Transport Secretary and Network Rail Chief
Executive Mark Carne will today (10 May 2018) launch Network
Rail’s Digital Railway Strategy and commit to ensuring all new
trains and signalling are digital or digital ready from 2019.
They will also set out that they want to see digital rail
technology benefiting passengers across the network over the next
decade.
New digital rail technology will:
- safely allow more trains to run per hour by running trains
closer together
- allow more frequent services and more seats
- cut delays by allowing trains to get moving more rapidly
after disruption
- enable vastly improved mobile and wi-fi connectivity, so that
passengers can make the most of their travel time and communities
close to the railway can connect more easily
The technology will be fully operational from next year on the
Thameslink service in central London, which will see 24 trains
pass through every hour. The Digital Railway Strategy is being
launched in York, on the Transpennine route, which will say he wants to be the
country’s first digitally controlled intercity railway.
, Transport Secretary, said:
We are investing in the biggest modernisation of our railway
since Victorian times to deliver what passengers want to see –
faster, more reliable and more comfortable journeys.
Passenger numbers have doubled in recent years – which means we
need to invest in new technology to help deliver the reliable
and frequent trains that passengers want.
Investing in a railway fit for the twenty-first century will
help the UK become a world leader in rail technology, boosting
exports and skills. As we celebrate the Year of Engineering, this
is a chance to show young people how digital innovation is
opening doors to careers that will shape the future of travel.
Digital rail technology will ensure the best use is made of the
almost £48 billion being invested in maintenance, modernisation
and renewal on the rail network between 2019 and 2024, which
includes new and replacement signalling. The government has also
earmarked £450 million specifically for digital railway schemes.
Mark Carne, chief executive, said:
Not since the railway transformed from steam to diesel in the
1960s has a technological breakthrough held such promise to
vastly improve our railway for the benefit of the millions of
people and businesses who rely on it every day.
The age of a digital railway has today moved from the drawing
board and into reality as we reveal a blueprint that will
improve the lives of millions of passengers and freight users
across the country. Today’s commitment is to adopt and roll-out
new digital technology, for both trains and track, that will
deliver faster more frequent services for passengers and
businesses alike, giving our economy a massive boost.
Digital signalling will mean drivers are provided with real-time
information about the network and the location of other trains.
They will no longer have to rely on signals by the side of
tracks, which will mean fewer train services held up, reducing
stop-starting. And in the event of disruption, the digital
railway will advise signallers of the best option to get services
back to normal and help the network recover more quickly.
The roll-out of digital signalling on the UK network is already
underway. The technology is assisting drivers as part of
the Thameslink Programme
upgrades and the rail industry will fit 200 trains with
digital signalling technology by the end of 2018. Crossrail will
use in-cab signalling to deliver more trains and seats east-west
through London.
The government has also earmarked £5 million for Network Rail to
develop proposals for embedding digital technology between
Manchester and York, as part of the £3 billion upgrade of that
route starting next year.
