East Coast's ETCS in a new era
posted on 21st Oct 2026 17:14
Digital in-cab signalling has been used by passenger trains on the East Coast Main Line for the first time: the 08.05 Great Northern service to Moorgate on Monday 31 August 2026 was the first passenger train to use the new system on the main line as it was signalled out of Welwyn Garden City station.
It’s the latest milestone for the 1.4 billion GBP Government-funded East Coast Digital Programme (ECDP), which will see traditional lineside signals replaced with a system that tells train drivers on an in-cab computer screen how far and how fast they can travel.
This first stage in the use of the ETCS on the East Coast Main Line now sees Great Northern’s modern Class 717 fleet transition in and out of the system when entering and leaving the Welwyn to Hitchin area. The 15-mile section has been successfully commissioned as an ‘overlay’, meaning trains can operate through it using either conventional or digital in-cab signalling, allowing drivers to be trained in the technology. More fleets and passenger services will begin using the ETCS from 2027.
The service groups now using ETCS on the ECML are the Great Northern services that operate between Moorgate and Welwyn Garden City, and Moorgate and Stevenage via Hertford North. These services now begin and end their journeys in ETCS Level 2 as the section between Moorgate and Finsbury Park operates as a ‘no signals’ ETCS railway.
The regular service pattern will see these services, operated by Great Northern Class 717s, transition in and out of ETCS Level 2 south of Welwyn Garden City, and south of Stevenage from the Hertford Loop. There are also a small number of services at certain times of the day (early morning/late evening) that extend to/from Letchworth, so go through a larger amount of ETCS area.
