RED 72 blog: Supporting train drivers in the transition to ETCS

Already rolled out across certain routes, it sees a digital system display the information drivers need in their cab.

RED 72 discusses the benefits of ETCS, including enhanced safety, by providing the safer separation of trains, and increased efficiency, as trains can be closer together and remain safe. It also looks at the challenges, including initial costs, logistical issues, and increased training needs.

The dramatisation is based on a real-life incident that occurred in Stratford, London, in 2024, when a member of the public sadly lost their life when they fell onto the track. As the line in question also features Automatic Train Operation (ATO), the dramatisation does too, although this is not a feature of the wider ETCS rollout.

Overlaying ETCS onto existing trackside signalling will be a feature of the wider rollout, helping drivers maintain familiarity with their routes before lineside signalling is eventually removed. But it can also increase driver workload, as a RED interviewee explains. To help, new training and guidance materials are being developed.

The ETCS rollout marks the ongoing digital transformation of the railway, showcasing just how far the industry has come since the 19th century, when trains were kept apart not by fixed signals but by ‘time interval’ working. 

This involved positioning a railway ‘policeman’ at a particular point (or ‘block post’) so that the flow of traffic could be regulated with hand signals. No problem if watches were accurate and trains kept to timetable. However, if either condition were broken, accidents could occur. 

When services were sparse, trains were light, and speeds were low, cases were many. Casualties, however, were minimal. The trouble came when the popularity of rail travel created a need for faster, heavier, and more frequent services. 

We’ve come a long way since then, and we’re about to go even further.