UK: Freightliner has officially opened an Operational Training Academy in Doncaster to prepare its northern-based drivers for the introduction of ETCS Level 2 between London King’s Cross and Stoke Tunnel near Grantham as part of the East Coast Digital Programme.
A similar facility for southern-based drivers was opened in Ipswich during May.
The Doncaster academy has been funded by Network Rail as part of ECDP. During the official opening on September 27, Tim Shoveller, CEO of Freightliner’s parent company Genesee & Wyoming’s UK and European operations, said this ‘symbolises the collaboration that is necessary to make our railway successful’.
It is expected that operation on the East Coast Main Line using the digital signalling technology will begin in 2025, with the roll out to be completed by 2030.
Shoveller said ETCS would help the rail freight sector to be more competitive against road transport and further improve the railway’s already strong safety record. He said that as a passionate believer in rail he wants to see costs reduced, but the upfront expenditure would bring long-term benefits, as ETCS ‘allows trains to run closer together and makes the network more efficient. It changes the way in which we operate the railway, it reduces cost, improves safety and allows us to run more trains. That, to me, sounds like a pretty good reason to invest.’
More than 400 Freightliner drivers in the north of England need ETCS training. The Doncaster facility is currently equipped with four desktop simulators, but from the end of the year a full-cab simulator will be operational, enabling drivers to familiarise themselves with the new way of driving and be assessed as competent. This will include motion equipment in the driver’s seat to simulate rough track, junctions and the locomotive taking power. ‘It is a very different way of learning than the traditional paper-based approach’, said Shoveller.
One of Freightliner’s Class 66 diesel locomotives is now at the nearby Wabtec site being assessed for ETCS first-in-class fitment by the end of the year, and the operator’s engineers will need training to work with the onboard systems.
’The success of ECDP depends on equipping people with the digital skills needed for next generation railway operations’, said Ed Akers, Principal Programme Sponsor, ECDP, at Network Rail. Facilities like the training centre ‘provide an excellent environment for giving drivers the competence and confidence required’.
