Did you know: ERTMS?

The European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) is a standardised command and control system for railway train control.

It comes in three levels: Level 1 (an overlay of trackside units on existing infrastructure which provides better safety features and communication with the train but is limited by the fixed infrastructure of colour light signals already in place), Level 2 (an in-cab signalling system where the lineside signals are replaced by a head-up display in the cab but still reliant on the trackside train detection system) and Level 3 (which is an enhanced version of L2 but with train integrity and location determination made by the train itself).

For a more detailed look, https://www.ertms.net/ has some good information.

ETCS (European Train Control System) has been deployed all over the world and in the UK is responsible for controlling moves on the Cambrian Line in Wales and Thameslink in London, and will soon start being designed for the East Coast Mainline and HS2. Around the world more than 105,000km have been deployed and in all continents except North America and Antarctica.

Why is ETCS useful?

Capacity improvement.

Under ideal conditions, ETCS Level 2 (In-cab) can create an 40% increase in capacity.

Taking into account the nature of the UK rail network, with mixed stock types, mixed use, heterogeneous signalling and control technologies likely to be fringing any ETCS area, this is most likely to be in region of 10-20% increase in capacity. If that number is at the low end, we can facilitate a 10% increase in capacity from re-signalling alone.

Not only that, by co-ordinating your trains in real-time you can better regulate your network and run at higher speeds and the reduced trackside footprint means lower maintenance costs.

Deploying ETCS can increase capacity whilst reducing OPEX.

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