unimaginative2
Senior Member
^One assumes it's off-the-shelf North American wayside CTC signalling, compatible with the existing systems operated on the freight lines and rest of the GO network.
As far as a quick round of Googling can determine, there isn't a single implementation of ERTMS in Canada or the United States, and presumably not a single piece of North American-spec rolling stock outfitted to use it. The new Positive Train Control systems that I believe LA is rolling out right now aren't ERTMS-based.
It's perhaps getting a little too rich for the armchair crowd to suggest stupid slow Toronto is lagging unreasonably behind on this file, when federal regulators in North America have long made clear that they don't see value in harmonizing with the Europeans on anything anyway.
First of all, it's not accurate at all that we're not seeing efforts to harmonize with the Europeans. The FRA is in the process of looking at a dramatic shift in its regulations to bring us closer in line to European practice. They've also gone as far as to invite more railways to request waivers to permit the use of European rolling stock.
Maybe Toronto should actually be a leader on this issue and be the first in North America to implement the technology. If it works well everywhere else in the world, there's no vortex over North America that would prevent it from working here. Moreover, if we're hearing that running a perfectly normal frequency is "impossible" with this signalling and we need multi-billion dollar capital improvements instead, maybe we should consider the idea of bring in an actually modern signalling system rather than stubbornly sticking with dated North American practice.
If we're going to be building actual regional rail, there isn't a single piece of North American-spec rolling stock that is suitable. We need to buy off-the-shelf technology from places like Europe and Japan that have actually seen rail technology evolve significantly over the past decades. Why not take advantage of the billions of dollars of research and development carried out in those regions, rather than trying to reinvent the wheel here?
In terms of interoperability, there should be no reason why equipment can't accommodate both ERTMS technology and traditional North American systems. Most European rolling stock is equipped for multiple signalling systems, especially as ERTMS is gradually rolled out across the continent. That said, I don't think the regional rail segments of the system should be shared with any other trains. Operating trains safely and quickly at high frequencies without spending billions on construction projects should be the top priority. What other trains are really using the Stouffville and Bradford corridors anyway? On the others, it could be more complex, but the only trains that might have issues would be freights, and they should probably be relegated to late-night operation anyway given their effects on passenger capacity and the availability of a high-quality freight bypass around Toronto.
Last edited: