FREIGHTLINER has opened a new operational training academy in Doncaster, its chief role being to support the introduction of in-cab ETCS digital signalling to the East Coast Main Line.
The academy, funded by Network Rail, is located in the Frenchgate Centre overlooking the station andWabtec’s rail engineering works. It is Freightliner’s second dedicated training academy after the first opened in Ipswich in May.
In-cab signalling will eventually replace traditional lineside signalling, and the ECML is a flagship project that will pave the way for others to follow.The benefits include reduced costs and delays due to signal failures or vandalism, and improved safety and capacity. ETCS Level 2 has already been installed on the line from Moorgate to Finsbury Park at the start of this year, but NR plans to extend the technology to Hitchin by 2025 and then over the 100 miles from King’s Cross to StokeTunnel, south of Grantham, by 2029.
Hitting the target date is a huge undertaking, requiring the new equipment to be added to every locomotive or unit likely to run over the route, as well as training every driver how to use the new system – hence the need for training facilities like the Doncaster academy.
Biggest single change