Rail operating centre

{{main|UK railway signalling}}

Originally, the early railways employed 'policemen' to time the intervals between trains and to give a 'stop' signal if a train had passed in the previous ten minutes.{{cite book|last1=Wolmar|first1=Christian|title=Fire & Steam|date=2008|publisher=Atlantic Books|isbn=978-1-84354-630-6|page=[https://archive.org/details/firesteamhowrail0000wolm/page/49 49]|chapter=2|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/firesteamhowrail0000wolm/page/49}} Developments led to many everyday workings (such as interlocking points){{cite web|title=John Saxby|url=http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/John_Saxby|website=Grace's Guide to British Industrial History|publisher=Grace|access-date=17 November 2015|date=4 December 2014}} and signal boxes to house the levers that allowed signallers to change the points and signals over a given stretch of railway.{{cite web|title=Railway signal boxes granted grade II listed status|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-23451290|website=BBC News|publisher=BBC|access-date=17 November 2015|date=26 July 2013}} These signalboxes were often elevated above the railway due to the locking mechanisms of the signals and points being accommodated on the lower storey.{{cite web|last1=Minnis|first1=John|title=Railway Signal Boxes - A Review|url=http://services.english-heritage.org.uk/ResearchReportsPdfs/028-2012WEB.pdf|website=English Heritage|access-date=14 November 2015|ref=28-2012|page=9|date=2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304003340/http://services.english-heritage.org.uk/ResearchReportsPdfs/028-2012WEB.pdf|archive-date=4 March 2016|df=dmy-all}} This also allowed the signaller to keep an eye on things from a good vantage point.{{cite web|last1=Smith|first1=Mike|title=Signal Boxes|url=http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/gansg/3-sigs/sigbox.htm|website=Goods and not so goods|publisher=MyWeb|access-date=17 November 2015|date=2003}}

At the end of the Second World War, the United Kingdom network was host to over ten thousand mechanical-lever signalboxes.{{cite news|last1=Paton|first1=Graeme|title=End of the line for signal boxes after 150 years|work=The Times|issue=71838|date=20 February 2016|page=20}} When British Rail was created from the Big Four private railway companies{{cite web|title=Railways Act 1921|url=http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/docsummary.php?docID=65|website=Railways Archive|publisher=RA|access-date=14 November 2015|date=16 August 1921}}{{cite news|title=Why not nationalise the railways|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22700805|access-date=14 November 2015|publisher=BBC News|date=11 July 2013}} under the Transport Act 1947,{{cite web|title=Transport Act 1947|url=http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/documents/HMG_Act1947.pdf|website=Railways Archive|publisher=HMG|access-date=13 November 2015|date=1947}} they began to install power signal boxes (PSB) at strategic locations such as Euston, Crewe, Doncaster, Rugby and Carlisle.{{cite web|title=Euston Signal Box|url=http://www.wbsframe.mste.co.uk/public/Euston.html|website=Westinghouse Brake & Saxby Signal Co|access-date=18 November 2015}} The PSBs would remove the necessity for many individual boxes along a particular route and would pass control to one centralized location. Carlisle's PSB took over the responsibility of 44 signal boxes alone in the north west area.{{cite book|last1=Le Vay|first1=Benedict|title=Britain From the Rails|date=2014|publisher=BRADT|location=Chalfont St Peter|isbn=978-1-84162-919-3|page=299}}

A step on from the PSBs was the IECC (Integrated Electronic Control Centre) system, a forerunner of the ROCs. The first IECC panel was installed at London Liverpool Street in 1989.{{cite journal|last1=Scroggins|first1=Danny|title=The British Power Signalling Register|journal=BPSR|date=3 March 2015|page=34|url=http://bpsr.signallingnotices.org.uk/|access-date=17 November 2015}}

