Latest news with #ETCS
Powys County Times
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Powys County Times
Powys train driver says Tornado test was 'career highlight'
The driver who helmed an iconic steam train as it was tested on his home railway in Powys has called it the highlight of his career. When the LNER Peppercorn Class A1 60163 Tornado steam locomotive was taken along the Cambrian Line earlier this year, it was helmed by Machynlleth train driver John Rogers. He was behind the controls of the record-breaking train while it did overnight runs between Newtown and Shrewsbury as the world's first operational steam locomotive to be fitted with digital signalling technology European Train Control System (ETCS). John said: 'I worked for Network Rail when they were converting to a new signalling system as part of the operations team. I then left to go driving classic steam trains, including the Tornado. 'Having some experience both driving that locomotive and operating new signalling systems, I guess that made me a good choice to helm it during the testing along the Cambrian Line, which happened to be my home railway. "It also meant I had experience driving steam and was familiar with the route we'd be taking.' The Tornado was built in 2008 and based on an original design by Arthur Peppercorn. The Cambrian line was chosen as a railway to test the new digital signalling system, completing overnight runs in April 2025 when the line was quieter. 'It was an absolutely phenomenal experience," John added. "Doing it on my home railway made it extra special, especially after a 15-year gap of steam locomotives on that railway. I was very proud to be the driver of the first one on that line for more then a decade. 'I think the Cambrian line is the jewel in the crown of Welsh railways. Hopefully one day we'll see more steam on that railway. 'Driving the train with the new system came naturally, as it's been integrated so well. The team did such a good job on designing it that the system fit in really well. It's a massive leap in technology and an incredible achievement to get as far as it has. 'It's been the highlight of my career to take that train on that line. The only way it could have been better would be to pull into my hometown of Machynlleth, but the train was so large that the station would not be able to accommodate it. 'I believe it's the biggest engine ever to pull into Newtown Station. A lot of the stations in Mid Wales were built for small engines so Newtown was as far as we could take the Tornado, but also as far as we needed to for testing.'
Times
19-05-2025
- Automotive
- Times
The end of railway signal failures? A digital plan points a way
Usually if a man turns up with an angle grinder and starts cutting down signals by a train track, it means disaster: cancelled trains and commuter misery. Not on Saturday night. Men in steel toe-capped boots arrived and cut down the signals — the traffic lights that control our railway — on a crucial section of line under London. On Monday the Northern City Line, which is operated by the brand Great Northern, becomes the UK's first railway to operate without signals at the side of the track, preparing for the end of signal failure. The trains use ETCS, the European train control system, digital signalling that is shown on the dashboard of the cab and allows drivers to 'see around corners'. Unlike a rogue
Hindustan Times
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Greece to install train control systems by September in reform after deadly 2023 crash
ATHENS, - Greece aims to install remote train control systems to make its railways safer by September, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Monday, more than two years after the country's worst rail disaster killed 57 people, most of them students. The head-on collision of a passenger and a freight train on February 28, 2023 has become emblematic of years of neglect of the country's railways. Hundreds of thousands of Greeks took to the streets on the second anniversary of the disaster in February to demand accountability and reform. Mitsotakis said during a cabinet meeting on Monday that the entire train fleet on Greece's main rail axis will be equipped with automatic remote brakes and train control systems by next September. He also said that real-time train tracking will be installed as a second safety layer, to avert any potential collision. Accident investigators have said that remote train traffic control systems could have averted the 2023 rail disaster and that safety gaps remain. Greece has repeatedly pushed back a 2014 project, co-funded by the European Union, to install ETCS and systems allowing remote communication between drivers and traffic controllers. EU prosecutors have charged numerous Greek officials with malpractice over that contract. Mitsotakis promised this year to fully modernise the country's 1,500 miles of railway by 2027. Apart from a national action plan, Greece's Air and Rail Accident Investigation Authority on February 17 made recommendations - for the railway regulator; the operator, Hellenic Train which is unit of Italy's Ferrovie dello Stato, the state-owned Hellenic Railways Organisation , responsible for the network; and the transport ministry. Mitsotakis said the government would help revamp OSE, boosting wages and hiring and monitoring staff performance. Hellenic Train would also be called to make investments, he said.
AsiaOne
28-04-2025
- Politics
- AsiaOne
Greece to install train control systems by September in reform after deadly 2023 crash, World News
ATHENS — Greece aims to install remote train control systems to make its railways safer by September, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Monday (April 28), more than two years after the country's worst rail disaster killed 57 people, most of them students. The head-on collision of a passenger and a freight train on Feb 28, 2023 has become emblematic of years of neglect of the country's railways. Hundreds of thousands of Greeks took to the streets on the second anniversary of the disaster in February to demand accountability and reform. Mitsotakis said during a cabinet meeting on Monday that Greece's entire train network will be equipped with automatic remote breaks and train control systems (ETCS) by next September. He also said that real-time train tracking will be installed as a second safety layer, to avert any potential collision. Accident investigators have said that remote train traffic control systems could have averted the 2023 rail disaster and that safety gaps remain. Greece has repeatedly pushed back a 2014 project, co-funded by the European Union, to install ETCS and systems allowing remote communication between drivers and traffic controllers. EU prosecutors have charged numerous Greek officials with malpractice over that contract. Mitsotakis promised this year to fully modernise the country's 1,500 miles (2,400km) of railway by 2027. Apart from a national action plan, Greece's Air and Rail Accident Investigation Authority (HARSIA) on Feb 17 made recommendations — for the railway regulator; the operator, Hellenic Train which is unit of Italy's Ferrovie dello Stato, the state-owned Hellenic Railways Organisation (OSE), responsible for the network; and the transport ministry. Mitsotakis said the government would help revamp OSE, boosting wages and hiring and monitoring staff performance. Hellenic Train would also be called to make investments, he said. [[nid:714715]]
Reuters
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Greece to install train control systems by September in reform after deadly 2023 crash
ATHENS, April 28 (Reuters) - Greece aims to install remote train control systems to make its railways safer by September, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Monday, more than two years after the country's worst rail disaster killed 57 people, most of them students. The head-on collision of a passenger and a freight train on February 28, 2023 has become emblematic of years of neglect of the country's railways. Hundreds of thousands of Greeks on the second anniversary of the disaster in February to demand accountability and reform. Mitsotakis said during a cabinet meeting on Monday that Greece's entire train network will be equipped with automatic remote breaks and train control systems (ETCS) by next September. He also said that real-time train tracking will be installed as a second safety layer, to avert any potential collision. Accident investigators have said that remote train traffic control systems could have averted the 2023 rail disaster and that safety gaps remain. Greece has repeatedly pushed back a 2014 project, co-funded by the European Union, to install ETCS and systems allowing remote communication between drivers and traffic controllers. EU prosecutors have charged numerous Greek officials with malpractice over that contract. Mitsotakis promised this year to fully modernise the country's 1,500 miles (2,400 km) of railway by 2027. Apart from a national action plan, Greece's Air and Rail Accident Investigation Authority (HARSIA) on February 17 made recommendations - for the railway regulator; the operator, Hellenic Train which is unit of Italy's Ferrovie dello Stato, the state-owned Hellenic Railways Organisation (OSE), responsible for the network; and the transport ministry. Mitsotakis said the government would help revamp OSE, boosting wages and hiring and monitoring staff performance. Hellenic Train would also be called to make investments, he said.
