Hitachi Rail Europe has signed a contract with the UK’s Network Rail to install the European train control system (ETCS) on two Class 37 locomotives.
The contract comes after the deployment of the Hitachi ETCS on a Class 97 locomotive, which tested interoperability with a separate supplier’s groundside system on the Cambrian Line infrastructure.
Work under the contract covers the design, vehicle modification and ETCS installation, as well as the testing and commissioning of Hitachi’s ETCS for West Coast Railways. The contract is expected to be completed by August 2015.
The locomotives will run on the Cambrian Line European Rail Traffic Management System in Wales.
Hitachi says that its ETCS is a common signalling system that will allow the train services to cross frontiers and boundaries between different countries without the need to change signalling systems or locomotives.
The in-cab radio-based signalling system will also be implemented on the concurrent Intercity Express Programme Class 800/801 rolling stock for Great Western and East Coast Main Lines.
Hitachi is currently working to support the essential Network Rail National Programme for ETCS rollout on board passenger and freight vehicles across the UK.
Image: ETCS ‘Eurobalise’ transceiver, installed between rails, provides information to ETCS trains. Photo: courtesy of Halász István.
