Thameslink fleet set for additional digital upgrade

Industry partners in the transformational East Coast Digital Programme (ECDP) have signed a £32.7million contract to upgrade the Class 700 Thameslink fleet to the latest specification of European Train Control System (ETCS). The five-year contract was signed by Cross London Trains, DfT, Govia Thameslink Railway, Network Rail and Siemens Mobility.

The 115-strong Thameslink fleet is the largest passenger fleet in a programme designed to replace conventional signals at the side of the track with state-of-the-art digital signalling - providing continuous, real-time information to the driver’s cab.

The technology will mean more reliable and greener services for passengers and freight, creating the next generation railway.

Coupled with the retrofit of ETCS to Great Northern’s Class 387 Electrostars [see past press release] and the wider ECDP fleet fitment programme, the Class 700 upgrade will help unlock the potential for the remarkable benefits of digital signalling to be rolled out to other parts of the UK network.

Software design and development for the upgrade will take place from this summer, with a programme of testing and commissioning on the first-in-class 700 unit set to get underway from 2024. The entire fleet will be upgraded in 2026 following the completion of the safety approvals and validation process.

Aaron Meakin, ERTMS Fleet Project Manager at Govia Thameslink Railway, said: “This is great news for our trains, our passengers and the East Coast Digital Programme. Together with five industry partners, we’ve signed a contract that will upgrade our trains to the very latest in digital signalling technology.”

Sambit Banerjee, Managing Director of Rolling Stock and Customer Services at Siemens Mobility, said:“We are delighted to be working with our industry partners to provide and install the technology that will enable a transformation for passengers on the East Coast route. The Class 700 has been operating with ETCS in central London since its introduction in 2016 and this upgrade will unlock further benefits.”

Ed Akers, Principal Programme Sponsor, ECDP at Network Rail, said: “Preparing and upgrading trains is the biggest challenge ECDP faces, due to the complexity involved with many partners and commercial arrangements. We’ve worked hard to secure this new contract for the largest passenger fleet on ECDP and all parties will be working collaboratively to ensure effective delivery of these upgrades.”

Rail Minister, Huw Merriman said: “This transformational programme is already creating the next-generation railway, and upgrading Thameslink’s trains will mean even more dependable and greener services for both passengers and freight.

“With £1billion invested into the programme we remain committed to revolutionising the network for years to come.”

Ends

Editors’ notes

The 115 Class 700 trains already come fitted with ETCS which is in use through central London stations on the Thameslink route. The five-year contract encompasses hardware and software upgrades which will allow the trains to make use of the latest digital infrastructure due to be installed on the East Coast Mainline. Hardware upgrades include: cold movement detection, packet-switching GSMR radios, an upgraded driver-machine interface (DMI), KLIP interface module, new wiring and databus. Software will be upgraded to ETCS BL3 R2, also referred to as version 3.6.0.