New signalling technology for Circle and Hammersmith & City Lines 2018

Thales has tested a new signalling control system on sub-surface trains on the Circle and Hammersmith & City lines, which enable trains to run closer together. The test aims to provide a more frequent service, reduce waiting times and help boost capacity for the Circle, District, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines. The system will go live on the first section of the network as early as 2018.
October 17, 2017 Read time: 2 mins

596 Thales has tested a new signalling control system on sub-surface trains on the Circle and Hammersmith & City lines, which enable trains to run closer together. The test aims to provide a more frequent service, reduce waiting times and help boost capacity for the Circle, District, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines. The system will go live on the first section of the network as early as 2018.

Further testing weekends will commence in the coming months as the system is being progressively installed across more of the network with a capacity increase of up to 33% across all four lines, which makes up 40% of the underground. It will also mean that Night Tube services can be introduced on these lines in the future.

The system is designed with the intention of reducing the number of signalling problems and improve the accuracy of real-time customer information. Services will begin to increase in frequency from 2021 when more of the network is operating the new system, and all four lines will be using the system by 2023.

Testing took place between Hammersmith and Latimer Road and featured three newly-enabled S Stock Trains. It involved using a signalling system to manage the distance between trains. The new S Stock trains are currently having new equipment installed, with 30 already fitted by 513 Bombardier.

The next testing weekend will start in December, with installation work continuing throughout the year.

Related Content

  • February 1, 2012
    No in-road equipment for Queensland's free flow toll bridge
    By May this year, the new Gateway Bridge in Brisbane, which is being built alongside an existing bridge, will be open. With it will come an end-to-end free-flow tolling system. Interview with Sue Caelers, Queensland Motorway Ltd. Queensland Motorways Ltd owns and operates 61km of roadway in the area around Brisbane, Australia. This includes the Gateway Bridge and the Gateway Extension, Logan and Port of Brisbane motorways.
    Read More
  • December 21, 2012
    Consortium wins Polish ERTMS contract
    Polish infrastructure manager PKP PLK has awarded a consortium of Bombardier (ZWUS) Poland, Thales Poland, and Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) a $US153 million contract for the country's first commercial European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) Level 2 installation. The project covers the 340km line E65 between Gdynia and Warsaw, which also forms the northern section of Pan-European Corridor VI from Gdynia to Katowice and Zilina in Slovakia. Bombardier and Thales will supply the ETCS Level 2 equipment,
    Read More
  • May 29, 2013
    Thales to modernise Egyptian railways signalling systems
    In a contract valued at over US$141 million with Egyptian National Railways, Thales is to modernise the signalling systems on the Cairo-Alexandria corridor. The Cairo-Alexandria railway line is approximately 208 km long and is currently the busiest section of the Egyptian Railways network, carrying more than 25 million passengers per year. The turnkey contract includes design, supply, construction, phasing, commissioning and maintenance services. It covers the modernisation of the signalling as well as the
    Read More
  • December 16, 2014
    Dynamic charging boosts electric vehicles’ potential
    With an increasing need to use electric vehicles in city centres to reduce pollution, David Crawford looks at various solutions to power delivery. The UN’s September 2014 Climate Summit has added fresh momentum to the drive to increase urban electric vehicle (EV) takeup. It has launched the Urban Electric Mobility Initiative, which wants to see EVs accounting for 30% of all urban travel by 2030, and make cities worldwide more friendly to their use. Encouragingly, the plan is being well supported by commerci
    Read More

Highlighted Content