£3.7bn plan to replace signals

The GSM-R system will improve high-speed rail network capacity

High-speed trains are to be fitted with onboard computers in a £3.7bn project to replace traditional railway signals and increase the capacity of the rail network.

The European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) will operate using GSM-R radio technology, a version of standard GSM mobile technology that has been adapted for the railways.

Transponders will be positioned at regular intervals along the track to record the train's location when it passes, and send the details via GSM-R masts to the onboard computer. If the train is too close to the one in front, an automatic braking system is applied.

The Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) is managing the project in conjunction with the Rail Safety & Standards Board.

SRA spokesman Paul McKie told Computing that the initiative will improve safety and allow more trains to run.

'Safety is a very useful spin off from this,' he said. 'It's more about train control and management. It's really making the best of our capacity with the resources we have. The level we are looking at would deliver a 10 per cent increase in capacity by making trains run closer together.'

The system is being deployed in response to a European Union directive that will eventually see all high-speed trains across Europe fitted out with similar systems.

The SRA has yet to decide who will provide the technology, but it is looking to start trials in Wales on the Cambrian Coast Line in 2006, with tests completed by 2008, and full implementation expected by 2015.

'We're taking this very carefully and making sure it is absolutely right before we roll it out,' said McKie.

Drivers will be able to access all the information sent to the trains and will receive signalling information from the computer.

Traditional signals will still exist and be used by slower, local trains, but the SRA believes all trains will eventually use the new technology.

McKie says the project will cost £3.7bn at today's prices, but the figure is likely to increase over its 40-year lifespan.