Atkins and F+G secure East Coast Main Line digital transformation role

Delivery of a major digital railway transformation programme across the East Coast Main Line (ECML), East Midlands and Transpennine routes will be carried out by Atkins and Faithful+Gould (F+G).Atkins and F+G, alongside key suppliers PWC and Ramboll, will support cross-industry work on the East Coast Digital Programme under the six-year Railway Systems Integration Partner (RISP) contract.The £1.8bn programme is part of Network Rail’s commitment to deploy digital signalling and train controls to improve performance for passengers and freight users. It includes introducing in-cab European Train Control System digital signalling and traffic management across the ECML route.The RSIP role will coordinate industry relationships across stakeholders including passengers, train operators, freight operators, the signalling technology integrator Siemens and government.Several services will be provided by the RSIP team. These will include programme management, business case development, business change, benefits realisation, industry integration, operational readiness and engineering management services.Delivery approaches will be informed by European Railway Traffic Management System (ERTMS) programmes in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Belgium and the UK.Atkins strategic rail director Scott Kelley described the scheme as “genuinely game changing” and “at the leading edge of rail industry integration”.The roll-out of the ERTMS on the ECML will be a catalyst for further development across the route and railway network, with the last significant upgrade to the train control system in this section of the railway having been in the 1970s.Many of the new trains now in operation or soon-to-be-in service will also be fitted with digital in-cab signalling technology.