After the railways in Britain were privatised in 1994, This date refers to the privatization of the infrastructure under Railtrack. The train operating companies would not see final privatisation until 1997.{{cite news|title=The Great train sell-off - whodunnit?|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/982037.stm|access-date=17 November 2015|agency=BBC News|publisher=BBC|date=20 October 2000}} staff from the then operating company, Railtrack, paid a visit to the Union Pacific Operating Center, USA in 1999.{{sfn|Rhodes|2015|p=3}} After viewing the facilities and seeing the control they decided that a small number of major operating centres was the way forward for UK operations. Just one centre was approved and built in 2003 at Saltley, near to Birmingham, as part of the West Coast Route Modernisation.{{cite news|title=West Coast Route Modernisation Still Faces Tough Choices|url=http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view/west-coast-route-modernisation-still-faces-tough-choices.html|access-date=14 November 2015|publisher=Railway Gazette|date=1 September 2003}} However this building was not connected for some time and whilst it was used by Network Rail staff, no signalling equipment was installed until 2006.{{cite web|title=National operating strategy unveiled|url=http://www.railengineer.uk/2014/10/06/national-operating-strategy-unveiled/|website=Rail Engineer|access-date=16 November 2015|date=6 October 2014}}

{{main|ERTMS}}{{main|European Train Control System}}

With the advent of the 'Digital Railway' project,{{cite web|title=ERTMS - a reality check|url=http://www.railengineer.uk/2015/08/28/ertms-a-reality-check/|website=Rail Engineer|access-date=17 November 2015|date=28 August 2015}} signalling methods such as ERTMS have been adopted as a way forward by Network Rail. There are two components of ERTMS, ECTS (European Train Control System) and TMS (Traffic Management System).

Whereas lineside signals operated by a signaller would control train movements, ETCS will signal trains via a computer without lineside apparatus. In effect, the train creates its own 'buffer zone' through a digital signal transmitted from the cab.{{cite news|last1=Quine|first1=Adrian|title=Changing the signals on Britain's Railways|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-32446717|access-date=17 November 2015|agency=BBC News|publisher=BBC|date=25 April 2015}} An onboard computer on the train will inform the driver of the 'allowable speed and movement of the train.'{{cite web|title=ERTMS Online|url=http://ertmsonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/ETCS-The-future-of-signaling-is-here_Brochure.pdf|website=Network Rail|access-date=14 November 2015|page=3}} TMS allows delays to be minimised through a computer running algorithms and deciding how best to return traffic patterns to normal.

These systems mean the removal of traditional signalling infrastructure and the signal boxes that go with them.

File:Rugby ROC 11.21.jpg ROC, alongside the West Coast Main Line]]

York IECC (Integrated Electronic Control Centre) is an example of an early version of a ROC. York IECC was opened in 1989{{cite journal|title=IRSE News|journal=IRSE|date=April 2014|issue=199|page=13|url=http://www.irse.org/knowledge/publicirsenews/IRSE%20News%20199%20Apr%2014%20with%20watermark.pdf|access-date=17 November 2015}} and controlled a large region in Yorkshire bounded by Gargrave, South Emsall, Selby, Northallerton, Cottingley (Leeds), Bramley and the Harrogate loop.{{cite book|last1=Jacobs|first1=Gerald|title=Railway Track Diagrams - Eastern|date=September 2006|publisher=Trackmaps|location=Bradford-On-Avon|isbn=978-0-9549866-2-9|pages=18, 19, 20, 36, 37, 41, 42, 43|edition=Third|url=http://www.trackmaps.co.uk/|access-date=14 November 2015}}{{cite news|title=Network Rail chairman Rick Haythornthwaite opens new signalling attraction at National Railway Museum in York|url=http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/4706338.New_signalling_attraction_opens_at_National_Railway_Museum_in_York/|access-date=14 November 2015|publisher=The Press|date=28 October 2009}} The ROC, which opened in York on 12 September 2014,{{cite news|last1=Knowlson|first1=Laura|title=£25m rail operation centre opens in York|url=http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/11472127.__25m_rail_operation_centre_opens_in_York/|access-date=13 November 2015|publisher=York Press|date=13 September 2014}} superseded the York IECC in January 2015{{cite news|last1=Barnett|first1=Ben|title=Britain's largest rail signals hub is completed in York|url=http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/main-topics/general-news/britain-s-largest-rail-signals-hub-is-completed-in-york-1-6838723|access-date=17 November 2015|newspaper=Yorkshire Post|date=13 September 2014}} and will eventually control the East Coast Main Line and associated lines in Lincolnshire, Yorkshire and the Humber and the North East of England.{{sfn|Rhodes|2015|p=71}} This means a King's Cross to Edinburgh train will be signalled by York ROC all the way from King's Cross to the Scottish Borders.{{cite web|title=Network Rail's biggest ROC opens in York|url=http://www.railtechnologymagazine.com/Rail-News/network-rails-biggest-roc-opens-in-york/85162|website=RTM|publisher=Railway Technology Magazine|access-date=17 November 2015|date=16 September 2015}}

