SHREWSBURY is on track to become one of the first towns in the country to benefit from one of the world’s most advanced rail signalling technologies.
The Cambrian lines from Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth and Shrewsbury to Pwllheli will become the first railway in the UK to use the new European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS).
This new technology is designed to upgrade the line and significantly improve reliability and capacity on the network. It has already been tested this week between Pwllheli and Harlech using Arriva Trains Wales’ ERTMS-equipped passenger train fleet.
If successful, the new system will be introduced in phases on the rest of the 215km line and it is hoped Shrewsbury will be tested by the spring. It could lead to more trains using the line in the future, and it has been claimed the plan will boost Shrewsbury as a rail centre.
Government funding of £400 million has been made available for the scheme as part of a national programme, which it is hoped will be adopted in the rest of the UK by 2014. Rob Carr, senior programme manager at Network Rail, said: “ERTMS is the next frontier for Britain’s railway. It will significantly improve reliability and capacity on the network.
Peter Leppard, director of operations and safety at Arriva Trains Wales, said: “This is a ground-breaking project and we are proud to be delivering the first trial section of ERTMS on British rail network.”
By Charlotte Hester
