The benefits of the European Train Control System (ETCS) include enhanced safety, as ETCS continuously monitors train speed and ensures compliance with speed restrictions, as well as reducing the risk of incidents caused by driver error – for example the recent speed exceedances across the network. By optimising train spacing and allowing trains to run closer together, ETCS can also enhance capacity on some lines. The implementation of ETCS will also reduce long-term costs by minimising the need to provide and maintain trackside equipment.
ETCS provides a common system that enables rail interoperable operations across different railway systems. A common system will provide more choice and cost-effective train control solutions for Great Britain (GB). ETCS also provides real-time data on train and track conditions, which can be used for predictive maintenance and efficient resource management.
However, there are challenges to the rollout of ETCS, one of which is providing ETCS control equipment on older trains which were built with no thought of in-cab signalling requirements. Issues include power supplies, cable containment, and human factors for the driver’s interface. This article describes the fitting of ETCS to the 50-year-old fleet of Class 43 High Speed Train (HST) and heritage trains including the steam train Tornado and Class 55 Deltic.
To maximise the benefits of a safer, more efficient, and interconnected rail network, all trains – including heritage trains – need to be provided with onboard ETCS equipment. Heritage rail plays an important role in the UK tourist industry and contributes over £600 million per year, according to the Heritage Railway Association.
As part of the development of the national rail network, the deployment of ETCS is taking place on the East Coast Main Line from Kings Cross and initially south of Peterborough. A cross-industry initiative, the East Coast Digital Programme (ECDP) is to deliver ETCS on the route, and in due course, ETCS will roll out across all key routes. ETCS will need to be provided on all trains to enable operations on routes where there would be no traditional signals remaining. This is known as a Level 2 No Signals ETCS railway.
All trains are affected, including steam locomotives, so the pathfinder project was set up to enable all parts of the railway to share in the ETCS transformation. The fitment of ETCS to heritage trains has so far involved industry collaboration involving Hitachi Rail (onboard equipment), AtkinsRéalis (fitment design), A1 Steam Locomotive Trust (loco owners) and Network Rail (for the integration). The project has required overcoming significant challenges involving electrical supplies, braking, both directions running, and enabling the human interface in a hostile environment, which is noisy, dusty, wet, and with extensive vibrations.
Hitachi Rail provided its proven, modular ETCS Level 2 onboard solution, demonstrating the adaptability of modern digital systems across a range of rolling stock, from the Class 43 HSTs to the steam-powered Tornado. Hitachi says the train equipment is their standard ‘off the shelf’ ETCS product and required minimal change for the older trains. This includes European Vital Computer (EVC); Driver Machine Interface (DMI); Juridical Recording Unit (JRU); Balise antenna and Balise Transmission Module (BTM); odometry equipment, including wheel sensors and doppler radar; Train Interface Unit (TIU); and a GSM-R ETCS interface.
The ETCS equipment had to be configured for the respective train characteristics and interfaces, with the only additions being an enhanced annunciator so the alert tones could be heard in the noisier open cab steam train and a physical acknowledgement button. Steam drivers can wear gloves, which are not ideal for operating ETCS DMI touchscreens.
Class 43 HST fitment
In 2018, Hitachi started work to fit ETCS equipment to the iconic Class 43 High Speed Trains (HSTs), which are used as Network Rail’s New Measurement Train (NMT). These, affectionately known as the Flying Banana due to the distinctive yellow livery, monitor and record track condition information at speeds up to 125mph. Much of the work formed the basis of the ETCS design for both Tornado and Deltic. Space for the ETCS equipment in the Class 43 HST was not an issue as there was plenty of room for ETCS and other equipment located in the rack placed in the former guards van to the rear of the locomotives. There was also ample space for the DMI in the cab.
Sixteen further Class 43 HST power cars are now also being fitted with ETCS equipment. Four of the power cars to be fitted belong to RailAdventure and are used for freight and rolling stock movements. Four belong to Locomotive Services Limited and are used for private charter trains, and the remaining eight are leased by Colas Rail from Porterbrook. The work to fit all 16 is expected to be completed during 2026.
Tornado ETCS fitment
Forty-nine of the Peppercorn Pacific A1 class steam locomotives were originally built in 1948/49 by British Railways, with all scrapped by 1966. However, after 18 years of development and fundraising, a dedicated team of volunteers at the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust built No. 60163 Tornado at its Darlington Locomotive Works in 2008. The engine has since appeared in the Paddington 2 film and in Top Gear’s ‘Race to the North’. Tornado also reached 100mph in nighttime tests in 2017, making it the first steam locomotive to do so since the 1960s.