Saltley ROC will become a remote signalling centre of Rugby. The facility at Saltley was opened as a bomb-proof{{cite news|last1=Hodgson|first1=Neil|title=New rail control centre is bombproof, but late|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-84423867.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160220180036/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-84423867.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=20 February 2016|access-date=16 November 2015|publisher=Liverpool Echo|date=5 April 2002}} signalling centre for the West Coast Route Modernisation.{{cite web|author1=Paul DeGuay|author2=Ed Rollings|title=Technical visit to the West Midlands|url=http://www.irse.org/knowledge/publicirsenews/IRSE%20News%20135%20Jun%2008.pdf|website=IRSE|access-date=16 November 2015|ref=135|page=9|date=June 2008}} However, the inability to achieve a workable Traffic Management System (TMS){{cite web|title=The signal for change|url=http://www.railmagazine.com/infrastructure/signalling/the-signal-for-change|website=Rail magazine|publisher=Bauer Media|access-date=18 November 2015|date=23 March 2011}} without lineside signalling, meant an increased budget of £1.4 billion{{cite web|last1=Ford|first1=Roger|title=ECTS level 2 replacs flawed vision|url=http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view/acronym-titleeuropean-train-control-systemetcsacronym-level-2-replaces-flawed-vision.html|website=Railway Gazette|publisher=RG|access-date=16 November 2015|date=1 November 2000}} and the building became a white elephant.{{cite journal|last1=Mitchell|first1=Ian|title=Midlands and North Western Section|journal=IRSE News|date=June 2012|issue=179|page=22|url=http://www.irse.org/knowledge/publicirsenews/IRSE%20News%20179%20with%20Watermark.pdf|access-date=16 November 2015}} The structure was slowly integrated into a ROC function with signalling upgrades transferring responsibility to Saltley starting in 2006.{{cite news|title=£350 Million investment in signalling gets underway|url=http://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/350-million-investment-in-signalling-gets-underway|access-date=16 November 2015|agency=Network rail|publisher=Network rail|date=11 October 2006}} Because the interlocking mechanisms are in place, they will be left at Saltley and operated remotely from the Rugby ROC. What Saltley cannot do, that Rugby can, is host the human space needed for the signallers and train operating company (TOC) staff to work together.

File:Network Rail Regions 18 November 2015.png

File:Network Rail York Office.jpg

In 2011, Network Rail forecast that 40% of the then remaining 845 signal boxes would be closed by 2017. Progress on this has been slower than anticipated and, by the end of 2017, 137 signal boxes that were due to close were still open.{{cite magazine|last1=Allen|first1=David|title=Signalling changes in North Wales|magazine=Rail Magazine|date=25 April 2018|issue=851|page=69|publisher=Bauer Media|location=Peterborough|issn=0953-4563}}

Whilst the drive for the ROCs has been one of signalling upgrades, there are other benefits and detractions to the scheme. Around four thousand staff will lose their jobs over the course of the implementation programme leaving two thousand signallers in the ROCs.{{cite news|title=4000 jobs to go in Network Rail signalling revolution|url=http://www.railnews.co.uk/news/general/2011/07/21-4000-jobs-to-go-in.html|access-date=13 November 2015|publisher=Railnews|date=21 July 2011}} The benefits of centralised control will be that the train operating company (TOC) staff will work alongside the Network Rail staff to allow cohesive problem solving such as resolving late running and last-minute platform changes. Network Rail have said that "The ROC is a key part of our strategy to improve reliability whilst driving down the cost of running and maintaining the railway."{{cite web|last1=Verster|first1=Phil|title=Delivering a better railway for the North East, Yorkshire and East Midlands|url=http://betterrailway.co.uk/regions/north-east-yorkshire-and-east-midlands/|website=Network Rail|access-date=18 November 2015}}

