"Imagine sitting in your car at a set of red traffic lights; the lights turn green but only allow the first car to pass leaving everybody else stationary.
With the current signalling system creating near-gridlock in some areas, radical change is urgently needed.
The proposed new digital system, known as European Train Control System (ETCS), sweeps away signals completely.
It allows trains to run much closer together; safety margins are determined by a train's speed and braking capacity rather than fixed signals.
On low-speed lines trains will run much closer together, similar to road traffic in urban areas. On high-speed lines they will be further apart but even here gaps will be cut from three minutes to 90 seconds, potentially doubling capacity."
Source: Could we finally see the end of overcrowded trains? - BBC News
Interesting read here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europe...Control_System
"Both factors led to efforts to reduce the time and cost of cross-border traffic. On 4 and 5 December 1989, a working group including Transport Ministers resolved a master plan for a trans-European high-speed rail network, the first time that ETCS was suggested"
So, it was in making long time ago, but UK clearly decided not to give a tulip about being part of EU that would have made it easier for EU trains to get to UK and back to Europe.
With the current signalling system creating near-gridlock in some areas, radical change is urgently needed.
The proposed new digital system, known as European Train Control System (ETCS), sweeps away signals completely.
It allows trains to run much closer together; safety margins are determined by a train's speed and braking capacity rather than fixed signals.
On low-speed lines trains will run much closer together, similar to road traffic in urban areas. On high-speed lines they will be further apart but even here gaps will be cut from three minutes to 90 seconds, potentially doubling capacity."
Source: Could we finally see the end of overcrowded trains? - BBC News
Interesting read here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europe...Control_System
"Both factors led to efforts to reduce the time and cost of cross-border traffic. On 4 and 5 December 1989, a working group including Transport Ministers resolved a master plan for a trans-European high-speed rail network, the first time that ETCS was suggested"
So, it was in making long time ago, but UK clearly decided not to give a tulip about being part of EU that would have made it easier for EU trains to get to UK and back to Europe.
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