 thales wins the fitment and supply of european train control system etcs onboard units for class 43 high speed train retrofit implementation will benefit passengers and freight operators by delivering additional capacity improving performance enhancing safety and reducing the costs of operating the national railway as a key player in delivering this digital transformation thales has today been awarded the contract for the class 43 first in class fic design and fitment project that will use network rails new measurement train power cars in the infrastructure measurement fleet the fic project will culminate in a type approval from the office of road and rail to enable subsequent class 43 etcs fleet fitments the new thales onboard system will be integrated as part of the digital railway train control system and will enable rolling stock to operate on etcs equipped infrastructure the onboard equipment is an evolution of thaless level 1 etcs system that has been successfully deployed worldwide the class 43s will be fitted with etcs under the uks digital railway programme funded by the department for transport through network rail and managed by the national joint rosco program njrp the digital railway programme will benefit passengers and freight operators by delivering additional capacity improving performance enhancing safety and reducing the costs of operating the national railway the fic contract has been let by porterbrook leasing company limited porterbrook as the lead rosco for the class 43 supported by angel trains eversholt rail and first rail holdings under the njrp zena dent product development director at porterbrook said the installation of the etcs on to these trains will be a major step forward in the national project to introduce in cab signalling porterbrook are delighted to work with our partners to deliver this important project and support the rollout of the digital railway shaun jones uk vice president transport thales said onboard etcs is an essential building block of the digital railway programme it will improve our railway operators performance and reliability the technology will also unlock capacity constraints that exist on the railway network which will benefit the travelling public notes to editors etcs european train control system is a modern train protection system that ensures the safe transportation of passengers and goods in an effort to harmonise the continents networks etcs has been the european standard since 1986 today etcs is in service not only in europe but also in many countries around the world etcs was developed to promote interoperability across europe but it is being rapidly adopted by operators worldwide whether they have borders to cross or not more trains etcs can boost the capacity of existing networks by up to 40%london 10 may 2018 reliability improvements radio based communications and reduced infrastructure means theres less to go wrong open supply market trackside and on board equipment is produced by multiple suppliers in a competitive market place impact on life cycle cost elimination of trackside equipment including signals means reduced maintenance costs about thales the people we all rely on to make the world go round they rely on thales our customers come to us with big ambitions to make life better to keep us safer combining a unique diversity of expertise talents and cultures our architects design and deliver extraordinary high technology solutions solutions that make tomorrow possible today from the bottom of the oceans to the depth of space and cyberspace we help our customers think smarter and act faster mastering ever greater complexity and every decisive moment along the way with 65 000 employees in 56 countries thales reported sales of 15 8 billion in 2017 about porterbrook formed in 1994 porterbrook is a classic rosco which means that we do more than just lease trains as experts in asset management porterbrook prides itself on being innovators in both finance and technology we are committed to being socially responsible corporate citizens of britains railway in october 2014 the porterbrook group of companies was acquired by a consortium of investors including alberta investment management corporation aimco allianz capital partners acp on behalf of certain insurance companies of the allianz group edf invest and hastings funds management porterbrook is looking to invest 1bn in uk rail over the next five years 