In 2016, it came to light that Network Rail had been hacked four times up to July 2016. As most of the rail network in the United Kingdom is analogue, it would not affect anything, but Network Rail have an aspiration for the digital rail Traffic Management System to go live in 2018. An online security company, who were not commissioned by, or working for Network Rail, discovered the hacks and declared that whilst the hacks were "probing and not disruptive," they could well be full of malicious software in the future.{{cite journal|last1=Dean|first1=James|title=Threat to passenger safety as hackers infiltrate rail network|journal=The Times|date=13 July 2016|issue=71961|page=16|issn=0140-0460}}

Network Rail responded by saying that

{{quote|"Britain has the safest major railway in Europe... safety is our top priority, which is why we work closely with government, the security services, our partners and suppliers in the rail industry and security specialists to combat cyber threats."{{cite news|last1=Boyle|first1=Emma|title=UK rail network attacked by hackers four times in a year|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/uk-rail-network-railways-hacked-four-times-hackers-trains-a7135026.html|access-date=13 July 2016|work=The Independent|date=13 July 2016}}}}

In 2017, Ian Prosser, the chief inspector of railways informed the Transport Select Committee that not enough had been done to alleviate the possibility of the ROCs becoming a single point of failure. Prosser highlighted higher workload on signallers and the contingencies needed in the event of a natural disaster disabling one of the ROCs.{{cite news |title=ORR warns that ROC risks 'not yet adequately assessed' by Network Rail |url=http://www.railtechnologymagazine.com/Rail-News/orr-warns-that-roc-risks-not-yet-adequately-assessed-by-network-rail |access-date=28 December 2018 |work=www.railtechnologymagazine.com |date=27 January 2017}}

ROCs are mostly referred to as rail operating centres.{{cite web|title=Our plans for an operating centre in York get the go-ahead|url=http://www.networkrail.co.uk/Our-plans-for-a-new-rail-operating-centre-in-York-get-the-go-ahead/?cd=3|website=Network Rail|access-date=13 November 2015|date=24 May 2012}} Even in Network Rail's own documentation they are sometimes referred to as railway operating centres.{{cite web|title=York Operating Centre|url=http://www.networkrail.co.uk/YorkTriangle/?cd=1|website=Network Rail|access-date=13 November 2015}} Some of the railway press have referred to them as route operating centres{{cite journal|last1=Clinnick|first1=Richard|title=Inside Three Bridges|journal=Rail Magazine|date=13 May 2015|issue=774|page=49|url=http://www.railmagazine.com/infrastructure/stations/inside-three-bridges|access-date=13 November 2015}}Whilst this is a direct quote from an interview, the interviewer does not make use of a [sic] modifier to correct this error. and even regional operating centre.{{cite web|title=Deltarail Completes Pioneering Edinburgh Signalling Control Installation|url=http://www.deltarail.com/ui/content/content.aspx?id=24|website=Delta rail|access-date=16 November 2015}}{{cite web|title=A new state-of-the-art signalling centre that will control large parts of railway operations across Sussex has been formally opened|url=http://thespencergroup.co.uk/a-new-state-of-the-art-signalling-centre-that-will-control-large-parts-of-railway-operations-across-sussex-has-been-formally-opened|website=The Spencer Group|date=15 January 2014|access-date=17 November 2015}}

This issue is further clouded by Network Rail having another ROC, the Railway Operational Code{{cite web|title=Railway Operational Code|url=http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browsedirectory.aspx?dir=%5Cnetwork%20code%5Crailway%20operational%20code&root&cd=5|website=Network Rail|access-date=13 November 2015}} and the signalling industry in the United Kingdom having a Remote Override Control.{{cite web|title=Remote control standby arrangements|url=http://www.rssb.co.uk/rgs/standards/ssp050%20iss%201.pdf|website=RSSB|access-date=18 November 2015|ref=206-66-67|page=1|date=June 1988}}

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• {{cite book|last1=Rhodes|first1=Michael|title=Resignalling Britain|date=2015|publisher=Mortons Media Publishing|location=Horncastle|isbn=978-1-909128-64-4}}

{{Railwaysignalling}}

Category:Railway signalling in the United Kingdom

Category:Railway signalling control