Exploring the feasibility of running ETCS level 2 overlay over conventional signalling along the Jhansi to Bina section of Indian Railways

Indian Railways operates one of theworld’s largest railway networks in terms of mileage and passenger numbers. The Ministry of Railways is looking to make significant investments in infrastructure that will deliver services with improved reliability, greater speeds, increased capacity, and safety. The first step of this multipart upgrade would be to implement ETCS level 2 on selected high traffic corridors.This research examines the feasibility of running ETCS level 2 equipped trains alongside conventional traffic over the Jhansi to Bina section of the railways. The line between Jhansi and Bina was modelled using Birmingham’s in house software BRaVE. The timetable was initially analysed manually, and services were categorised into distinct types. Models were created by the team for each train pair combination (23 pairs in total) running at 2 different speed levels. The block lengths were thought to be an important factor, 4 separate block lengths were selected for numerical analysis. The results of the simulation were then compressed to determine the amount of space available on the timetable for both conventional and ETCS signalling. The scenarios involving train pairs were analysed for the minimum journey time interval between two services at different block lengths. Two interesting results that were not part of the initial scope were found during our investigation. Influence of block lengths was not found to be substantial as the journey times did not change significantly. We observed that at some points that passenger services on the mainline were routed through platforms. The simulation clearly showed that the transition speed at points were a major influence on the journey time and therefore a major bottleneck towards unlocking capacity.