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

  • June 6, 2014
    Monitoring during construction reveals benefits of new expressway
    David Crawford reports on how the authorities in New Zealand are using Bluetooth technology to monitor the effects of a new expressway as it is being constructed. New Zealand Highway Agency (NZHA) is using Bluetooth-based vehicle detection to assess the impact of its biggest road building project as the various sections are completed. The large-scale deployment of a Bluetooth-based vehicle detection system is making substantial contributions to traffic data needs in progressing the new Waikato Expressway, a
    Read More
  • June 13, 2018
    Singapore plans changes to transit system
    Singapore has the third-highest population density in the world and the numbers are continuing to grow. The government knows that transit is vital: David Crawford investigates the city state’s Smart Nation strategy. Transport is the most important of the five domains identified as the pillars of Singapore's far-reaching Smart Nation strategy, launched in November 2014 by prime minister Lee Hsien Loong with the aim of reaching fulfilment by 2024. Roads account for 12% of the island republic's 719km2 land ar
    Read More
  • October 28, 2015
    Emissions reductions targets to have major impact on transport
    As bold moves aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions have been introduced in California, David Crawford looks at the ramifications for transportation. California Governor Jerry Brown’s recent dramatic raising of the bar on emissions reduction policy for the state has won him praise from Japan, Australia, Europe and the secretariat of the critical UN conference on climate change being held in Paris in November/December 2015. His April 2015 executive order aimed at bringing emissions to 40% below 1990 lev
    Read More
  • November 7, 2013
    Smart Spanish city trials cell-based traffic management
    David Crawford reports on an urban electronic nervous system. The northern Spanish city of Santander – historically a port - is now an emerging technology showcase attracting global attention as a prototype for a medium-sized smart city of the future. In a move to determine the optimal use of available data, it is creating a de-facto experimental laboratory for sensor and mobile phone-based urban traffic management and environmental monitoring innovations.
    Read More

Highlighted Content