Operation analyses on capacity enhancement for a regional railway line in UK through the implementation of the ERTMS/ETCS Level 2 HD signalling system

The paper concerns the operation analyses carried out by Italferr S.p.A. (Italian Railway Group) to enhance the capacity of a regional railway network in UK through the implementation of the ERTMS/ETCS Level 2 (L2) High Density (HD) signalling system. It represents an innovative design solution since this type of signalling system is typically adopted for High-Speed railway lines. This design solution arises from the need of improving the capacity of a railway network operating close to a saturation condition by ensuring at least the same level of reliability and punctuality. Under the operational point of view, the study has been approached as a constrained capacity problem considering that the current functional layout of line and terminal station can’t be modified due to land use restrictions. The capacity analysis has been performed for both line and terminal station. Line capacity analysis has been executed considering different Train Per Hour (TPH) traffic scenarios following both deterministic and stochastic approaches to evaluate the effects of the new signalling system. In particular, the operation of the entire line has been analysed through a micro-simulation tool, making a specific focus on the busiest section. Due to the constrains of the line, simulation results have confirmed that it is not possible to have significant capacity improvements without implementing the ERTMS/ETCS L2 HD signalling system. Basing on these findings, other scenarios TPH have been simulated to identify the maximum traffic scenario with the suitable level of punctuality. Finally, the terminal station capacity has been analysed through the Queuing Method to identify bottlenecks and calculate the suitable turnaround time ensuring the current level of reliability and punctuality.