Shaping the future of the digital railway – Part 1: deploying next-gen technology

It’s an exciting time for the UK rail industry, but also a challenging one. The Williams-Shapps Plan, among other industry publications, has presented us with another another once-in-a-generation chance to develop a more integrated, strategic, sustainable and joined-up rail network. To achieve that, we’ll need to roll-out (among other things) next-generation signalling technology. Technology that will cut costs, increase track capacity, and act as catalyst for, amongst other things, decarbonisation and more innovation. So what’s stopping us?

We all know the key challenges UK rail transport faces. There’s green transport, reducing whole-life costs, increasing track capacity and improving punctuality. Then there’s aging signalling systems, interoperability and safety. We also know that digitisation of the railway is key to overcoming them. But even though we all agree, it’s clear we’re simply not responding fast enough as an industry – not just in how our industry deploys technologies, but also in how it works together.

To that end, I think deploying next-gen technology successfully will also require a major shift in how different parts of the rail industry work together to achieve better outcomes. And that will require a new approach to cooperation and collaboration. I’ll be looking at that, and how I think we can work together better as an industry, in my next article. First though, I want to focus on two key rail technologies that I think can have a huge impact on some of our biggest challenges.

Next stop: change

The pandemic has, undoubtedly, affected working and rail travel patterns. But even before Covid, the evidence showed more mid-week commuting – Tuesday to Thursday. And as society inevitably moves to a more hybrid or flexible way of working, it’s expected people will commute by train fewer times a week, and use the train more for social travel or environmental reasons. The net effect being that it is unlikely that passenger volumes will simply return to pre-pandemic profiles (i.e. morning and evening peaks). So it’s vital the industry builds a rail service that can adapt to changing travel habits, meet passenger expectations for choice and reliability, and provide a viable alternative to private transport. Not forgetting, of course, underlying all of this is the net-zero imperative. And when you consider rail produces on average two thirds less CO2 emissions than cars on a mile-per-mile comparison, we have a good place to start from.

The greener, the better

The first tech solution, which tackles the net-zero, whole-life cost, and track capacity challenges is the Driver Advisory System (DAS). Our DAS solution, GreenSpeed, links timetable and traffic management with drivers, or through the control centre (with a connected DAS – aka C-DAS), to optimise rail traffic flow. The result is smoother, on-time journeys that uses the least amount of traction energy. Typically, GreenSpeed reduces energy consumption by up to 8% for commuter trains, 10% for regional services, 15% for long-distance, and 25% for freight. It also significantly cuts secondary delays, which are responsible for about 70% of delays on the network.

Of course, DAS systems like GreenSpeed are a stepping stone to automatic train operation (ATO), which in itself is a key building block in the journey to autonomous trains. And together, these automatic and autonomous technologies could save up to 30% more energy as well as open up more opportunities for more operation efficiencies.?

Leap-frogging to the next level

When total passenger numbers do return to pre-pandemic levels and beyond, we’ll still have a network unable to cope with demand. So while a lack of passenger seats may not currently be the burning issue it was before Covid-19, 35% of us cite overcrowding in our decision not to travel by rail (as an aside, 39% rate the cost as a major concern). And while my rail travel has increased a lot over the last four months and Network Rail, London Underground and other TOCs have made me feel extremely ‘covid safe’, I’m still reluctant to board a packed train.

Of course, capacity is not just about number of seats. It’s also about the ability to run more freight services, or flex the network to support timetable adjustments, or help reduce the effects of disruption. So the second technology we could deploy to ease capacity and reduce whole-life costs is European Train Control System (ETCS) Level 3.

Simply put, ETCS L3 enables train operation to move away from the fixed-block approach to a system of moving blocks, where the train essentially becomes the block with a defined bubble around it to ensure separation of trains. In effect, train integrity is moved on board the train, allowing more trains on the same piece of track.

“But we haven’t deployed ETCS L2 yet”, you may say. While that’s true, the UK has been particularly slow to adopt ETCS technology, and it seems to me we’re struggling to deploy it anywhere near the speed we need to reap the rewards anytime soon. This is why I ?advocate accelerating technical change and leapfrogging to ETCS L3.

More capacity, less infrastructure

There’s no escaping the fact that once passenger volumes return, we’ll still have one of Europe’s most congested railways. Deploying ETCS L3 will help us to manage the track we do have – already running near or beyond capacity in some parts – much better. And we’re seeing on the London Underground where moving block has been deployed. It’s reducing whole-life costs hugely by eliminating almost all trackside infrastructure and reducing Capex and Opex through more efficient data-led maintenance. But just as important, L3’s moving block signalling technology has the potential to deliver up to 40% more capacity on parts of the network.

In GreenSpeed and ETCS L3, we have two technologies that can help us tackle several of our industry’s major challenges. The ultimate trick will be whether we can come together to deploy them fast enough and start creating the next-generation rail network we all want to see, and which the UK needs.

In part two…

In part two, I’ll be taking a closer look at how we as an industry can work together more closely to help create a rail system that forms the backbone of a cleaner, greener public transport system. One that takes us closer to net-zero, offers passengers a better experience, as well as tax payers more value for money.