Integrated Electronic control centre
Encyclopedia
British Rail Research Division
The British Rail Research Division came into being in 1964 directly under the control of the British Railways Board, moving into purpose-built premises at the Railway Technical Centre in Derby. The intention was to improve railway reliability and efficiency, while reducing costs and improving revenue...
for UK-based railway signalling
Railway signalling
Railway signalling is a system used to control railway traffic safely, essentially to prevent trains from colliding. Being guided by fixed rails, trains are uniquely susceptible to collision; furthermore, trains cannot stop quickly, and frequently operate at speeds that do not enable them to stop...
centres, although variations exist around the world. Up to 2005, an aggregate of 140 operational years of reliable service had been achieved overall.
It consists of an operator’s workstation
Workstation
A workstation is a high-end microcomputer designed for technical or scientific applications. Intended primarily to be used by one person at a time, they are commonly connected to a local area network and run multi-user operating systems...
with a series of VDU/LCD displays which depict the control area and is semi-automatic using Automatic Route Setting (ARS) - a computer based route setting system
Signalling control
On a rail transport system, signalling control is the process by which control is exercised over train movements by way of railway signals and block systems to ensure that trains operate safely, over the correct route and to the proper timetable...
driven from a pre-programmed timetable database
Database
A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
. ARS can also handle severely disrupted service patterns and assist the signaller in the event of train or infrastructure failures.
IECCs were developed as an alternative to the traditional switch or button panel control, which in turn replaced mechanical lever frame
Lever frame
Mechanical railway signalling installations rely on lever frames for their operation to interlock the signals and points to allow the safe operation of trains in the area the signals control...
s. From the start, they controlled Solid State Interlocking
Solid State Interlocking
Solid State Interlocking is the brand name of the first generation processor-based interlocking developed in the 1980s by British Rail's Research Division, GEC-General Signal and Westinghouse Signals Ltd in the UK.- Interlocking hardware :...
s (SSIs), a software version of the traditional relay interlocking
Interlocking
In railway signalling, an interlocking is an arrangement of signal apparatus that prevents conflicting movements through an arrangement of tracks such as junctions or crossings. The signalling appliances and tracks are sometimes collectively referred to as an interlocking plant...
, but existing relay interlockings may also be controlled from an IECC. The system can control as many miles of track as required, but typically around 50-100 miles. The IECC is a product owned by Network Rail
Network Rail
Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...
and supported by DeltaRail Group Limited
DeltaRail Group
DeltaRail Group Limited is a British railway software, technology and services company.The company was formed from Rail business of AEA Technology plc which was acquired as part of a secondary private equity portfolio sale to Vision Capital Limited in 2006...
.
Recently, PC-based control systems, similar to the IECC have been developed and are sold by various signalling
Railway signalling
Railway signalling is a system used to control railway traffic safely, essentially to prevent trains from colliding. Being guided by fixed rails, trains are uniquely susceptible to collision; furthermore, trains cannot stop quickly, and frequently operate at speeds that do not enable them to stop...
contractors, e.g. Westinghouse Rail Systems
Westinghouse Rail Systems
Westinghouse Rail Systems Ltd is a British supplier of railway signalling and control equipment to the rail industry worldwide. Its head office is in Chippenham, Wiltshire, where it manufactures a variety of mechanical and electrical/electronic railway signalling equipment...
WESTCAD.
Early history
The concept of IECC was developed at the Railway Technical Centre
Railway Technical Centre
The Railway Technical Centre in London Road, Derby, UK, was built by the British Railways Board in the early 1960s to be its technical headquarters....
in Derby during the 1980s, and in particular the initial software for ARS and SSI.
A contract for the development of an operational standard system was let in January 1987 to CAP Group, including the supply of a complete system for Yoker (Glasgow) and the ARS for the Waterloo area. This was the first time a software house became involved in railway signalling after competing against the main incumbent suppliers of GEC-General Signal and Westinghouse Signals Ltd.
The solution used off-the-shelf microcomputer technology (Motorola 68000 microprocessors and VME Bus) to host the sub-systems of IECC in high availability configurations linked via a local area network. Subsequent contracts were let to CAP Group (became Sema Group
Sema Group
Sema Group plc was an Anglo-French IT services company. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but was acquired by Schlumberger in 2001.-History:...
in 1988) for further operational IECC systems involving the supply of turnkey hardware and software. These included the first IECC to go live at Liverpool Street in Easter 1989 quickly followed by York.
