Digital contract will revolutionise Britain’s freight trains

Network Rail has contracted Siemens to roll out digital technology to Britain’s fleet of freight trains in a £150m deal.

Chippenham-based Siemens Rail Automation will install European Train Control System (ETCS) in-cab signalling on Britain’s freight fleet as part of the ambitious Digital Railway programme.

The technology, which it’s hoped will ultimately be added to around 750 vehicles, will improve the operational performance of freight trains on a crowded, mixed-use network, and forms part of a £450m Government investment in digital railway schemes.

ETCS ensures that trains operate within safe speeds and limits, and can intervene and take over from the driver to control the train, if required. It will first be installed on the most heavily used trains, before being rolled out to the rest of the network over the next five years.

According to Network Rail, freight trains directly contribute £870m to the economy ever year. They are a priority because of their ability and need to travel any on the network – across operator boundaries.

The Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling said the Government was making the biggest investment in the railways since Victorian times. “This technology has huge potential to improve journeys for passengers and to boost our freight industry by cutting delays and increasing the number of services,” he said. “Today is an important step towards our future as a digital railway that is fit for the 21st century.”

David Waboso, managing director at Digital Rail, called the news a “hugely important milestone” for digital railway technology. “It is a key enabler for a modern network and we have to address these go-anywhere vehicles first. It will support our future deployment of infrastructure with no lineside signals, more capacity and increased safety.”