Thameslink to replace drivers with computers

THE Thameslink train now arriving at platform one is being driven... by a computer.

New plans for the congested north-south route through London could make the operator's trains the first on any mainline commuter network in the world to be computer-controlled.

Train managers believe the use of Automatic Train Control systems -already in use in some underground lines and the Docklands Light Railway - are needed to ensure the line can handle 24 trains an hour from 2015.

A spokeswoman for Network Rail said today: ''This is a very exciting development."

She stressed it would only be introduced for trains on the central section of the line through the capital, which is the most congested and would be a boon for commuters. Current plans envisage doubling the number of trains in the central section to 16 per hour over the next two years and 24 an hour by 2015, with a possibility of up to 30 an hour if necessary.

Thameslink, which connects Bedford in the north to Brighton in the south, suffers from severe overcrowding.

It is currently the subject of a £5 billion upgrade programme involving longer trains, bigger platforms and rebuilding stations at Blackfriars, London Bridge and Farringdon.

Network Rail likened the automatic train control system to the automatic pilot used on aircraft.

The driver remains in the cab and pushes buttons to allow the train to leave each station, but the train is driven by computer to the next stop. Manual systems are retained to allow the driver to override the automatic system in an emergency. Automatic systems were first introduced in London in 1967 when the Victoria line was opened and is now also used on the Central line. In the DLR system, computers control the trains remotely without any drivers.

Use of the system on mainline services is considered more problematic because of the bigger, heavier trains and more complicated signalling systems.

Currently, the only mainline trains controlled by ATC systems are on sections of Spain's high speed network, but its introduction on the Thameslink line could make it the first commuter network to be run in this fashion.

NR says that only computer- controlled trains are capable of achieving the necessary consistency of driving and timing to allow increased train frequency.