Safety system stuck in sidings

There is confusion over ERTMS plans

Confusion surrounds the schedule for rollout of a computerised safety system for high-speed trains, Computing can reveal.

The Department for Transport is to submit a national implementation plan for the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) to the European Union in September, including proposed timelines and locations

But Network Rail, which is implementing the project, says no plans will be made to install the technology until it can assess the results of a trial that is not due to begin until next year.

High-speed trains will be fitted with onboard computers as part of the £3.7bn project to replace traditional signals and improve capacity on the rail network, with the first trial scheduled for the Cambrian Line in Scotland in 2008.

Confusion over scheduling is the latest problem to affect the system since it was first recommended in 2001.

The Uff-Cullen inquiry into the 1999 Ladbroke Grove rail crash recommended installing ERTMS level one by 2010, but a decision to move straight to a more advanced system pushed back the implementation date to 2015.

And trials of GSM-Railway (GSM-R), a secure voice and data communication system that will form the basis of ERTMS, have also been delayed (Computing, 1 March).

Installation of ERTMS by 2015 now appears unlikely, and Network Rail says installing the technology as existing signals become obsolete is a more sensible approach.

‘We were ambitious to develop ERTMS quickly but the technology is more complex than first expected,’ said a Network Rail spokesman.

While ERTMS has been successfully deployed on dedicated high-speed rail lines in Europe, the UK has been hampered by its ageing lines, which run a combination of passenger, freight and high-speed trains.

‘We need to ensure the technology works properly on the Cambrian Line before we make the decision to roll it out further,’ said the spokesman.

John Cartledge, safety adviser to rail consumer watchdog Passenger Focus, believes ERTMS is now likely to be rolled out over decades as signals are upgraded.

‘Going back to the initial inquiry there were a number of estimates and target dates for the launch of ERTMS,’ he said. ‘But this is an innovative technology and clearly there will be unexpected hiccups.’

A spokeswoman for the Rail Safety and Standards Board says the government is developing a long-term view while Network Rail is focused on the immediate future and trial.

‘We want to see a successful trial to ensure the technology works before rolling it out further,’ she said. ‘If something arises during the trial that has an impact on the long-term view, it would require a rethink.’

The Association of Train Operating Companies is working with Network Rail on an implementation plan for ERTMS and wants to see both the safety system and GSM-R tested fully to ensure a problem-free rollout.

Safety systems... in 30 seconds

Delays in the rollout of GSM-Railway (GSM-R), a secure voice and data communication system, could hold up the installation of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS), a computerised safety system to be fitted onto high-speed trains. GSM-R is the secure communications link for drivers and signallers that forms the basis of the ERTMS system. 

Installation of GSM-R was planned to start in 2006 and be operational by 2008. But Network Rail was ordered to reduce costs, and so it was delayed first to 2010 and then 2013.

Network Rail was again forced to assess the system after concerns arose that it could become overloaded at busy junctions.

A trial in Strathclyde was scheduled to begin in March but has once again been delayed until the end of the year because of a need to upgrade software. Network Rail says GSM-R will be in place by 2013 ahead of the planned ERTMS rollout.