List of IECCs commissioned to date
| Location | IECCs | Workstations | Area controlled | ARS? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashford Ashford International railway station Ashford International railway station serves Ashford in Kent, England. Services are provided by Southeastern, Southern and Eurostar.International services use platforms 3 & 4, whilst domestic trains use the original platforms 1 & 2, and a new island built when the Channel Tunnel opened... |
2 | 5 | Southern Region Southern Region Southern Region may be:* Southern Region, Malawi* Southern Region of British Railways* Southern Region, Eritrea* Southern Region, Brazil, an official grouping of states for economic and statistical purposes* Southern Region, Serbia... SE section and High Speed 1 |
Yes |
| Edinburgh Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area... |
3 | 7 | East Coast Main Line East Coast Main Line The East Coast Main Line is a long electrified high-speed railway link between London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Newcastle and Edinburgh... , from north of Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed or simply Berwick is a town in the county of Northumberland and is the northernmost town in England, on the east coast at the mouth of the River Tweed. It is situated 2.5 miles south of the Scottish border.... to south of Cupar Cupar Cupar is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland. The town is situated between Dundee and the New Town of Glenrothes.According to a recent population estimate , Cupar had a population around 8,980 making the town the ninth largest settlement in Fife.-History:The town is believed to have... and Fife Circle Line Fife Circle Line The Fife Circle is the local rail service north from Edinburgh. It links all the towns of south Fife and the coastal towns along the Firth of Forth before heading to Edinburgh.-Service:... |
Yes |
| Liverpool Street Liverpool Street station Liverpool Street railway station, also known as London Liverpool Street or simply Liverpool Street, is both a central London railway terminus and a connected London Underground station in the north-eastern corner of the City of London, England... |
4 | 9 | Great Eastern Main Line Great Eastern Main Line The Great Eastern Main Line is a 212 Kilometre major railway line of the British railway system, which connects Liverpool Street in the City of London with destinations in east London and the East of England, including Chelmsford, Colchester, Ipswich, Norwich and several coastal resorts such as... to Marks Tey, Bishop's Stortford Bishop's Stortford Bishop's Stortford is a historic market town and civil parish in the district of East Hertfordshire in the county of Hertfordshire in England. It is situated just west of the M11 motorway, on the county boundary with Essex and is the closest large town to London Stansted Airport and part of the... and branches |
Yes |
| Marylebone Marylebone Marylebone is an affluent inner-city area of central London, located within the City of Westminster. It is sometimes written as St. Marylebone or Mary-le-bone.... |
1 | 2 | Chiltern lines Chiltern Main Line The Chiltern Main Line is an inter-urban, regional and commuter railway, part of the British railway system. It links London and Birmingham on a 112-mile route via the towns of High Wycombe, Banbury, and Leamington Spa... to Aynho Junction near Banbury Banbury Banbury is a market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in the Cherwell District of Oxfordshire. It is northwest of London, southeast of Birmingham, south of Coventry and north northwest of the county town of Oxford... |
Yes |
| Merseyrail Merseyrail Merseyrail is a train operating company and commuter rail network in the United Kingdom, centred on Liverpool, Merseyside. The network is predominantly electric with diesel trains running on the City Line. Two City Line branches are currently being electrified on the overhead wire AC system with... (Sandhills) |
1 | 2 | The Merseyrail Merseyrail Merseyrail is a train operating company and commuter rail network in the United Kingdom, centred on Liverpool, Merseyside. The network is predominantly electric with diesel trains running on the City Line. Two City Line branches are currently being electrified on the overhead wire AC system with... Northern Lines Northern Line (Merseyrail) The Northern Line is one of the two commuter rail lines operated by Merseyrail in Merseyside, England. The other line is the Wirral Line. A third line of the Merseyrail Network, the City Line, is not owned or operated by Merseyrail, although funded by Merseytravel.The Northern Line passes... and Wirral Line Wirral Line The Wirral Line is one of the two commuter railway lines operated by Merseyrail that are centred around Merseyside, England, the other being the Northern Line... s |
