More progress made on £1.4bn digital signalling scheme

Monday 16 Jun 2025

More progress made on £1.4bn digital signalling scheme

Region & Route:: Eastern; | Eastern: East Coast

Rail passengers are being thanked for their patience after further upgrade work was delivered on the East Coast Main Line.

Journeys between Peterborough/Royston and London King’s Cross on Sunday 15 June were affected by testing work on the new digital in-cab signalling system that will be introduced to the main line in the coming years through the £1.4 billion East Coast Digital Programme (ECDP).

ECDP will see traditional, lineside signals replaced with continuous information displayed inside drivers’ cabs, meaning more punctual and reliable journeys for passengers in the future.

The work on Sunday involved further system testing using trains from long distance operator Grand Central and commuter operator Great Northern. High speed runs were undertaken between Finsbury Park and Huntingdon to test the trains moving in and out of the upgraded section between Welwyn and Hitchin. Digitally signalled passenger services are expected to operate through this section from 2026.

The testing was conducted through a newly enabled GPRS (General Packet Radio System) system, which can deliver high volumes of data.

Further preparatory work was also undertaken on Sunday evening for the introduction of digital signalling between Biggleswade and Peterborough.

Vital work also took place to strengthen a bridge in the Finsbury Park area and to renew overhead electric equipment in the Huntingdon area.

Ricky Barsby, Network Rail head of access integration, ECDP, said: “Further work has been done to deliver modern in-cab digital signalling that will enable a higher performing railway in the future.

“Introducing a change to the way we operate services necessarily involves a lot of rigorous testing, but this will help deliver more reliable journeys for passengers in the years ahead. We’re sorry to passengers whose journeys were affected by the work, and thank them for their continued patience.“

Notes to Editors

The system testing work undertaken on Sunday 15 June involved a Grand Central Class 180 and a GTR Class 717 train. With the testing involving the newly enabled General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) system, it takes us a step closer to deploying European Train Control System (ETCS) over GPRS for the first time on any main line railway in this country.

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