Press release -
Hitachi on-board ETCS – Network Rail Contract Award
LONDON, August 6, 2014 – Hitachi Rail Europe Ltd. today announced that it has signed a contract with Network Rail for implementation of the European Train Control System (ETCS) on two Class 37 locomotives. The project work includes the design, vehicle modification, ETCS installation, testing and commissioning of Hitachi’s ETCS for West Coast Railways, for operational use on the Cambrian Line European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) in Wales, for scheduled completion in August 2015.
This contract follows the successful proof of concept of Hitachi ETCS on a Class 97 Locomotive (‘Verification-Train 3’ trial) which tested interoperability with a separate supplier’s groundside system in use on the Network Rail Cambrian Line infrastructure.
Also, Hitachi recently obtained certification from a Notified Body of the on-board system in accordance with the Control Command and Signalling TSI (Technical Specification for Interoperability) 2012/88/EU and 2012/696/E. This being achieved through a rigorous formal assessment process and demonstrating compliance with relevant TSI and EN norms to the highest Safety Integrity Level 4.
This is Hitachi’s first formal order received for ETCS, which recognises the intensive development, testing and certification of the system over the last 7 years to the European TSI and associated subsets. This 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.
ETCS is a common signalling system which has been developed throughout Europe to enable train services to cross frontiers and boundaries between different countries without the need to change signalling systems or locomotives. ETCS is a technical sub-system alongside GSM-R and Operational Control, collectively making ERTMS, and many systems have already been deployed in Europe, and also in China and India.
In the UK Hitachi is continuing to support the essential Network Rail National Programme for ETCS rollout on-board Passenger and Freight vehicles, and is developing other programmes around the world, in order to realise the operational and cost benefits of a radio-based cab signalling system with a reduced trackside infrastructure.
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About Hitachi Rail Europe Ltd.
Hitachi Rail Europe Ltd., is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi Europe, Ltd. and is headquartered in London, UK.
Hitachi Rail Europe is a total railway system supplier offering rolling stock, traction equipment, signalling, traffic management systems, and maintenance depots.
Hitachi draws on many years of experience as a leading supplier of high-speed trains such as the Shinkansen (bullet train) for the Japanese and international markets. In Europe, Hitachi Rail Europe’s first rolling stock contract was to deliver a fleet of 29 Class 395 trains, the first domestic high-speed train in the UK, which are maintained at Hitachi’s state of the art depot in Ashford, Kent. As part of the British Department for Transport’s Intercity Express Programme, Hitachi Rail Europe will replace the UK’s ageing fleet of Intercity trains, and will establish a new rolling stock manufacturing facility in the UK for this purpose. The trains will be maintained and services in a number of new maintenance
depots along the Great Western Main Line and the East Coast Main Line.
For more information about the company, please visit: www.Hitachirail-eu.com .