Yes |
| Slough Slough Slough is a borough and unitary authority within the ceremonial county of Royal Berkshire, England. The town straddles the A4 Bath Road and the Great Western Main Line, west of central London... New |
2 | 2 | Paddington to Heathrow Airport | Yes |
| Swindon B | 1 | 1 | Didcot area | Yes |
| Thames Valley Signalling Centre Didcot Didcot Didcot is a town and civil parish in Oxfordshire about south of Oxford. Until 1974 it was in Berkshire, but was transferred to Oxfordshire in that year, and from Wallingford Rural District to the district of South Oxfordshire... |
2 | 4 | Berks and Hants Line, from Southcote Junction Southcote Junction Southcote Junction is a railway junction south of Reading West railway station, Berkshire, England, where the lines to Basingstoke and Newbury diverge. Until 1983 there was a third branch, the Coley Branch Line, that served a goods yard in Berkeley Avenue, Reading.-External links:*... to Westbury, Wiltshire Westbury, Wiltshire Westbury is a town and civil parish in the west of the English county of Wiltshire, most famous for the Westbury White Horse.-Name:The most likely origin of the West- in Westbury is simply that the town is near the western edge of the county of Wiltshire, the bounds of which have been much the same... |
Yes |
| Tyneside | 2 | 4 | East Coast Main Line East Coast Main Line The East Coast Main Line is a long electrified high-speed railway link between London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Newcastle and Edinburgh... , from north of Northallerton Northallerton Northallerton is an affluent market town and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. It lies in the Vale of Mowbray and at the northern end of the Vale of York. It has a population of 15,741 according to the 2001 census... to south of Morpeth Morpeth railway station Morpeth railway station is a railway station on the East Coast Main Line in Northumberland, northern England, serving the town of Morpeth.- History :The station was opened by the Newcastle and Berwick Railway on 1 March 1847... |
Yes |
| Upminster | 2 | 3 | London, Tilbury and Southend line London, Tilbury and Southend Railway The London, Tilbury and Southend Railway is an English railway line linking Fenchurch Street railway station in the City of London with northeast London and the entire length of the northern Thames Gateway area of southern Essex. It is currently known as the Essex Thameside Route by Network Rail... |
Yes |
| Yoker | 1 | 2 | Glasgow North suburban area North Clyde Line The North Clyde Line is a suburban railway in West Central Scotland. The route is operated by First ScotRail, on behalf of Transport Scotland... |
Yes |
| York IECC York IECC York Integrated Electronic control centre is a major signal control centre on the East Coast Main Line railway between London and Edinburgh. The centre also contains the electric control centre for the line, and the LNE regional control office of Network Rail.... |
3 | 7 | East Coast Main Line East Coast Main Line The East Coast Main Line is a long electrified high-speed railway link between London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Newcastle and Edinburgh... , from north of Doncaster Doncaster Doncaster is a town in South Yorkshire, England, and the principal settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. The town is about from Sheffield and is popularly referred to as "Donny"... to north of Northallerton Northallerton Northallerton is an affluent market town and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. It lies in the Vale of Mowbray and at the northern end of the Vale of York. It has a population of 15,741 according to the 2001 census... and Leeds area |
Yes |
The following installations are not true IECCs, but are similar to IECCs in principle:
Some locations shown below are interim installations which will eventually move into larger signalling control centres, such as Leamington and Madeley, which in time will move to the West Midlands Signalling Centre.
