UK: DB Cargo UK has officially opened an ETCS training centre at its Doncaster headquarters. There is a Class 66 full cab simulator as well as six ultra-light simulators, two instructor stations, training rooms, a breakout area, study rooms and kitchen.
‘We have more than 600 drivers, more than 400 groundstaff and over 600 engineers, so it’s fair to say that this centre, and the others we have developed with funding from Network Rail, will play a pivotal role in training a new generation of rail staff’, DB Cargo UK’s Chief Operating Officer Neil Ethell said at the opening ceremony on November 28.
The operator has a second facility at its Wembley depot, and a Mobile Training Facility which will be deployed to key locations across the country.
The training facilities have been set up in partnership with East Coast Digital Programme, and funded through the long-term deployment programme enabling the freight sector to be ready for ETCS.
The first trains to use ETCS on the East Coast Main Line are expected to run in late 2025.