Fitted with the latest railway electrical safety systems when it was constructed eight years ago, Tornado was already provided with much of the equipment required for ETCS. This included two electoral generators, a dual redundant power supply, and Low Smoke Zero Halogen (LSZH) cabling. However, further modifications were required for the ETCS upgrade and a recent Tornado overhaul provided the opportunity to design and implement the changes.
The upgrade to make Tornado ETCS-ready included changes to cupboards and cubicles, pipe runs, power supplies, and cable runs, the fitment of a second steam turbogenerator, a new axle driven alternator, and a third battery bank dedicated to ETCS. In total an additional 4km of additional cabling was required, 18 additional MIL-DTL-5015 heavy-duty circular electrical connectors, along with ETCS equipment such as Cold Movement Detector (CMD), Wheel Impulse Generator (WIG), Doppler Radar (DR), and two Balise antennas – as Tornado is too long for just one.
The system was designed to provide a very reliable electrical supply to meet the availability requirements of a modern ETCS signalling system. The ETCS equipment was installed in a cut out space in the tender, along with the second DMI, and all the equipment was carefully designed to ensure that the appearance of the heritage steam train was maintained for the benefit of all.
AtkinsRéalis delivered the fitment design for Tornado. This included extensive human factor consideration for fitting the ETCS DMI in locomotives designed years before in-cab signalling was even thought about. Modern train driving cabs are generally less noisy and it is easier to control reflections. However, for Tornado the design had to take into account the noisy open cab and that the locomotive can be driven loco or tender first. This required that the DMI screen on the tender could still be read in any situation.
DMI screens can be reflective, especially touch screen variants, and consideration was needed for the DMI placement to also shield the screen from direct sunlight and any reflections on the screens, and for the brightness settings to ensure readability in both daylight and in the dark with the firebox door open. AtkinsRéalis provided 150 drawings for the ETCS fitment and took special care to ensure that the DMIs did not look out of place, and that the heritage look and feel of Tornado was not compromised by the fitment.
Testing of the HST Class 43 took place at the Network Rail test track near Melton Mowbray, but steam train Tornado was tested on the Cambrian line between Shrewsbury and Newtown, in mid-Wales. The Cambrian line being and early pilot of ETCS, completed in 2011. The test trains were operated by special trains operator West Coast Railway using its Safety Case, with Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) providing the test train officers involved with each trip. Special attention was given to ensuring that there were no reflections on the ETCS DMIs from the Tornado fire box and the levels of vibration experienced did not cause readability concerns.
The fitting of ETCS to Tornado understandably and correctly attracted much popular press attention during 2025, especially as fitting ETCS to a steam train was a world first. It also confirmed to the industry that if ETCS could be fitted to a steam locomotive originally designed in the 1940s, then it can be fitted to any train.
Class 55 Deltic ETCS fitment
The British Rail Class 55, also known as the ‘Deltic’, or English Electric Type 5, is a class of diesel locomotive built in 1961 and 1962 by English Electric for British Railways. Similar to the Class 43 HST, obtaining electrical power was not an issue as both locomotives are diesel electrics, so the traction current generation provides more than enough power for ETCS. The Class 55 however has two diesel engines, so a battery-backed Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) was provided for a short duration to supply a smooth power feed to the ETCS equipment.
Originally, the Deltics had a steam boiler for coach heating in a compartment in the middle of the locomotive between the two engines. This now empty compartment provided the space for the ETCS and other equipment (TPWS and data recorder) to be installed in an equipment rack.
Installation of the ETCS equipment to a Class 55 Deltic has been carried out at Locomotive Services TOC Ltd in Crewe. The company is part of a group dedicated to the preservation and operation of steam locomotives on the mainline railway. Slow speed testing of the Class 55 ETCS system has been carried out in the depot area, with the ETCS equipment currently isolated (known as Dormant Mode) to allow the locomotives to operate normally on the main line network. The next stage will be to carry out dynamic testing of the ETCS equipment.
Collaboration and innovation
The innovation and expertise required to retrofit ETCS in the complex operating environment of trains from previous generations is impressive and cannot be underestimated. The ETCS fitments have demonstrated that it is possible to provide ETCS capability for any train, as well as what is achievable when different parts of the industry collaborate to deliver a common objective.
The lessons learned have provided insight for wider fitment and integration, and a valuable blueprint for future projects in order to solve any ETCS train fitment challenge. One lesson is that smaller train operators will need the continuing support and collaboration from the wider industry to support ETCS. This will include areas such as ongoing operation and training, together with asset management and maintenance.
Rail Engineer is most grateful for the help and assistance of Hitachi Rail in the production of this article.
Image credit: Terry Foughler