Integrated Electronic Control Centre
The Integrated Electronic Control Centre (IECC) was developed in the late 1980s by the British Rail Research Division for UK-based railway signalling 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 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 driven from a pre-programmed timetable database. 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 frames. From the start, they controlled Solid State Interlockings (SSIs), a software version of the traditional relay interlocking, 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 and supported by DeltaRail Group Limited.
Recently, PC-based control systems, similar to the IECC have been developed and are sold by various signalling contractors, e.g. Westinghouse Rail Systems WESTCAD.
- Early history
The concept of IECC was developed at the Railway Technical Centre 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 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.[1]
List of IECCs commissioned to date
| Location | IECCs | Workstations | Area controlled | ARS? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashford | 2 | 5 | Southern Region SE section and High Speed 1 | Yes |
| Edinburgh | 3 | 7 | East Coast Main Line, from north of Berwick-upon-Tweed to south of Cupar and Fife Circle Line | Yes |
| Liverpool Street | 4 | 9 | Great Eastern Main Line to Marks Tey, Bishop's Stortford/Stansted North Junction/Stansted Airport and branches | Yes |
| Marylebone | 1 | 2 | Chiltern lines to Aynho Junction near Banbury | Yes |
| Merseyrail (Sandhills) | 1 | 2 | The Merseyrail Northern Lines and Wirral Lines | Yes |
| Slough New (Closed 25/12/11) | 2 | 2 | Paddington to Heathrow Airport | Yes |
| Swindon B | 1 | 1 | Didcot area | Yes |
| Thames Valley Signalling Centre Didcot |
4 | 7 | Waltham to Cholsey, plus the Berks and Hants Line, from Southcote Junction to Westbury, Wiltshire and Paddington to Heathrow Airport | Yes |
| Tyneside | 2 | 4 | East Coast Main Line, from north of Northallerton to south of Morpeth | Yes |
| Upminster | 3 | 5 | London, Tilbury and Southend line and North London line | Yes |
| Yoker | 1 | 2 | Glasgow North suburban area | Yes |
| York IECC | 3 | 7 | East Coast Main Line, from north of Doncaster to north of Northallerton 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 | 1 | Dorset coast | No | VICOS (Siemens SIMIS - W) |
| East Midlands Control Centre, Derby | 5 | Sharnbrook to Spondon, Attenborough to Trent East, Sheet Stores to Stenson Junction, Toton Yard, Erewash Valley Line, Pinxton Branch, Clay Cross to Tapton, Narborough - Leicester |
No* | WestCAD |
| Leamington Spa | 1 | Banbury to Warwick | No | WestCAD |
| Madeley (Shropshire) | 1 | Oxley (exclusive) to Shrewsbury (exclusive) via Telford and Wellington | No | WestCAD |
| Marston Vale | 2 | Fenny Stratford (nr. Bletchley) to Bedford St. Johns | No | GE MCS |
| Rugby Power Signal Box | 1 | Hunsbury Hill (exclusive) to Hillmorton Junction (exclusive) via Northampton. (The WestCAD controls original Solid State Interlocking.) |
No | WestCAD |
| Rugby Signalling Control Centre | 6 | West Coast Main Line 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. |
Yes²* | GE MCS |
| Wembley Mainline Suburban Workstation | 1 | South Hampstead to Watford Junction DC Lines | No* | WestCAD |
| Stoke-on-Trent | 3 | Armitage to Crewe/Macclesfield (except Stafford station area) | No* | GE MCS |
| Colchester PSB | 3 | Marks Tey - Manningtree, Colchester - Alresford, Alresford - Clacton/Walton-on-the-Naze | 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 | 7 | Glasgow Central to Rutherglen, East Kilbride, Paisley Canal, Ayr, Largs, Wemyss Bay and Gourock | 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 Signalling Control Centre | 1 | Highbury & Islington station to New Cross/New Cross Gate | ARF | WestCAD |
| Havant | 3 | Portsmouth Harbour to Fareham and Rowlands Castle | No | VICOS (Siemens SIMIS - W) |
* These systems, which are already in existence, are due to be enhanced with a more advanced ARS than the standard IECC equivalent.
(WestCAD, Westinghouse Control and Display; GE MCS, General Electric Modular Control System)
References
- ^ New generation signalling control centre Beady, F.F.; Bartlett, P.J.N. Main Line Railway Electrification, 1989., International Conference