Powering ahead with the digital railway

This year the UK is celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of the modern railway, with national celebrations set to inspire a new generation of pioneering young rail talent.

The rail industry has evolved enormously since the day back in 1825 when George Stephenson’s steam-powered Locomotion No1 travelled the 26 miles between Shildon, Darlington and Stockton, carrying hundreds of passengers to great fanfare. And I’m glad to say that the spirit of invention and innovation of rail’s early pioneers like George Stephenson lives on today. Nowhere is this more evident than in the UK’s adoption of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS).

The initial roll-out is being delivered by the £1.4bn East Coast Digital Programme (ECDP) and will see traditional lineside signals – many of which have been in use since Victorian times – replaced by the new digital in-cab technology. This new technology, known as ETCS – the European Train Control System – will continuously communicate with every train, providing real-time signalling information directly to a computer screen in the driver’s cab.
This new way of managing trains will boost network reliability, increase capacity, reduce carbon emissions, and will ultimately provide a more punctual service for both passenger and freight operators alike. While its gradual introduction, first on the East Coast Main Line, may go relatively unnoticed by the general public, this is a truly seismic change for our industry and I’m proud of the industry-leading role that DB Cargo UK continues to play in delivering it.

On the back of our considerable experience and expertise in engineering and maintenance, we have recently led the way in the first-in-class fitment of ETCS to one of our own Class 66 locomotives (66039). Retrofitting brand-new ETCS equipment to a 40-year-old locomotive for the very first time is no easy feat and has required a great deal of collaboration with partner organisations like Siemens Mobility, EMD and many others. The locomotive has recently completed dynamic testing at Network Rail’s national Rail Innovation and Development Centre and, once it receives final approval, will become the blueprint for all ETCS fitments on Class 66 and Class 67 locomotives in the UK. In preparation for this, mobilisation work has recently begun at DB Cargo UK’s traction maintenance depot at Toton in the East Midlands, where we will be carrying out the first commercial fitment of ETCS to nine further Class 66s in readiness for signals away on the East Coast Mainline.

The mobilisation involves the installation of a new load bank, wash plant and overhead cranes, as well as new accommodation to co-locate staff from Siemens Mobility on the site. Siemens Mobility is the East Coast Digital Programme’s chosen partner, responsible for designing, integrating and installing its Trainguard 200 Onboard unit onto freight locomotives.

Close collaboration is key to the successful delivery of the digital railway. The retrofitting of ETCS to the first nine Class 66 locomotives is expected to be completed in March 2026 and is the first phase of a much larger national fitment programme. However, installing the infrastructure and equipment required to deliver ERTMS is only a small part of the change required.

The efficient and effective adoption of ERTMS will require a much bigger cultural and behavioural programme of change and one supported by rigorous education and training. To enable this, DB Cargo UK has recently invested in a number of new, state-of-the-art training centres. These new facilities will deliver critically important ETCS training to drivers, ground staff, maintainers and engineers alike, as well as other support staff involved in the delivery of our rail freight operations.

Our first new centre was officially opened at our headquarters in Doncaster in November by Ed Akers, Industry Partnership Director at the East Coast Digital Programme, and the Civic Mayor of Doncaster, Cllr Julie Grace. Doncaster has a long and rich association with the rail industry, so it was entirely fitting that we chose our headquarters in the city to host one of our new training centres of excellence. The new centre houses a Class 66 full cab simulator as well as six ultra-light simulators, two instructor stations, training rooms, an agile breakout area and study rooms.

Environmental sustainability has been at the heart of the planning, design and construction of the new facility, using products made from recycled materials wherever possible and the most energy efficient technologies. We have also invested in a second facility at our depot in Wembley, London, and a Mobile Training Facility (MTF), which will be deployed to key strategic locations across England, Scotland and Wales. So, many of the foundations are now in place as we progress towards ‘signals away’ on the East Coast Main Line, which will herald yet another new age in rail here in the UK. A digital railway! Well, I wonder what George Stephenson would make of that?

By Neil Ethell Chief Operating Officer for DB Cargo UK.