21 March 2024 – European Rail Traffic Management System by Matthew Teller – ERTMS Integration Manager, Govia Thameslink Railway

Matthew began with a brief outline of what he would be covering ie the Plan, Background, Conventional Signalling, why ERTMS (European Rail Traffic Management System), and the GB roll out, before providing a little of his own background in railways.  He grew up volunteering at Mizen’s Farm railway and worked on train planning with South West Trains during his gap year at university before gaining a BEng Honours degree in Electrical and Railway Engineering.  Whilst at university he also set up a railway society – one of the fun parts of studying.  During his time studying he worked on new projects as an engineer including the Class 701s and the Island Line, and has worked on heritage lines - such as signalling on the Spa Valley Railway.  He also has involvement with a programme for young rail professionals providing them with experience of working on infrastructure projects.  He is part of the advisory board for the National Railway Museum – but he is not involved with Flying Scotsman as he made clear at this point.

His ‘day job’ is working for Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) rolling out ERTMS for the various companies within the group ie Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Southern, and Thameslink.  Conventional signalling has four aspects but there are sometimes problems with this in that it is not always immediately obvious which signal is intended for which driver and, as illustration, Matthew showed a night time photograph taken at Birmingham New Street showing a ‘night full of red signals’.  This was followed by semaphore signals to illustrate that the meaning here is not always very clear either.  Both of these systems require a lot of knowledge and learning by the train drivers placing a heavy reliance on route knowledge which has to be maintained.  Route documents, maps and guides can be very complicated too.  Matthew explained the background of different system such as Advance Warning System (AWS) and Train Protection Warning System (TPWS) and the pros and cons of each with examples to illustrate showing the heavy reliance on driver route knowledge.

Matthew went on to explain exactly what ERTMS is – a combination of a number of different systems – GSM-R (mobile communication), TM (traffic management) and ETCS.  ETCS can be applied at different levels using in-cab signalling, described using graphics of the in-cab controls as illustration.  Movement authorities are transmitted through the GSM-R system which will continue to be used during the intermediate period until all drivers are fully trained on ETCS.  Drivers begin training on a simulator and Matthew mentioned a number of train videos on You Tube from Govia Thameslink Railways on ERTMS and ETCS which are publicly available to view.

The signalling system will work on the same principles as before with track blocks, interlocking, control via GSM-R to the cab and Balise antennae are used to show exactly where the train is, helping to enhance performance on a busy railway.  Diagrams provided illustration of how it works.  There are extra features too that can enable permissive working such as passing signals at danger in the case of track circuit failures for example The system is consistent, constantly updating and fully supervised.

The roll out started on the Cambrian Railway as early as 2010.  The area was specifically chosen because the old system then in place was outdated, it was limited and fairly self-contained with only one signalling centre involved.  There was a range of infrastructure involved and a variety of challenges to be overcome so a good place to experiment and test.  Five locomotives and 24 units were fitted, with complications where these are used outside the test area, and Class 97s have reliability issues now due to age and availability of spares.  It has proved to be a great place to learn and share knowledge for drivers and others, to try it out on a smaller scale with union representatives visiting to talk to local union members which has worked very well over the 14 years of experience gained since the start.  There are still issues and cabs can be slow to ‘boot up’; minor level crossing issues can become a problem; minor changes can be a problem due to legacy software and hardware; and there is a problem when the cleaners key on to the units to power up the vacuum cleaners!

Matthew went on to talk about the Heathrow Branch where Network Rail (NR) had to upgrade the old ATP system.  The conventional signals remain but there is ETCS for train protection.  The Bombardier onboard system has poor reliability but this has proved very useful for training on how to resolve problems.  The core Thames Link map was used to explain how to improve signalling systems in this area and how to get a lot of trains through although there have been integration challenges with Cross Rail.  This is about performance too as there are benefits to having an integrated system with new trains and new systems going forward.  We were introduced to Thames Link ATO (automatic train operation), a good performance tool but as a bespoke system it is not being phased in elsewhere.  What GTR has learned is that signallers and drivers need to be ‘on the same page’ so the system has to be robust especially as the line between operational incidents due to a technical fault can be blurred, until it has been checked afterwards.  There have been lessons learned on how to manage this better both for drivers and for signal engineers, working together.

The Northern City Line was another example of problems within a particular area and how to resolve the issues with an outdated system where a small problem can result in long delays.  In May 2022 an infrastructure upgrade was carried out ready for testing ETCS at level 2 which began with overnight and Sunday closures, and control of the Northern City Line duplicated onto a test working at York before various stages of testing were carried out.  Using volunteers from Freightliner and DRS proved to be an excellent idea.  The first train into service after testing was full and standing in the morning peak on 27 November 2023 with full driver training starting on Monday 8 January 2024.

Lessons learned?  Gaining infrastructure approval for ETCS is hard; extensive testing is worth it; the relationship between Network Rail and GTR is key; GTR’s testing and commissioning drivers are key and having them share knowledge with other drivers is vital.

Moving forward is East Coast Digital Programme which not only means big changes to current set ups, but presents a political challenge too with many parties involved.  GTR is working with ASLEF and others who are very supportive, largely because of successful consultation and collaboration.  The infrastructure is complete and testing starts in earnest in April with many drivers requiring training which means a lot of training hours to be factored in.  It is interesting to note that some GTR drivers now will only ever drive at ETCS level 2 and above meaning they will have no experience or knowledge of using old signalling systems.  The GTR fleet Class 717s will have a software upgrade and the Class 700s will have both soft and hardware upgrades whilst the Electrostars will require retro-fitting.  There will be a wider challenge to fit other locomotives such as Tornado and the Deltics with ETCS as well as the Class 43 track monitoring train and freight locomotives.

What comes next?  The Trans-Pennine route will require upgrading and there will have to be integration with HS2 as well as a link with the West Coast Mainline.  The Brighton ‘mainline’ was also mentioned at this point.  GTR is developing a strong team for ERTMS using experience gained with other projects to date as well as being at the heart of East Coast Digital.  It is working on being the leading test operator, to becoming the ‘go to’ operator, sharing knowledge and collaborating with others.

Questions and answer followed after the break and included questions about: ‘red tape’ and examples were given of both this and how it was overcome using knowledge gained from other countries within Europe too; working with LUL; problems with changeover between systems; when will conventional signals go – programmed for mid 2027; train obsolescence – now ordering a higher level of spares and improved maintenance contracts; how much will it cost to fit ERTMS to Tornado – answer not given but expensive with GTR involved in how this has been set up; changes to drivers’ workload – designing the trackside is very important; the Brighton Belle – will it be fitted out –there is a vacant space behind the cab but it will not be cheap; making a good case for heritage funding for upgrades.  Further questions included train crew requirements, specific services, the end of physical signals, mainline and branch line roll-out, manufacturers involved in providing equipment, standards and rules, and maximum speed limits.

The vote of thanks was given by Andy Davies who highlighted the interest of all aspects of the talk especially the training, collaboration and sharing knowledge.