Railway Signals

(asked on 13th July 2022) - View Source

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of implementing digital (a) signalling and (b) train control technology on the capacity of the rail network.


Answered by
Wendy Morton Portrait
Wendy Morton
This question was answered on 18th July 2022

My department recognises the value of introducing digital signalling and train control technology to the GB rail network due to the associated benefits gained for users. That is why the Government recently announced over £1bn of new funding to deliver the East Coast Digital Programme, which will implement digital signalling on the East Coast Mainline between Kings Cross and Stoke Tunnel, just North of Peterborough.

The analysis underpinning this investment decision shows that implementing digital signalling on this route will increase rail system capability on the line due to the greater flexibility in train control offered by the technology. This can either be used to increase performance or capacity. The priority for the East Coast Digital Programme, and therefore the central economic analysis for this investment decision, has assumed that the benefits offered by this increased system capability are captured as performance improvements.

However, future rail policy may evolve in different ways, government and industry might choose to prioritise capacity of the railway over performance. As such the benefits from additional system capability might manifest in different ways, such as increasing the frequency of existing services or lengthening trains. These benefits would be assessed at the time of this future policy decision.

The strategy for increasing the spread of digital signalling across the rest of the GB network is outlined in the Long Term Deployment Plan, which sees the East Coast Digital Programme as a galvanising force for industry to pivot to digital signalling technology.

Through the East Coast Digital Programme Network Rail is currently undertaking an assessment exercise to determine the benefits of introducing traffic management technology alongside digital signalling on the East Coast Mainline. We expect that work to be concluded in early 2023 which provide a full assessment of the impact of implementing traffic management.

Reticulating Splines