►►Is this the vision of the future? A departure board at St Pancras International has been malfunctioning for weeks now. In its latest odd mode, it is displaying the list of departures sideways and, on 11 December 2012, giving the November 2012 weather forecast ◀◀
A vision for the railway over the next 30 years was launched in London today (13 December 2012).
On-train control systems are expected to replace traditional signals, allowing more trains to operate on congested main lines.
Progressive electrification should bring better fuel efficiency, better acceleration, cheaper-to-buy and cheaper-to-run trains, less pollution and cleaner, quieter stations.
The vision is contained in the 2012 Rail Technology Strategy which was announced with help from Tim O'Toole, chairman of the Rail Delivery Group. He said technology would have to find ways to cope with the explosive growth in rail use.
New railways such as High Speed Two will be needed, but engineers will need to up their game to allow the existing railway to deliver more.
Steve Yianni, chairman of the Technical Strategy Leadership Group, said savings of £1 billion a year were possible.
There were also big technical and long-term financial advantages in converting DC electrification to AC.
One of the several hundred people invited to the launch questioned whether a roomful of men with grey hair dressed in grey suits could deliver real change. He called for a more inclusive approach.
Another said that British Rail's mark 3 coach, dating back to 1975, was still an excellent design, with a better passenger/weight ratio than more modern trains which were heavier in spite of the fact that new lightweight materials were available.
The RTS launch took place in the British Library conference centre, next door to St Pancras International station, the terminus of Britain's only high speed line.
More information: www.futurerailway.org