Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) has received authorisation from the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) to upgrade its Great Northern Class 717 fleet to the latest specification of European Train Control System (ETCS).
The authorisation means that GTR are the first fleet to upgrade to the most recent versions of the onboard digital signalling system.
GTR's 25 Class 717 trains were built fitted with ETCS B3MR1 (also referred to as version 3.4.0) and the fleet recently received ORR authorisation to be placed into passenger service using digital signalling on the Northern City Line. This will happen later this year, once Network Rail has completed its approval works to switch on the trackside ETCS system. Once this has happened, GTR will then steadily train its 250 Great Northern drivers to drive using ETCS.
The software upgrade will mean the latest version of ETCS BL3 R2, also referred to as 3.6.0, will allow the trains to make use of the latest digital infrastructure to be installed on the East Coast Main Line.
This upgrade also form part of the next phase of the government-funded East Coast Digital Programme (ECDP).
It is expected that final testing for the upgrade will take place this autumn, ahead of upgrading the entire fleet early next year, so that the trains are ready to operate in ETCS on the East Coast Main Line from 2025.
Aaron Meakin, ERTMS fleet project manager at Govia Thameslink Railway, said: "State-of-the-art in-cab signalling is going to give everybody a better rail service. Winning approval from the regulator to upgrade the software on our 717s means we'll be ready to run these trains on the East Coast Main Line as soon as that's possible."
Ricky Barsby, Network Rail's head of access and integration for the East Coast Digital Programme, said: "The approval from the Office of Rail and Road is a key step forward on the billion pound East Coast Digital Programme.
"We continue to make good progress on the scheme, which will bring significant benefits for passengers when complete, including better and more reliable journeys."
Kevin Clark, fleet operations director at Siemens Mobility UKI who were instrumental in the installation, said: "This is another great example of us working with our industry partners to provide and install the technology which will ensure these trains can provide the best passenger service on the East Coast Mainline."
Photo Credit: Govia Thameslink Railway
