Colour light lineside signals are being removed for the first time on a commuter railway as digital train regulation expands.

Signals will be removed between Moorgate and Finsbury Park over the weekend of 17 and 18 May, following the introduction of the European Train Control System on the route, which uses screens in the cabs to keep drivers informed.

Work on ERTMS, which includes ETCS, is also continuing between Welwyn Garden City and Hitchin, where the new digital signalling will be tested at high speeds, while preparatory work will be carried out between Biggleswade and Peterborough.

The high-speed tests on the Welwyn Garden City to Hitchin section will allow engineers to assess the new systems in ‘live’ mode. Network Rail is planning to bring them into service for normal traffic early next year.

ETCS is already used on the central section of Thameslink, but traditional colour light signals have been retained as well. The system has also been used for more than a decade on the Cambrian lines between Shrewsbury and the Welsh coast.

The work between Moorgate and Peterborough is part of the wider programme to install ERTMS between London King’s Cross and Stoke Tunnel, just south of Grantham, at the point where the four-track East Coast Main Line comes down to double line.

When complete, the installation will be the first of its kind on a main line in Britain.

Engineers will also take advantage of the closure to renew and refurbish track equipment near Hornsey and Huntingdon, and complete work on drains near Fletton.

The various possessions mean that no trains can run between King’s Cross and Peterborough over the weekend of 17 and 18 May.

Passengers travelling from further north will need to use rail replacement coaches between Peterborough and Bedford, and Thameslink trains from there to London St Pancras International. Network Rail is advising diverted East Coast passengers not to travel via Sheffield, Derby, Nottingham or Chesterfield to London, because these routes are already very busy.

Network Rail's head of access integration for the East Coast Digital Programme Ricky Barsby said: ‘The testing work is another step towards the introduction of digital, in-cab signalling on the East Coast Main Line, enabling a more reliable and greener railway. The work will also see the removal of traditional signals on a stretch of commuter railway in London, pointing the way to the next generation railway.

‘We recognise the work will lead to journeys taking longer over that weekend. We would like to thank all those affected for their patience and understanding.’

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