UK rail industry news
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Rail Business UKUK railway news round-up
This week’s round-up of business news from the UK railway industry.
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Rail Business UKLED signals and barrier lights designed for better visibility
UK: Currently on test in Devon and Cornwall are LED signal heads developed by Unipart Rail which incorporate tinted glass and filters. These can reduce the risk of phantom aspects, where an unlit signal appears to be illuminated due to an external light source such as ...
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Rail Business UKVariable rate sanding equipment deployed on DMU fleet
UK: In response to the collision which resulted from low rail adhesion at Salisbury Tunnel Junction in October 2021, all of South Western Railway’s Class 158 and 159 diesel multiple-units have now been fitted with Variable Rate Sanding equipment supplied by Siemens Mobility. The variable rate ...
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Rail Business UKAccessibility options added to Southeastern journey planner
UK: Southeastern has added features to its app and online journey planner which are designed to make it easier to plan accessible journeys. A Passenger Assistance booking tool has been integrated with the journey planner and can be used to request help with getting on and ...
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Rail Business UKGreater Anglia offers industrial placement scheme for third year students
UK: Greater Anglia is offering paid industrial placements providing students practical experience in the field they are studying in across eight departments ranging from HR and marketing to IT and asset management. The scheme is being offered as the third year of a degree at the ...
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Rail Business UKEast West Railway Co CEO Beth West to leave
UK: Beth West is to step down as CEO of Oxford – Cambridge railway corridor project promoter East West Railway Co when her contract ends. She will remain as interim CEO until the end of May, and she will be available to support the transition to ...
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Rail Business UKRequest to Stop button ready for trial at Welsh stations
UK: Transport for Wales is to trial a prototype Request to Stop system incorporating train running information and a button which passengers arriving at station can push to alert the driver of the next train to the need to call at a request stop. This removes ...
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Rail Business UKPortuguese and UK railway industry associations to co-operate
EUROPE: Portuguese industry organisation Plataforma Ferroviária Portuguesa and the UK’s Railway Industry Association have signed a memorandum of understanding for co-operation. The agreement signed as part of a visit by 16 British companies covers: exchanging information on research, development and innovation; sharing best practice on ...
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Rail Business UKUK railway news round-up
This week’s round-up of business news from the UK railway industry.
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Rail Business UKNetwork Rail awards 10-year train control system framework contracts
UK: New suppliers and better visibility of future work are included in the Train Control Systems framework contracts awarded by Network Rail for the provision of conventional and ETCS signalling services during Control Periods 7 and 8 in 2024-34. The Train Control Systems framework replaces the ...
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Rail Business UKSeparate MDs appointed for Network Rail Scotland and ScotRail
UK: Separate Managing Directors have been appointed for infrastructure manager Network Rail in Scotland and for passenger train operator ScotRail, though the organisations have stressed their commitment to the current alliance model of close co-operation. Both Managing Director roles are currently held jointly by Alex Hynes, ...
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Rail Business UKUber looks to bring ridesharing platform to the rail market
UK: Eight of the 10 most popular destinations for Uber trips in the UK are railway stations, and the company is keen to use its globally recognised ridesharing platform to encourage the use of modes which are more sustainable than privately owned cars, Mobility Lead Rebecca ...
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Rail Business UKTechnology tackles train surfers and bicycle thieves
UK: The Docklands Light Railway is to be equipped with technology which can detect ‘train surfers’ illegally clinging to the back of its automated trains or between vehicles. The system is being deployed by Telent, which has extensive experience of integrating CCTV, internet-of-things sensors and smart ...
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Rail Business UKArmitt criticises ‘blurred picture’ for rail development in wake of HS2 axe
UK: ‘It hasn’t been a great six months for rail’, suggested Sir John Armitt, Chair of the National Infrastructure Commission, in his keynote address to the Northern Transport Summit on March 21. Armitt was among a raft of policymakers and transport officials at the event who ...
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Rail Business UKIndustry seeks to resolve geofencing technology setback
UK: Suppliers of geofencing technology expect it to be re-approved for use alongside active railway lines soon, following further testing which is to be undertaken to address some issues which emerged during a trial. Geofencing systems are designed to help ensure track workers remain within safe ...
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Rail Business UKBurnham urges rail sector to accelerate integration into Manchester’s Bee Network
UK: Greater Manchester Metro Mayor Andy Burnham has pledged to accelerate integration of local rail services into the nascent Bee Network of public transport provision if he is re-elected on May 2. The Bee Network is a locally developed brand already being applied to Manchester Metrolink light ...
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Rail Business UKWaterbeach station to be relocated
UK: Cambridgeshire County Council has called tenders for an estimated £35m design and build contract for the relocation of Waterbeach station to a new site further to the north. This would support the Waterbeach New Town development of 4 500 homes. Opening is now envisaged for ...
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Rail Business UKFreightliner to explore synthetic locomotive fuel
UK: Freightliner and synthetic fuel developer Zero Petroleum have announced a partnership which aims to achieve fossil-free locomotive operation by 2040 and overall net zero by 2050. They are also looking at non-road mobile machinery and other vehicles. Zero has developed proprietary Fischer-Tropsch process technology to ...
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Rail Business UKScotRail offers all front-line staff body-worn cameras
UK: ScotRail has equipped its front-line staff with more than 1 000 Motorola Solutions VB400 body-worn cameras, building on an initial deployment in 2017. ‘We are making body cameras available to all of our front-line staff, and any team member who wishes to use one can ...
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Rail Business UKInterCity East Coast direct award planned
UK: The Department for Transport intends to directly award incumbent London North Eastern Railway a contract to continue to operate InterCity East Coast passenger services. LNER is a brand of state-owned operator of last resort DfT OLR Holdings Ltd, which has operated services on the East ...