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<p>The core design for HS2, should it go ahead, is based on proven international technology
for high speed rail, so as to contain risks to schedule and cost, but will use elements
of new technologies wherever feasible to maximise benefits. These include a digital
signalling system with increased safety compared to conventional signalling, automatic
driving of trains to improve capacity and performance and an advanced Traffic Management
system that will optimise the movement of trains on the network to ensure rapid recovery
from perturbations.</p><p> </p><p>Because of the complexity and criticality of these
systems, the development cycle of this technology is very long (decades rather than
years) and we expect that HS2’s systems will still be considered ‘state-of-the-art’
when it opens.</p><p> </p><p>There are other areas of technology, such as passenger
communications, entertainment and WIFI, which have a much shorter development cycle
and today’s technology in this area is likely to be out-of-date by the 2030s. For
this reason we have incorporated flexibility into our specifications for the rolling
stock and stations to ensure that the latest technology can be included later in the
programme, allowing HS2’s customers to benefit from future innovations. Decisions
on such technology will be taken at the latest appropriate moment so that the programme
is not put at risk.</p><p> </p>
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