Govia Thameslink Railway and Siemens have completed the upgrade of one of its Class 717 trains to include digital signalling.

717020, which operates with Great Northern, ran for the first time on the Northern City Line between Moorgate on ETCS Baseline 3, Release 2.

No issues were reported in the empty stock trial and should see all 25 Class 717 trains upgrade in the next few months.

All services currently use digital signalling on the Northern City Line and it is planned that physical signals will be removed in May.

The East Coast Digital Programme will eventually bring huge benefits to GTR and passengers, with a more reliable, more sustainable railway, lower emissions, and even better safety for passengers.

“Working with our industry colleagues, we’ve been spearheading the introduction of ETCS and now every one of our Class 717 trains is operating in passenger service using the system on the Northern City Line.

GTR’s Head of ERTMS Oly Turner