| Location | Workstations | Area controlled | ARS? | Equipment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bournemouth Bournemouth Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth... |
1 | Dorset coast | No | VICOS (Siemens SIMIS - W) |
| East Midlands Control Centre, Derby Derby Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407... |
3 | Loughborough to Spondon, Attenborough to Trent East, Sheet Stores to Stenson Junction, Toton Yard, Erewash Valley Line, Pinxton Branch, Clay Cross to Tapton |
No* | WestCAD |
| Leamington Spa Leamington Spa Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or Leamington or Leam to locals, is a spa town in central Warwickshire, England. Formerly known as Leamington Priors, its expansion began following the popularisation of the medicinal qualities of its water by Dr Kerr in 1784, and by Dr Lambe... |
1 | Banbury Banbury Banbury is a market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in the Cherwell District of Oxfordshire. It is northwest of London, southeast of Birmingham, south of Coventry and north northwest of the county town of Oxford... to Warwick Warwick Warwick is the county town of Warwickshire, England. The town lies upon the River Avon, south of Coventry and just west of Leamington Spa and Whitnash with which it is conjoined. As of the 2001 United Kingdom census, it had a population of 23,350... |
No | WestCAD |
| Madeley (Shropshire) | 1 | Oxley (exclusive) to Shrewsbury (exclusive) via Telford and Wellington | No | WestCAD |
| Marston Vale Marston Vale Marston Vale is an area of Bedfordshire. It lies to the south west of Bedford and Kempston, down towards the M1 motorway. Historically it was one of the main brickmaking districts in England, home of the London Brick Company, now a division of Hanson plc... |
2 | Fenny Stratford (nr. Bletchley) to Bedford Bedford Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. It is a large town and the administrative centre for the wider Borough of Bedford. According to the former Bedfordshire County Council's estimates, the town had a population of 79,190 in mid 2005, with 19,720 in the adjacent town... St. Johns |
No | GE MCS |
| Rugby Rugby, Warwickshire Rugby is a market town in Warwickshire, England, located on the River Avon. The town has a population of 61,988 making it the second largest town in the county... Power Signal Box |
1 | Hunsbury Hill (exclusive) to Hillmorton Junction (exclusive) via Northampton Northampton Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is... . (The WestCAD controls original Solid State Interlocking.) |
No | WestCAD |
| Rugby Rugby, Warwickshire Rugby is a market town in Warwickshire, England, located on the River Avon. The town has a population of 61,988 making it the second largest town in the county... Signalling Control Centre |
6 | West Coast Main Line West Coast Main Line The West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the... between Kings Langley (exclusive) and Armitage (except Bletchley Station area and route via Northampton) also Three Spires Junction (exclusive) to Nuneaton, Arley Tunnel to Hinckley (exclusive) and Brandon to Rugby. [² Watford Workstation only - on trial] |
Yes²* | GE MCS |
| Wembley Mainline Suburban Workstation | 1 | South Hampstead to Watford Junction DC Lines | No* | WestCAD |
| Stoke-on-Trent | 3 | Armitage to Crewe Crewe Crewe is a railway town within the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census the urban area had a population of 67,683... /Macclesfield Macclesfield Macclesfield is a market town within the unitary authority of Cheshire East, the county palatine of Chester, also known as the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The population of the Macclesfield urban sub-area at the time of the 2001 census was 50,688... (except Stafford station area) |
No* | GE MCS |
| West Midlands Signalling Centre | 4 | Jewellery Quarter to Warwick/Stratford-upon-Avon via Birmingham Snow Hill and Brandon/Milverton to Hampton-in-Arden/Three Spires Jn, Wolverhampton North Jn (excl.) to Bilbrook |
No | WestCAD |
| West of Scotland Signalling Centre | 5 | Glasgow Central station Glasgow Central station Glasgow Central is the larger of the two present main-line railway terminals in Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland. The station was opened by the Caledonian Railway on 31 July 1879 and is currently managed by Network Rail... and approaches |
No* | GE MCS |
| Port Talbot | 1 | Llanharan to Baglan | No | WestCAD |
| Abercynon | ? | Abercynon to Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare | No | |
| Stratford (North London Line) | 1 | Stratford to Hackney Central and Stratford to Coppermill Junction (exclusive) | No | WestCAD |
| South Wales Control Centre | ? | Caldicot to East Usk | No | |
| East London Line East London Line The East London Line is a London Overground line which runs north to south through the East End, Docklands and South areas of London.Built in 1869 by the East London Railway Company, which reused the Thames Tunnel, originally intended for horse-drawn carriages, the line became part of the London... Signalling Control Centre |
1 | Highbury & Islington station Highbury & Islington station Highbury & Islington station is a London Underground and National Rail station in the London Borough of Islington in north London. It is served by the Victoria line, London Overground's East and North London Lines and First Capital Connect's Northern City Line.... to New Cross/New Cross Gate |
ARF ARF -Organizations:* Advertising Research Foundation* Animal Rescue Foundation* Animal Rights Federation, an animal rights advocacy organization* Armenian Revolutionary Federation* Armtec Infrastructur Co.'s ticker symbol as of 2011... |
WestCAD |
| Havant Havant Havant is a town in south east Hampshire on the South coast of England, between Portsmouth and Chichester. It gives its name to the borough comprising the town and the surrounding area. The town has rapidly grown since the end of the Second World War.It has good railway connections to London,... |
3 | Portsmouth Harbour to Fareham and Rowlands Castle | No | VICOS (Siemens SIMIS - W) |
(WestCAD, Westinghouse Control and Display; GE MCS, General Electric Modular Control System)