Earlier this week (27 September), Network Rail and Freightliner officially opened their second Operational Training Academy, located in Doncaster’s Frenchgate Centre.

Guests from the railway industry joined the celebration of the new training school, which will train Freightliner’s freight drivers for the introduction of in-cab digital signalling on the East Coast Main Line – South. Attendees were encouraged to learn more about the ERTMS programme using various learning tools, including ultra-light simulators, which guests were encouraged to try out.

Network Rail has funded the academy as part of the East Coast Digital Programme (ECDP), which is being installed on the southern section of the East Coast Main Line, between London King’s Cross and the Stoke Tunnels, near Grantham, with the first trains scheduled to operate under the system in 2025.

The Doncaster training centre is the second to support enhancing drivers’ skills in European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) operations, and by locating it in South Yorkshire, Freightliner aims to highlight its investment in its northern operations. Freightliner opened its Ipswich Training Academy on 2 May this year, to serve its employees based in the south of England. The new Training Academy in Doncaster will ensure that employees based in the north will receive consistent levels of training.

Freightliner also envisions that these academies will act as spaces for fostering connectivity and collaboration among ECDP colleagues.

More information about Freightliner’s involvement in ERTMS and the East Coast Digital Programme can be found here.

Ed Akers, Principal Programme Sponsor, ECDP, at Network Rail, said: “The success of ECDP depends on equipping people with the digital skills needed for ‘next generation’ railway operations. Facilities like these provide an excellent environment for giving drivers the competence and confidence required. Freightliner continues to be an integral partner in this change programme as we progress towards a railway that is more flexible, reliable, greener and even safer.”

Tim Shoveller, CEO at Freightliner Group/Genesee & Wyoming UK/Europe, and former Network Rail regional director, said: “The Doncaster Training Academy’s close proximity to Wabtec, where our first-in-class locomotives will be fitted with European Train Control System technology, epitomises our commitment to cutting-edge advancements in rail operations.”