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They're equivalent to the Top Guns of Britain’s rail network, and it’s not just their dark shirts which mark Mid Wales train drivers apart.

They’re the only drivers in the UK using the state-of-the-art European Train Control System Level 2, which brings all the vital safety information to a computer screen in the cab.

Marrying this technology to trains which were already 20 years old was a big challenge. Sunshine only emerged as a problem when drivers started testing the system on the real railway, instead of on a simulator in a windowless room. That’s when they found that glare from white shirts obscured their view of the screen.

Changing the dress code was one of many adjustments needed before the system worked reliably on the Cambrian lines, from Aberystwyth and Pwllheli to Shrewsbury.

Now the 39 Cambrian drivers stand out sartorially from other drivers at Shrewsbury station. “We’re the elite,” jokes Graham Beck, a driver and instructor based at Arriva Trains Wales’ Machynlleth depot.

When he joined the railway he drove British Rail’s last steam trains, on the tourist line from Aberystwyth to Devil’s Bridge. Now the trains he drives have on-board computers which talk to the control centre in Machynlleth every few seconds.

The nearest thing for motorists would be a sat-nav system which applies your brakes if you exceed either the speed limit or the maximum safe speed for the stopping distance ahead.

The European Union requires member states to install this technology so international trains will no longer need different signalling and safety equipment for each country. Drivers would also be able to work in other EU countries with relatively little extra training, and eventually standardisation and economies of scale are expected to reduce the the cost of signalling equipment.

The Cambrian lines were chosen for the UK’s pilot scheme because of their relative isolation from the rest of the rail network, minimising the number of trains to be equipped and staff to be trained.

However, the Cambrian’s trains were designed in the 1980s, when mobile phones were the size of bricks and people were awestruck by the computing power of a BBC Micro or ZX Spectrum.

The train control system’s introduction in Mid Wales was delayed while technical hitches were overcome, and when it did go live passengers endured months of delays and service cancellations.

All that is now in the past. The latest Passenger’s Charter statistics available show that 99.6% of trains were punctual on the Cambrian lines in the four weeks from 28 April to 25 May. Put another way, you would have been delayed once in every 250 journeys, on average.

No other groups of ATW lines matched the Cambrian’s figure, and it’s unlikely that any other group of rail services in Britain exceeded it.

Steve Bevan, one of ATW’s Cambrian drivers, says: “It has been a steep learning curve for us, but we have received lots of support and investment along the way. It’s a big contrast in terms of technology. It has been great to learn something new.

“We are proud to be at the cutting edge of technology. This new robust system has helped us deliver great punctuality and reliability, which is really rewarding for us as drivers.”

Although the service’s reliability is now a big help to Cambrian passengers, many may feel the new technology’s benefits to them are small compared with the money and effort spent on installing it and getting it to work. The timetables remain constrained by the limited track infrastructure available – just one track with a few passing places – and the lack of subsidy for the long-promised extra trains between Aberystwyth and Shrewsbury.

Now the rail industry aims to build on the lessons from the Cambrian pilot and deploy the technology on major lines. The new InterCity trains on the Great Western main line – including those from Swansea and Cardiff to London – are due to use the new system east of Bristol from 2019, while the traditional signalling remains in place for older trains.

In 2025, Network Rail is due to strip away the lineside signals. All trains on the Paddington line will thereafter use the European train control system.

How’s my driving?

During a ride in the cab of a train between Machynlleth and Aberystwyth, I’m struck by the almost constant communication between the train and the control centre in Machynlleth, writes Rhodri Clark.

Previously there could be miles between lineside signals, the only places where a driver could be given a basic command via a green, yellow or red light.

Now the Aberystwyth train asks every few seconds: “How’s my driving?” When the answer is “Fine”, the screen in front of the driver displays the maximum safe speed and the forward distance where the computerised control centre has provided “movement authority”. As the train progresses, the centre checks the next section of track and usually authorises the driver to enter it.

When the train approaches the end of movement authority – approaching the terminus at Aberystwyth for example – the speedometer display on the screen shows the driver a yellow arc. The driver must brake to keep the needle pointing at the shrinking yellow area, otherwise red will appear on the screen and the computer will take over the braking.

The centre always knows where every Cambrian train is, thanks to the messages it receives via the railway’s mobile communications system. In the seconds between messages, each train’s position is estimated using a wheel-rotation counter.

Drivers must still keep a watchful eye through the windscreen, for minor level crossings and any obstructions. They judge for themselves when to brake for stations which are not at the ends of lines.

At Aberystwyth, our train has to stop beside a precise area of the platform to avoid provoking a digital hissy fit in the control centre.

On the return run, the sun briefly shines through the cab’s side window near Borth, but the screen display is still clearly visible. The driver’s dark shirt helps to minimise reflections, as do the window’s tinted glass and the dark wall paint. There’s a concertina blind for the side window, as back up.