UK passenger train operator news
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Rail Business UK
Variable 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 UK
Accessibility 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 UK
Greater 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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News
Dublin – Belfast electric-battery trains funded
EUROPE: Funding is now in place for the procurement of electric-battery inter-city trains to increase frequencies and reduce journey times on the cross-border Enterprise service between Dublin and Belfast which is operated jointly by Iarnród Éireann and Northern Ireland Railways. An order for eight 1 600 ...
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Rail Business UK
Request 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 UK
Separate 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 UK
Technology 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 UK
Waterbeach 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 UK
ScotRail 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 UK
InterCity 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 ...
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Rail Business UK
CrossCountry gets more Voyagers as refurbishment plan agreed
UK: CrossCountry has selected Alstom as preferred bidder to refurbish its fleet of Voyager DMUs over a broadly two-year period as part of an investment package aimed at increasing capacity on its network by up to 25%. The national long-distance operator also announced on March 25 ...
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Rail Business UK
Porterbrook to finance Class 730 depot improvements at Bletchley
UK: Rail leasing and asset management company Porterbrook is to finance a £66m upgrade of Bletchley depot as the principal maintenance base for West Midlands Trains’ Alstom Class 730 Aventra EMU fleet. This will include investment in overhead electrification equipment, 10-car and five car sidings, refurbishment ...
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Rail Business UK
SMEs selected for Bristol Temple Meads innovation zone
UK: Connected Places Catapult, Network Rail and Great Western Railway have selected three SMEs to receive funding of up to £75 000 for technology trials in the Station Innovation Zone at Bristol Temple Meads. Chrome Angel Solutions applies ‘serious games’ technology to tackle performance, safety and ...
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Rail Business UK
c2c maps mobile coverage
UK: Essex to London commuter operator c2c has worked with mobile analysts Streetwave to produce a map of mobile coverage along its route. Analysis of the four main mobile networks found that all provided a poorer experience during peak hours, when larger passenger numbers increase mobile ...
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Rail Business UK
Single-leg pricing for the Northumberland Line
UK: Northern is to implement single-leg pricing on the Northumberland Line when passenger services start this summer. The maximum off-peak single fare for the full route from Ashington to Newcastle will be less than £3. Northern told Rail Business UK ‘customers using the new Northumberland Line ...
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Rail Business UK
East Midlands Railway begins regional train fleet refurbishment
UK: East Midlands Railway has begun a £60m programme to refurbish its fleet of Class 360 electric and Class 158 and Class 170 diesel multiple-units in partnership with Siemens Mobility and leasing companies Angel Trains, Porterbrook and Eversholt. The Siemens Class 360 EMUs leased from Angel ...
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Rail Business UK
Avanti West Coast won’t be nationalised, says Minister
UK: The government will not terminate Avanti West Coast’s operating contract, Rail Minister Huw Merriman has told the House of Commons. At Transport Questions on March 21, Labour’s Shadow Rail Minister Stephen Morgan asked ‘a simple question to the Minister today, will he strip Avanti of ...
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Rail Business UK
LNER offers free period products on its trains
UK: LNER says it is the first UK train operator to offer free period care products on its trains, as well as at all its stations and offices. Stickers informing customers that TOTM organic period products are available will be displayed in customer toilets onboard and ...
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Rail Business UK
Alex Hynes appointed DfT Director General Rail Services
UK: The Department for Transport has appointed Alex Hynes as Director General Rail Services. He is due to join on a two-year secondment from his current position as Managing Director of Scotland’s Railway on April 15. Interim Director General Anit Chandarana will return to Network Rail ...
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Rail Business UK
ScotRail trials Smart Kiosk ticket machine
TICKETING: ScotRail is trialling a Smart Kiosk ticket vending machine supplied by Cammax which is designed to provide passengers in Scotland with a wider range of ticket options and information. As well as purchasing tickets on the day of travel, passengers can obtain live travel information, including ...