. It will also provide the foundation for the future expansion of digital signalling across the country’s railway network.

ETCS is the core signalling and train control component of ERTMS, the European Rail Traffic Management System. The system continuously calculates a safe maximum speed for each train, with in-cab signalling for the driver and on-board systems that take control of the train if it exceeds the allowed speed.

ETCS will provide more reliable and environmentally-friendly services for Great Northern passengers on the Northern City Line.

The tests involved running six digitally-signalled trains in thirty-minute periods. Great Northern’s timetable has ten trains per hour during peak hours, so the frequency of the test matched (in fact, exceeded) that level of demand. Train Test Officers, representing sectors involved in the introduction of the ECDP, including the freight sector, provided support during the tests, which took place overnight when stations were closed.

The tests were the last of a series of proving runs which aimed to build confidence in the system before Great Northern drivers begin their training.

Following the dynamic testing of trains on the route, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has authorised GTR to use them in European Train Control System (ETCS) passenger service. They will start to run when the ORR authorises Network Rail to switch on the trackside ETCS system. GTR will then begin training its two hundred and fifty Great Northern drivers to drive using ETCS in passenger service on the Northern City Line.

The new system is laid over the traditional signals, so drivers trained to use ETCS can do so while other drivers who have not yet been trained can continue using the existing system. Once all drivers are trained, the old system will switched off.

Oliver Turner, GTR’s Head of ERTMS, said: “We are all delighted with the results from this week’s system reliability testing on the Northern City Line. Having all the necessary paperwork and approvals in place is one thing, but we won’t start driver training until we have demonstrated we can reliably deliver our timetabled passenger service in ETCS. Thanks to the proving runs this week, we can now say we are fully confident in the system and in a good position to start training our drivers as soon as the trackside system gains formal approval.

“I am so proud of my team here at GTR, and colleagues at Network Rail, who’ve worked very hard behind the scenes to get us to this point, and would like to thank everyone involved.”

Ed Akers, Network Rail’s Principal Programme Sponsor, ECDP, said: “We’ve now done all the testing, have submitted the operational safety case to the relevant review bodies and we await final regulatory approval to move to operating passenger trains in ETCS. We’ve got to this point through excellent collaboration, innovation and ‘learning by doing’. We’ll continue to work that way as we progress to reliable digitally signalled operations on this important first phase of ECDP.”