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Sep25
Stunning Swiss signalling system
The signalling system in the Lotschberg Base Tunnel in Switzerland uses a variant of the ETCS (European Train Control System).
This has a unique reversing feature. If there is an emergency and a train has to reverse out of the tunnel, this can be done under ETCS control without the driver having to leave his cab.
This is pretty amazing. Normally a train couldn't be reversed without a driver at the (new) front: in a very long and very deep tunnel like the Lotschberg, this would either mean having a loco and a driver at each end of each train just in case something bad happened, or (if it ever did) waiting until a new loco could be found, driven up to the rear of the train, attached and then driven out again.
This system allows a very quick reaction to problems.
The downside is that it is unique: it's yet another variant of ETCS whic means it isn't truly inter-operable across Europe (and indeed the world: take-up of ETCS seems to be higher outside Europe than inside!).
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